Music For The Rest Of Us

STOP SOPA!

2012-01-18T18:30:00.000-06:00

STEREO ATE MY LAST TAPE (NEW BLOG)

2011-10-24T00:35:00.001-05:00

I have started a new 'companion blog' to this blog called "Stereo Ate My Last Tape". Basically, it will serve as mini-reviews, opinions, possible future MFTROU reviews, etc. I have no set update frequency set for this blog yet, but I am aiming for at least once or twice a week (I would like to do once a day, but am not sure if that is possible/feasible yet). Also, depending on time, some of these entries might be expanded up at a later date and/or turned into full reviews.

Again, thank you all for your patience and support.
Check it out here: http://stereoatemylasttape.blogspot.com/

SEIROM : Seiromistkreig

2011-07-03T02:28:00.000-05:00

Maurice De Jong is a busy man. In addition to his main project Gnaw Their Tongues, he also has many side-projects (most notably De Magia Veterum and Aderlating), his own label Devotional Hymns and Mastering Graphics design group, in addition to recently created bands Cloak Of Altering (which is itself apparently an evolution of an older project called Ophiuchus) and Seirom. While one might reasonably come to the assumption that, with so many concerns going on at once and/or over a short period of time, that eventually the overall quality of the releases would suffer, it would appear that, if anything, the opposite is actually happening. "Seiromistkreig" finds Mories stepping further outside of his comfort zone, while still maintaining what is now known as his 'signature' aesthetic and sound. Easily comparable to a number of other luminaries in their respective genres, this album also manages to blend these influences into something completely refreshing and unique (at least when compared to other releases in his discography).

The description provided by Mories, that the project/album is "Blissed out melodic guitardronesblackmetaldrums stuff" is quite accurate, if somewhat simplistic in terms of the sound and feel presented. Beginning with an insistent guitar drone, indistinct rumbling, and spoken narration (buried deep within the mix), these elements build up in true post-rock fashion until a fuzzed out lead soars over rumbling bass rhythms and persistent blast beats. The second track, "Istauchkrieg", is basically a dark ambient interlude, similar to the material of the other, as-yet-unreleased Seirom album "Eremitic" (although it is important to note that Eremitic focuses more on dark ambience and noise). Finally, "Istnichtkrieg" follows in a similar vein of the first track, with a quicker build-up, feedback, and cello provided by one Aaron Martin. If nothing else, check out the last three minutes of this song. Mories is not only proficient at creating a sense of 'epic' in his work, but has fully mastered it at this point.

Hopefully this direction is not simply a one-off EP. Blending influences and methodology similar to that of the late Birchville Cat Motel, Nadja, and even perhaps Godspeed You! Black Emperor, this album projects rays of shrouded light, hope, and maybe even optimism, qualities that are, by design, lacking in most of his other projects. While his music is perhaps best known for suffocating dread, irreverence, and an almost overwhelming sense of apocalyptic fury, it would be a shame if these uncharted waters were not further explored and developed.

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Download the album for free from the Gnaw Their Tongues Bandcamp

Nod : The Story Of The Three Little Pigs And The Big Bad Wolf

2011-06-09T13:10:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time, many years ago, I created a music review blog. In the beginning, it was created as an assignment for a college class, but over time it expanded into something of a full-time hobby. While I have (arguably) written quite a few good reviews regarding many good albums, there were a few albums I reviewed of albums which were (arguably) not really good, and there were also a few bad reviews and/or opinions. Some (but not all, for better or worse) of these bad reviews were either edited later and/or revised completely. A few remain in need of trimming or deletion. However, one review, which I had not thought about for many years, until just recently, soon bothered me enough to do an extensive re-write. This is the story of the Music For The Rest Of Us review of Nod's debut (and to my knowledge only) full-length "The Story Of The Three Little Pigs And The Big Bad Wolf".

To be honest, looking over the original review was somewhat painful. After having discovered Nod's Reverbnation site, and listening to the majority of his work whilst reading the lyrics for the songs, I had discovered in a flash that I had greatly underestimated and marginalized this band. Clearly, I had not given this album or project a fair hearing, which made itself worse when one considers that, due to the somewhat obscure nature of Nod, the review itself was one of the top hits when doing a Google search. So, while this project may or may not still be active, hopefully this review will somehow rectify my past mistakes and convince others to check out this album and this band.

While information about the band is somewhat vague and cryptic, with conflicting information (their now-defunct 'official site' states that "Nod has existed since early 1996", while a more recent page states 1994), it is known for sure that it is mostly the work of Daniel Wihlstrand, with vocal assistance on many tracks by Elisabet Sundström. It is difficult to say whether or not the group really had consisted of "artists, painters and novelists as well as musicians" in the past, or whether this group is still active. Nevertheless, the text claims that "Nod is today a one-man-project and the musical goal is to crush all kind of music into pieces and then rebuild it into something extraordinary". In this regard, he is absolutely correct.

When looking over the lyrics, it instantly becomes clear that when they claim that "Nod was created and organized as a religious sect, worshipping (sic) art as our God", they weren't joking. Most of the songs are hallucinatory tales of metaphorically-rich symbolism regarding fairy tales, religion, mortality, and futility. While the music in "The Story Of..." follows this blueprint, it is perhaps a bit more focused than his earlier work, in that it uses the fable of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf as a conceptual framework. However, while a literal reading of this story is used to introduce the album, it quickly expands outward. In the world of Nod, humanity is the swine, and God is the grinning wolf. Yet who is the victim, and who is the aggressor? Who is the benefactor, and who is the enemy? The album's stark minimalist imagery, featuring stylized imagery of a deceased pig and wolf, seems to emphasize the fact that, while we may, for a time, escape morality and/or immorality, no one can escape mortality.

Musically, the album most comfortably fits under the 'industrial' description (actual industrial, as opposed to music one would dance to), although there are elements of noise and dark ambient as well. Mostly, the album roughly alternates between abrasive passages of distorted industrial synth melodies, and brooding dark ambient meditations (with one or two songs being a mixture of both). While I would argue that this album does not lend itself to easy comparisons to other bands, besides perhaps comparing it to several other CMI bands active around that same time period, it does have a slight resemblance to later-era Prurient (in other words, focused more on the synth aspect of noise). Also, while the level of sampling is slightly less prevalent on this album than the previous recordings, it still shows up from time to time.

Although the album is relatively brief at 44 minutes, it manages to pack a sizable amount of dread in the bite-sized songs (ironically, there is no fat on these compositions), culminating in intensity in "And The Big Bad Wolf" and "A Black Madonna From Russia With Aw Aah". While the latter provides the album with a suitably apocalyptic (and purely instrumental) conclusion, "And The Big Bad Wolf" is noteworthy in the absolutely unhinged nature of the music and lyrics. Perhaps the most 'power electronic' track of the collection, Wihlstrand's anguished shouting evoking William Bennett, but with ideologically obscure manifestos more in common with IRM than the average violence/misogyny common in the genre. Meanwhile, a highly distorted analog loop angrily rumbles in the background alongside an insistent horn sample and wailing drones. Perhaps it is just me, but in these (supposedly) end-times, there is something genuinely unsettling when one hears lyrics such as "Alone with myself I searched for comprehension / Why do you ask me to worship my will / Just to kill it in cold blood / You came down to be amused for a while / Never ever have you thought about what a plague you are / I am the most perfect victim..."

In conclusion, if you enjoy Institut, IRM, or even power-electronics/noise/dark ambient in general, then you will probably enjoy this album. While it is not an entirely perfect album 'in general' (my main concern that a few of the songs could have been just a little bit longer), it does embody that 'groundbreaking sound and presentation' that, save for IRM, seems to have slowly vanished from noise and power electronics. While this is a lamentable state of affairs, it is albums like "The Story..." which hopefully serve as a guiding light for the future rather than an epitaph of the past...

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In addition to having most of his work available for free through his Reverbnation site, the album is also available on iTunes. It might take slightly more work to find a physical copy. While I am not sure if CMI has any copies through their mail order, you can order one through Discogs.

Nod Reverbnation
Nod Myspace
Official Nod Website (Through Archive.org Wayback Machine)
Nod album description on CMI

Kevin Drumm: Imperial Horizon

2009-10-21T00:43:00.004-05:00

[I might alter this slightly, since I wrote it in one session, but it is basically the semi-complete version].

After his well regarded noise masterpiece "Sheer Hellish Miasma" was released in 2002, Kevin Drumm would, after a number of limited editions and collaborations, would release perhaps one of the best musical statements of his career: the sublime Imperial Distortion. Often compared to Aphex Twin's landmark "Selected Ambient Works Volume II", due to the length of the individual tracks (with none being under thirteen minutes long, and the longest reaching just shy of twenty minutes) and the manner in which both albums create solemn and beautiful soundscapes which reward both casual relaxation and concentrated listening experiences. His latest album, "Imperial Horizon" is a logical extention of the ideas first explored in "Imperial Distortion", only now taken to their logical extreme: a single sixty-four minute landscape of sparse synths. In short: a triumph.

The previous album had dealt with themes of paralysis ("Guillian-Barre"), mortality ("We All Get It In The End"), and the tragic story of Christine Chubbuck ("More Blood And Guts"). Given that "Just Lay Down And Forget It" sounds much like an expanded version of segments towards the end of "More Blood And Guts", it is worth explaining the meaning behind the phrase and the person behind it (Christine Chubbuck is mentioned specifically in the CD design of "Imperial Distortion" with the phrase: "Bringing You The Latest In Blood And Guts - Christine Chubbuck").

Christine Chubbuck was a Floridian news reporter whom in 1974 shot herself during a live television broadcast (which arguably influenced the opening premise of the 1976 movie Network). It was discovered later that she had, throughout her life, suffered from several bouts of depression, focused mainly around her chronic inability to find and/or maintain a relationship with anyone. Furthermore, her self-deprecating manner often deflected any sort of compliment or consideration shown to her.

Several days before her suicide, the news director had cut one of her stories short in order to cover a shoot-out. The owner of the station, Robert Nelson, argued that the staff should focus on "blood and guts". On July 15, 1974, she began her segment by covering several national news stories for a few minutes. After technical problems prevented a segment on a local shooting from running, Chubbuck simply stated, "In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first — attempted suicide." As predicted by the script of the program she had included, she was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital and was pronounced dead fourteen hours later.

As for the music itself, it is (without resorting to cliche) immensely difficult to adequately put into words. I know I have used that phrase and conceptual convention before, but when nearly every other review and critique says something to the same effect, one knows they are probably on to something. A series of delicate, sustained synth tones solemnly proceed to evolve along the course of an hour, alongside bass hums that appear seemingly only when the mood or development of the present moment requires them to, at times disappearing completely. While there is a central theme that is cyclical throughout the work, the song is far from stagnant or boring, and headphone listening reveals a staggering amount of subtle variation and permutation with the seemingly limited auditory resources presented. Although I seriously doubt that there can be a consensus to words or phrases one can use to describe the tone of this album, I have seen the word "glassy" used several times various places, and it seems to fit well. Yet, while this may be a delicate work, I would hesitate to describe it as fragile, as there is a definite strength and confidence lurking behind the unpretentious veneer of the composition.

Ultimately, as with any good minimalist ambience, this experience is one of near- mystical qualities (even if you do not prescribe to any specific belief system) and perhaps even evoking emotional qualities. The best effects, however, are attained through listening to the album in it's entirety, uninterrupted. Therein lies the only possible fault of the album: the sheer magnitude and scope of it's very existence. Once you begin to listen to it, within ten minutes, if you stop for any reason, you may notice a physical difference upon ceasing, so pervasive are the tones and rhythms that one experiences. As I write this, I am finding halfway through the song, every few minutes it becomes difficult to continue typing. Not only due to the predisposition of my brain to concentrate on the song and the relative late hour in which I type this, but also due to the emotional memories and resonances that arise during listening to this work.

You perhaps might not experience this album in a manner as I have, but at the very least, if you have even the slightest interest in minimalism, ambient music, or even electronic music in general, I highly urge you to consider picking this album up. Now. It truly is the successor to Aphex Twin's ambient work, a timeless statement of mortality, inevitability, and melancholic sadness. Highest recommendation.

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The album can be ordered through most major and independent retailers.

Kevin Drumm (Wikipedia)
Kevin Drumm (Myspace Fan Page)
Hospital Productions
Guillain–Barré syndrome info (Wikipedia)
Christine Chubbuck (Wikipedia)

Swans - The Great Annihilator

2009-05-15T02:51:00.012-05:00

IN

"This album is actually really good in a lot of ways. Too much reverb here and there, but not as intrusive as other Swans releases...I can still listen to most of this sometimes, so that counts for something". -- Michael Gira/Young God Records 2008

Despite being reasonably skilled at various forms of textual description, I continue to find it difficult to express concisely how this album has made an incredible impact on me since I first discovered it. Failing in these attempts, I decided to observe and seek out other individual's reactions to the album. Several phrases, in various permutations, are typical among fans of the album (although I do not know of many detractors). "The energy this album has is incredible" and "This album is currently turning me into someone more like myself" were among the most poignant phrases I encountered, not only because I attach personal significance to them, but also because I strongly believe that others will as well, once they listen to this album.

For that is the great strength of this album (and Swans in general): the 'inherent energy' found within their work, that almost instantly sets them apart from the ocean of disposable groups and albums which have constituted the music scene of the last few decades (and which continues to do so). While Swans initially began as a near impenetrable experimental industrial rock band (which, even then, is still an inadequate compound label) whose auditory brutality and singular aesthetic approached near-obsessive zealousness, they slowly evolved into an astonishing post-rock/industrial phenomenon. "The Great Annihilator" is a glimpse of Swans at the very pinnacle of their creative zenith which they would officially finish with their gargantuan "Soundtracks For The Blind" double album). The sheer diversity of emotions portrayed within the straightforward, yet paradoxically varied and complex compositions is staggering. To put it simply, "The Great Annihilator" is among Swan's best work, in addition to possibly being their greatest album.

The unified sound present throughout the album is largely due to the presence of Gira, Jarboe, Norman Westburg, Algis A. Kizys, and Ted Parsons (who was also in Prong and the short-lived Of Cabbages And Kings, of which Kizys was also involved). "The Burning World" was a controversial collective of Swans and Bill Laswell associates which polarized fans, some of whom loved the album and many others (including music critics) to decry the album as a 'compromised album' consisting of 'world rock' filtered through the Swans aesthetic, resulting in an end-product that weakens the latter through the emphasis of the former (a view which, after having listened to the album, I must regretfully agree with). Meanwhile, "White Light from the Mouth of Infinity" can be viewed as the natural reaction to the experience of "The Burning World" (which Gira has apparently been consistently negative while recalling it): an expansive, wildly diverse, and overwhelmingly confident experience, featuring a few of the previous collaborators of "The Burning World" (namely Nicky Skopelitis and Howie Weinberg) in addition to many new members as well.

At this point in the various phases in which I wrote this review, usually a small voice in the back of my mind would casually suggest that I should describe the album track by track. But while this review probably deserves that sort of treatment, the truth is that doing so would be probably just as emotionally draining as listening to the album multiple times in a row (which I typically do when writing reviews, in order to keep the material somewhat focused). To begin with the obvious, the album is an extended conceptual/musical exploration time, eternity, spirituality, sensuality, the human body (both in terms of physically and as a metaphorical device), addiction, states of perception, and many other themes. Although there is an overarching motif of 'timelessness'/'eternity'/'perpetuity', there is also frequent attention paid to beginnings and endings (again, usually through vivid lyrical imagery rather than specific examples). If this sounds pretentious and/or overloaded in terms of the overall presentation, it is because it is. However, it is important to note that pretentiousness is often only a poor attribute to possess when the end result of endeavors fail to live up to the pretension. It is the price often paid for visionary risk-taking and ambitiousness.

The themes of eternity and time also create an interesting effect in that, while there are certainly emotional, musical, and conceptual high points and low points within the album, it is difficult to concretely state that one song is 'more positive' or 'negative' than another song or the album as a whole. An interesting detail is the titles of the intro and outro of the album, simply titled "In" and "Out". Contained with the 'gates' of these tracks, the remaining songs create a singularity, in which thoughts, ideas, concepts, and themes spiral in among themselves in a slowly narrowing spiral, until the listener passes through 'the great annihilator' and "Out" (wherever that may be).

Musically, the album varies constantly from track to track, although there are a few constants. There is indeed a large amount of reverb throughout the album, yet it is usually utilized in a tasteful manner, and the times when it is somewhat over the top only serve to increase the impact of the song ("Telepathy" being the most obvious example of this). Also, while Gira's acoustic moments on the album are instantly noticeable, they are also rarely given the spotlight by themselves, rather they serve as another layer to the dense aural tapestry of the given song.

In short, even if you are not a huge fan of the earlier Swans output, if you are the least bit interested in post-rock or emotive soundscapes, you need to hear this album at least once before you die. As stated in "Mother/Father":

"There's a place in space where violence and love, collide inside, and solid is wide. And heat is cold and birth is death. And creation and time are made from destruction".

You are unlikely to reach this state of mind outside of this album. Highly recommended.

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Young God Records
Swans Official
Swans Wikipedia
Swans Myspace
"Swans To Reform?" Article On Brainwashed

PS This is the 'semi-final' version of this review. Apologies for taking so long to complete it, and many special thanks to the various individuals who expressed encouragement towards seeing it finally completed. There is a very small chance I might go back at some point and restructure some of the last few paragraphs, but it is basically complete at this point. Also, feel free to comment, but any comments consisting only of "M. Gira [and/or] Jarboe suck" or "M. Gira [and/or] Jarboe are pretentious" will be promptly ignored.

OUT

Beyond Sensory Experience : No Lights In Our Eyes

2008-08-11T21:41:00.007-05:00

"You know what they say about funerals? There is always someone catches his death..."

Perhaps as time continues onward, the urge to experience feelings of fatalism, gloom, and/or melancholy do not seem so inappropriate or misplaced. Whether or not you agree with the alarmist proclamations of environmentalists, radical politicians, ministers, and 'culture advocates', there is no denying the inevitable fact that every living organism has a finite time of existence. This fragile existence is increasingly threatened by the outside environment, not only through the actions of other humans (malevolent or otherwise) but through environmental factors and statistical probability as well. In such troubled times, the need for a musical expression of this collective sadness is not only logical, but essential and even welcomed in some respects. Thus, in the same manner that Ulver's "Shadows Of The Sun" portrayed a somber portrait of loss and longing (while using different techniques, of course), "No Lights In Our Eyes" explores themes of death, dying, and the underlying thoughts which line our subconsciousness, and how we react to such occurances.

"Next year, they think. Next week, or tomorrow. No later. But it is later than they think. They should not make life so complicated for themselves, now that they have brought about their own destruction. They cannot avoid the complexity, for death is their only alternative..."

This release completes the second "BSE trilogy". While "Pursuit Of Pleasure" investigated themes of (naturally) sexual/personal relationships and "The Dull Routine Of Existence" explored themes of boredom, stagnation, despair, fatigue, and seemingly 'mindless' routine (the linear notes even state that the album was 'recorded under the spirit of dullness', but what this exactly means is unclear), "No Lights In Our eyes" takes this examination to its logical conclusion. Although the album tends to maintain a neutral and ambiguous stance regarding what it is attempting to convey to the listener, it can easily be argued that feelings of nostalgia, weltschmerz, mourning, loss, regret, sympathy, melancholy, and sadness are all appropriate attributes to attach to these songs.

"From one dream into the next..."

With the evolution of BSE's conceptual backgrounds comes a pleasant evolution regarding their sound and approach as well. While this is not to say that their previous albums were necessarily bad in any way, there were at times certain elements to their songs which could (arguably) detract and/or lessen the impact they would have otherwise had. Specifically, I am referring to the slightly awkward samples found on "Pursuit Of Pleasure" and the somewhat 'hit-or-miss' rhythms of "The Dull Routine Of Existence". However, it is difficult to conclusively state that these small nagging points are anything more than personal preferences, especially since they display an admirable willingness for BSE to experiment, evolve, and maintain a unique musical aesthetic. Regardless of these concerns, "No Lights In Our Eyes" is much more minimalist in construction then their previous albums, approaching 'dark ambience' at times, yet refusing to be pigeonholed into a specific genre.

"It seems strange that my life should end in such a terrible place..."

After listening to this album, you might agree with me that it is somewhat difficult to give a track by track description. Most of the songs feature BSE's increasingly iconic and identifiable dark ambient backdrops, often augmented by choice samples in English and (possibly) Swedish and sparsely introspective guitar and/or piano segments. My personal favorites are "Funerals" and "Standing Silent": the former being a dark minimalist masterpiece opening the album with the grim quote which opened this review and the later incorporating an awesome multi-segment choir movement in its midsection that seriously has to be heard to be believed. That is not to say that the other tracks are not worthy of mention: the featured track "Long The Nights" is almost frightening in the manner in which its strings hover around you, whereas "The Only Alternative" is darkly speculative in the extended contemplation of "The Only Alternative" (aided by subconscious drones and echoing choirs).

I read somewhere that this album is a near-religious experience in its funereal and somber themes and sounds. While I do not necessarily agree with this assessment, I will readily agree that it is certainly a meditative, contemplative, and intellectual experience, which continues the philosophy initiated and pursued by Beyond Sensory Experience since their first album. While their earlier albums were basically conceptual/theoretical in nature, their latest trilogy deals with the various facets of existence. How strange (or perhaps how fitting) that the exploration of endings should be one of their best works to date. Despite the fact that this album is concerned with death, funerals, and endings, it is (hopefully) not the end of Beyond Sensory Experience, but instead a new beginning.
The future looks very bright for this group. Highly recommended.

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Beyond Sensory Experience Website
Cold Meat Industry
Beyond Sensory Experience Discogs
Beyond Sensory Experience Virb Site
Beyond Sensory Experience Myspace

Bohren & Der Club Of Gore - Black Earth

2007-11-21T16:28:00.000-06:00

Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Prowler

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Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Midnight Black Earth

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With a name that in English roughly translates to 'Drilling And The Club Of Gore', you might expect that the band is probably some sort of metal outfit or perhaps a musical doom unit. You would be half correct in that regard. With the members previously active during the 1980's and early 1990's in German hardcore/grindcore bands Macabre Farmhouse, 7 Inch Boots, and the oddly named Chronical Diarrhoea (in which their last albums would be released by Nuclear Blast and distributed by the seemingly omnipresent SPV), the members have collectively traveled many long miles from their aggressive musical origins, to arrive at a darkly comforting designation of 'doom jazz'.

After their first two full-length LPs "Gore Motel" and "Midnight Radio" (and a five-year gap), guitarist Reiner Henseleit would leave the band and multi-instrumentalist Christoph Clöser would enter, thus the band's tone would thus shift somewhat. Originally, as stated in the band's biography, "...they created an unholy ambient mixture of slow jazz ballads, BLACK SABBATH doom and down tuned AUTOPSY sounds". However, while the music was technically proficient and competent, a common listener complaint was that the music was uninspired overall, with too much emphasis given on meandering counterpoint improvisation, thus falling victim to the frequently heard complaint of 'too much technique, not enough substance'. These points of concern would be addressed and resolved by their next album, the excellent "Sunset Mission". Released in 2000, it is somewhat similar to the album that would follow it (Black Earth), the only major difference being that the album is somewhat more upbeat (though much more lethargic than their contemporaries), and reminiscent of various film soundtracks, especially through the very subtle string touches throughout some of the songs.

"Black Earth", on the other hand, takes the minimalism which the band had previously been approaching, and takes it to it's logical conclusion. Mellotron, piano, electric Rhodes, tenor saxophone, and double bass are the ingredients to this blackened minimalist concoction. Although each song is unique in it's own regard, they all follow a basic formula: a menacing double-bass line and slow motion cymbal brushes/hits are accompanied and complemented by mournful Rhodes melodies, funereal piano movements (check out the beginning of the song "Maximum Black"), ghostly Mellotron sequences, and Christoph Clöser excellent sax playing. Gone are the 'soundtrack-esque' elements of the previous album. Instead, what remains is a classic release of what has been deemed 'horror doom', 'death jazz', and a dozen other labels which fail to do the sound justice. Like many other sounds of this nature, it is best to listen to the entire album in one setting, as each song flows seamlessly to the next, as if it were an extended composition. In addition, the audio mix (apparently a complaint in some of their previous albums) is crystal clear, an impressive feat given the dominating presence of the double bass (I recommend listening to this album with a stereo system that has subwoofers, as the sound takes on an intimidating physical presence in the room).

There are very few negatives to this album. Obviously, it is a huge 'mood album', thus if you are not prepared and/or in the mood for the type of music Bohren & Der Club Of Gore excels in creating, you might find this album too intense and/or depressive to easily digest (much more so than "Sunset Mission"). However, if you are an open-minded doom fan, a dark lounge jazz enthusiast, or simply enjoy the darker side of music and emotions, "Black Earth" is a landmark recording in all of these regards: a masterful work of a swiftly maturing band (as evidenced on their next album, 2005's "Geisterfaust").

PS If you are interested in the history of thrash, here is an interesting (though somewhat cynical) review of the pre-Bohren... band Chronical Diarrhoea's 'best of compilation'.

PPS The first video is of the track "Prowler", from their "Sunset Mission" album. The second is "Midnight Black Earth", from their "Black Earth" album.

PPS Epistrophy takes a curious stance regarding Bohren's recent work, claiming that "the following album "Sunset Mission" was going to secure commercial success for the group, but more than obviously this has not been realized yet. their last album "Black Earth" saw no use in any kind of musical innovation." Perhaps they are because of their subsequent associations with the Wonder and Ipecac labels (in which, especially with the latter, they gained more recognition than they would ever have on Epistrophy)?

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Bohren & Der Club Of Gore
Epistrophy Recording (Old Bohren label)
Bohren Wonder Records Page
Bohren Ipecac Page
Bohren Discogs Page
Bohren Wikipedia Page
Culture Court Review/Interview

Ulver - Shadows Of The Sun

2007-10-17T01:57:00.000-05:00

"Great sorrow from the Norwegian legends Ulver. Music driven to despair, all sad and solitary, written and produced under the threat of extinction. Low-key, dark, and tragic."

This description, found on the album's shrink-wrap sticker, is actually quite accurate. Further suggesting that the band will appeal to "fans of: Guapo, King Crimson, Univers Zero, Coil, Nick Cave, [and] David Sylvian", it quickly becomes apparent (upon listening) that the album really does have elements that resonate with previous works from the aforementioned artists (especially Coil, David Sylvian, and Univers Zero). It is important to note, however, that these comparisons are merely used as points of reference. There are many aspects of Ulver that cannot be readily found in the aforementioned bands (and vice versa), most notably an ethereal quality to the songs which, having been progressively hinted at in their previous albums, has been developed to a much more distinct degree on this album.

The tracks on the album all adhere to a basic structure: Kristoffer G. Rygg's haunting and cryptic vocals (often multi-layered for dramatic effect) provide companionship to Tore Ylwizaker's subtle synth arrangements (which are usually quite minimal, except for several moments of confident assertiveness on a few songs) alongside Jørn H. Sværen's occasional percussive contributions (although on the Wikipedia page for the album he is credited for "miscellaneous" duties). In addition to the regular members, the album also features many beautiful moments provided by the Oslo Session String Quartet (Hans Josef Groh, Dorthe Dreier, André Orvik, and Vegard Johnsen). Finally, the album also has performances by Norwegian jazz musician Mathias Eick (trumpet), guitarists Espen Jørgensen, Christian Fennesz, and noted thereminist Pamelia Kurstin.

During the period between Blood Inside's release and now, while Rygg was involved with several musical projects, most notably Head Control System, Professor Fate, Solefald, and Ihsahn, among others, Tore Ywlizaker took a year off to study classical composers and compositional technique. And it shows, as the album features an extensive amount of piano interludes, ranging from the pleasant to the challenging. But it is not only instrumental concerns that have benefited from this study: Rygg's vocals have also never sounded better. While his delivery is (predictably) restrained in comparison to some of Ulver's earlier works, it also meshes smoothly with the mood set by the music. In case you thought he would refrain completely from showing off his impressive vocal range, he does expand a bit of "Shadows Of The Sun" and "Let The Children Go", but it is in harmony with the instrumentation: using vocals as another, expressive instrument (in figurative and literal senses, such as the multi-track introduction to "All The Love").

The album is notably brief, containing nine tracks and roughly forty minutes of music. Ulver has removed any sense of musical or conceptual indulgence that may have been present in their present work. Instead, the songs are tightly-knit 'movements', more often than not flowing from one song to the next. While some of the songs can comfortably be heard by themselves, it makes for a much more effective listening session to listen to the album straight through. This also re-enforces the fact that the music has a deeply cinematic quality to it. During the songs, I often felt that they could comfortably progress and develop for twice their length (which is an unusual sentiment to feel, given the ridiculously extravagant lengths many 'avant-garde' artists take their compositions), but there is also a feeling that, as brief as the songs are in general, that they are complete in themselves. Complaints of frequent tempo and mood changes, as well as the accusation that the music is used more for textural purposes may be true, but that does not exactly detract from the album. After all, Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut" often faced this and similar criticism (granted, the impending dissolution of the band and traumatic member interactions also dogged the album, something which Ulver has thankfully avoided).

The first three songs, "Eos", "All The Love", and "Like Music", all smoothly segue into one another, and admirably set the mood for the rest of the album. "Eos" features mournful keyboard waves and a delicate theramin solo (quite frankly one of the most beautiful and emotional moments on the album). Soon, the magisterial sound of the Oslo Session String Quartet arrives, increasing the sense of loss and tragedy (which is magnified somewhat when paying attention to the nature of the lyrics, which feature such verses as "The sun is far away / It goes in circles / Someone dies / Someone lives / In pain"). Somewhat suddenly (but not abruptly, as "Eos" is the second longest song on the album), "All The Love" begins with an intriguing 'multi-layer choir' that Ulver is known for. A bit more uptempo than the first track, this song introduces understated percussion, a soaring trumpet solo and piano sequences (the instrumental section roughly two minutes in, while initially unusual-sounding, quickly impresses due to the alternating tempos of the various elements, achieving an impressive sonic effect with somewhat minimalist arrangements). "Like Music" is somewhat more erratic. With the first half similar to the two previous songs (with a small cello solo from H. Groh), it suddenly switches pace and instruments, featuring an almost atonal electric guitar solo (or synth, it' s hard to tell) towards the end amidst strange chiming in the background.

Then the listener arrives at "Vigil". I must admit that this was the song that initially got me excited about this album. Violin, viola, cello, piano, electronic "shimmers" from Christian Fennesz and, of course, awesome lyrics:

For all who used to be

And now are
In the dark

Light a candle
And say their name

One last time
Let them go

We will follow
When time comes

To pray for life
To begin again

A flower
Will open

On the grave

The cumulative effect that these forty-five words have, when coupled with the music, have a much greater depth of meaning, hope, and emotional impact than something of much greater length and detail. Seriously. It also ends as it began, with another impressive contribution from Fennesz.

The next three songs are a bit more direct, in comparison with the previous four. "Shadows Of The Sun", starting with a vaguely Eastern drone (sorry, I can never remember the name of the instrument that is used at the beginning of this song), it soon launches into a pleasant synth/organ/piano midsection, but then just as quickly meander off into unknown territory, into echoing ambience, with seemingly random electronic bleeps and string plucks before dissolving into nothingness. As such, it is somewhat less consistent and harder to 'digest' than the previous songs. "Let The Children Go" is (arguably) the album's most 'upfront' song, featuring a prominent synth foundation (with assertive stabs every so often), jazzy trumpet proclamations, and cavernous percussive barrages (of a surprisingly diverse palette of instruments). The lyrics on this song (highly abstract and philosophical, as usual) seem to address the preciousness and innocence of youth (although it is certainly open to interpretation). One of the shorter songs, it builds gradually in intensity, until, without warning, it drops you off a sonic precipice into the next song. Despite a slightly surprising sonic shift (which was perhaps expected, given that the track "Solitude" is a Black Sabbath cover). While that may come as an odd choice for some, Ulver does a commendable job with the track, featuring a pensive bass line, submerged piano chords, breathy trumpet blares, and a classic tale of love and loss ("Crying and thinking is all that I do" / "Memories I have remind me of you").

If "Shadows Of The Sun" could be considered an exercise in mourning, then "Funebre" would definitely represent the actual funeral. The second half of the track features a lengthy piano solo, in which the 'classical composition' techniques are particularly evident, while the theramin returns to give the song an otherworldly distance to it. Finally, "What Happened?" (an appropriately titled song, as I will explain in a minute), begins with uneasy 'industrialesque' noises humming in the background, while the last piano melody slowly hangs over your head like a death sentence. A bell begins tolling shortly before two minutes. However, the Oslo String Session Quartet quickly moves in and delivers their most moving moment in the album, a fitting end for the album.

The last two minutes of the album are naught but digital silence. What happened?

If you have not already guessed, this is not a 'perfect' album. It is, however, extraordinarily good. It would be foolish to compare it's merits to "Blood Inside", as the albums are so different on both musical and philosophical levels, that direct comparisons are rendered useless. The main point to remember about this album is that it is not easily accessible. Despite it's short running time, it will take many multiple listens before everything 'clicks' (trust me on this one). Also, the songs are highly symphonic and cinematic in nature, meaning (as stated earlier) that there are often abrupt changes in mood, tempo, instrumentation, and delivery. Thus, the album is highly diverse and fluid within it's powerfully homogeneous nature (this is a good thing, as it increases it's potency and emotional impact). On the whole, if you devote enough time to attenuate yourself to the album, you will find a beautifully depressive masterpiece in "Shadows Of The Sun". Melancholy never sounded so good.

"In Memory Of Us All"

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Ulver Official Site
Ulver Myspace
Ulver Wikipedia Page
Jester Records
The End Records

PS For better or for worse, the "Shadows Of The Sun" review is complete. I am not 100% satisfied with it (mostly little textual elements here and there to either clean up, specify, or simply change), but for the most part it is finished as it is. It was one of the hardest (and paradoxically, one of the most enjoyable) reviews I have written yet. Ulver is a hard band to review (anyone who has ever reviewed "Blood Inside" or this album will likely agree with me), because their music tends to connect with people on an emotional level rather than a physical/specific level. You are likely to relate to the reader how you feel rather than how the music was composed and performed (which is a testament to Ulver's increasingly complex and powerful songwriting ability). Furthermore, after listening to it many times, I still do not entirely agree with the "Sigur Ros" comparisons (I know how people could make that conclusion, but most of the people who do so had a mostly negative response to "Shadows Of The Sun").

Johnnytwentythree - JXXIII

2007-09-22T18:39:00.000-05:00

I recently got a copy of "JXXIII", having seen the highly moving and effective music video for "A Minute's Warning", the final track off of the album. Featuring highly distorted washes of shapeless guitar noise, the accompanying video was also suitably chilling: a montage of World War II footage, complete with Stalin and his associates, Japanese soldiers being executed, and soldiers marching through St. Petersburg, interspersed with more modern clips, including latter-day 'heroes' Richard Nixon and the United States' patron 'saint': George W. Bush. Featuring split-second text inserts with dire phrases as "Trapped by by the grave, we will not surrender" and "For forty days and forty nights, I huddled with the rest of the Midwest", it is clear that Johnnytwentythree's message is not one of hope and encouragement. It does, however, function well as a powerful statement against war while still being an excellent song. With such an excellent promotional movie for the album, the rest of it must be just as good, right? In listening to the entire album, however, it turns out that I committed one of the cardinal sins of musical pursuit: never judge a band by it's single (even though "A Minute's Warning" is technically not a single, it functions as such on YouTube and other video outlets).

The band is often favorably compared to older post-rock acts, such as Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Death In Vegas, Sigur Ros, The Beta Band and others. As I really am not familiar with most of the aforementioned bands (with Godspeed You! Black Emperor being the only one in which I have actually heard songs from), I cannot say for certain if the comparisons are entirely accurate, but I would hazard to say that they are. Yet, these frequent comparisons to post-rock's shining stars, in addition to the frequent observation at how closely Johnnytwentythree adheres to the 'post-rock ethic', is not only Johnnytwentythree's greatest strength, but it is also it's greatest weakness as well.

One of the greatest flaws I have observed, not just with Johnnytwentythree, but with many post-rock bands in general, is the assumption that, for songs to be truly 'epic', you have to consistently push them past ten minutes in length. I was even startled to read in various articles that, at least for newer post-rock bands, that if your songs 'only' reach eleven to thirteen minutes, then 'they are not even trying'. What? Generally speaking, it has been my experience whilst listening to post-rock bands, that the longer the songs become, the more stretched the musical ideas become. Either that, or they simply become 'multi-part' epics which could have, realistically, been split apart as separate songs without compromising the overall feel and flow of the album. This is especially true for "JXXIII"'s second song 'Ghost Soldiers'. At twenty minutes even, it is certainly a huge song. True to post-rock form, the first eight minutes are a seemingly endless crescendo and intensification, featuring floating guitar melodies, pleasant violin accompaniment (though certainly not 'orgasmic' violins, as I have seen written elsewhere). The drums roll along at a stately (for back of a better term) 'militant' pace, only increasing in complexity towards the eight minute mark. After eight minutes, the intensity suddenly increases and...the main melodic repetition is repeated again, with only the drum rhythm being substantially different. The last seven minutes of the song introduce a nice piano melody, but by then it's 'too little, too late'. The ending of the song (in my opinion) is actually quite a bit more interesting than the first thirteen minutes, but by that time, my interest (and attention span) has waned considerably, as I lost interest five minutes beforehand, as the need for length and 'epic'-ness has instead only produced general boredom followed by bemused interest.

'Red Bird', their first song, is much better than the song that follows after it, for several reasons. First of all, the length is a 'mere' seven minutes, much more 'average listener friendly' than a twenty minute song. Secondly, it accomplishes what it sets out to do, without being needlessly prolonged or repeated. Though the 'spoken word' addition is somewhat awkward (and Johnnytwentythree themselves have made it clear that they are in no particular rush to add vocals any time soon). The build-up inherent in the song structure itself is also much more memorable, as it will stick in the mind much more readily than the hooks in 'Ghost Soldiers' will. Finally, the end of the song contains one of the strongest violin performances on the album (though throughout the entire album it remains slightly buried in the mix, which is unfortunate, given that it would sound quite a bit better if it were brought into slightly greater sonic definition).

Unfortunately, it would be beating a dead horse to give an in-depth analysis of the album's other two songs ('Into The Depths' and 'Fall Of Swords'), but 'Into The Depths' (thankfully) has a bit more variety underneath it's shell (along with a strange vocal sample regarding 'the Holy Spirit') while 'Fall Of Swords' nearly falls into the same trap as 'Ghost Soldiers', but is saved by a slightly more energetic output (I would imagine that the Sigur Ros comparisons are strongest on this track).

So, is this album decent? Yes. Is it good? For the most part, yes. But is it worthy of the '2007 album of the year' designation, which many have taken upon themselves to label it? Definitely not. It may be a pleasant post-rock excursion, but it is nothing radically different or better than any of the albums their aforementioned peers have already released. The fact that this release is, on the whole, mostly average is somewhat disappointing, given the lack of pretension on this release as compared to other post-rock bands (except for the band's theory that their music "focuses on the creative and destructive potential of humanity" and that "This dichotomy is reflected in much of our work"). Plus, their awesome 'art videos' easily show that they are not afraid to stand out and make brave statements when they want to. In the end, I believe that this album will be a stepping stone for future albums, in which they continue to refine their craft, so that their next album may be truly worthy of all of the praise this one is currently receiving.

Note: The "A Minute's Warning" video is not for young children.

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Johnnytwentythree Official Site
Johnnytwentythree Myspace
Tag Team Records

Institut - Live Like Traitors, Die Like Traitors

2007-09-18T22:05:00.000-05:00

I once read a ridiculous analogy written about the Ministry album "Houses Of The Mole". In the (rather clumsily written) review, after simultaneously praising and criticizing the album's production techniques, the reviewer ends with this parting line: "Houses of the Molé isn't really music, it's hard tack -- sustenance for wartime". Not only is this assertion incorrect, but it was obvious that the writer had never listened to a record in which this description could be even remotely appropriate, such as the Institut album "Live Like Traitors, Die Like Traitors". In a strange twist of irony, the Cold Meat Industry promotional text for the album is also poorly described: "Chew stone, fuel for fistfights, instead of your daily falafel" being one of the odder phrases. All of this simply proves the futile inadequecy of textual descriptions of the ravenous auditory siege that is Institut (although I will at least attempt to convey the experience in a semi-decent manner).

Released in 2003, "Live Like Traitors, Die Like Traitors" sees Lirim Cajani shed any 'musical conventions' the group might have ever possessed (such as the fleeting moments of melody evidenced on the album "Great Day To Get Even") along with easily comprehensible vocals (most notable on the controversial, limited 7" "Unto The Last Man") to arrive at an unadultered power electronics / noise industrial experience. Featuring grinding analog electronics, shouted and wailed vocals (which are distorted beyond recognition with the "watery" vocal FX that is a mainstay on many other power electronics albums), and a handful of 'crowd / speech' samples, this album is uncompromising and brutal, in the same manner that the real world in which it operates in is. The closest sonic analogy I can compare this album to would be to various Brighter Death Now albums, though there are several important distinctions which must be made. While both share a penchant for lo-fi, grinding industrial soundscapes with an emphasis on intensity and varying degrees of repetition (or monotony, depending on how critical you are as a listener), Brighter Death Now often falls into the trap of 'repetition for it's own sake', while the aesthetics presented by the band often feel shallow and contrived (after all, the combination of mental illness and death can only be explored for so long before it becomes old hat). Institut, on the other hand, has only one goal in mind: revolution. With recent world events rapidly flushing security and peace down an already crap-filled toilet, Institut continues to become more moving and relevant, especially since the release of "Unto The Last Man" in 2001 (with a telling number of copies released, it's evident whose side they favor).

The first few songs are relatively straightforward, with "Move To Strike" and "New Armour" being among the more notable tracks. "Once A Man", beginning with a brusquely distorted bass squeal, quickly adds several layers of static pulses, along with vocal samples (which I assume are being spoken in either Swedish or Russian). However, an unnerving set of choir and song samples are shot into the mix, where they float deftly in the dense electronic haze of revolution. This steadily increases for several minutes, as the choirs and distortion (free from the constraints of rhythm) swiftly increase in intensity. "Traitors" has an interesting pulsating "klaxon / warning" synth/FX in the song, while the two part "Move Over Once" / "Struggle For Life" ratchets the intensity factor several notches, as high frequency tones, heavily distorted bass sequences, and the impassioned speech of desperate foreign tongues all wage war within the songs (along with movie samples, possibly from "Scarface", although I am not sure as this is the right movie or not).

In short, an excellent movement of revolutionary power electronics. This is 'true punk electronics', from (as described by a fellow band) 'one of the most uncompromising bands on the scene'. If you are at all interested in the slightest in noise and/or power electronics, you should check these guys out.

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As you can tell, I have not had any time to update recently. Plus, this very review was subject to several re-writes and revisions (plus maybe a few more if I find mistakes). Am slowly shifting to a new layout (nothing too radical). Several more reviews on the way soon (hopefully).

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Vigilante Tapes
Cold Meat Industry
Institut Discogs Page
Unrest Productions (Shift / Institut news/mail order)

Mutual Mortuary

2007-09-03T00:57:00.000-05:00

Continuing with the theme of 'rare Ogre recordings', here is another extremely short-lived side-project: Mutual Mortuary. Consisting of Bill Leeb (no longer going under the name Wilhelm Schroeder) and Kevin Ogilvie (aka Nivek Ogre), it only lasted long enough to contribute a few tracks to the early 80's tape compilation Insane Music For Insane People (Volumes 9 & 10), along with other notable acts, including D'Archangel II (Edward Ka-Spel), Jarboe, The Legendary Pink Dots, Merzbow, Pseudo Code, Frontline Assembly, Illusion Of Safety, Nature And Organisation (!!!), and many others. Legend has it that (according to the Mindphaser website) that "personal issues" caused bad blood between the two, with the end result being that "Bill ran away with all the money from that record" (though whether it refers to the two compilations tracks or an entire record I am not sure, though I have not found any information conclusively stating/proving that a full-length record was ever created). Also, though this is somewhat unrelated, it is interesting to note that, upon hearing of a rumor that a Skinny Puppy re-union was being planed during the end of 1998, cEvin Key promptly responded by stating that: "'I will personally not work with Bill again in my life. I think he is rude and his ego is very big and ugly'". It is also important to note that, even if Leeb were on good terms with the Skinny Puppy members, it is unlikely that they would have included him on a reunion tour automatically, given the fact that his total input was two bass synth lines on the "Bites" album.

The two tracks (credited to "Muteual Mortuary" on the tapes, but later listed as "Mutual Mortuary" on fan bootlegs/compilations), while not being anywhere near as good as anything Skinny Puppy released during the prime of their career, are not terrible either. Both features basic drum beats, highly primitive, but still catchy and charmingly retro, keyboard melodies, and Nivek's vocals brooding above it all. His vocals are one of the more notable points on these songs, as it has little of the virulent menace that his later albums would be known for. Instead, his delivery is, arguably, half murmured, and gives the overall impression of an extremely bitter individual, finally turned to apathy and indifference in the midst of life's suffering (which is an unusual impression to receive from the lyrics, which in the first song includes the phrases "Please remember...I love you". Odd, but then again, it's just my opinion). "Hateless Insanity" features the previously stated phrases and delivery, while "Shadow Gods" is a bit darker by comparison, with Ogre 'singing' closer to his normal "Skinny Puppy voice". On "Shadow Gods", a quivering (for lack of a better descriptor) synth line propels the song along with an upbeat drum line, Nivek's echoed and slightly snarling pondering. Personally, I prefer "Hateless Insanity" better for a few reasons: it's odd name ("Hateless Insanity"?), it's atypical approach (at least for the performers), and it's slightly catchier melody, although both tracks are pretty decent overall.

As stated earlier, both tracks were released on the Insane Music compilation tapes in 1984 and 1985 respectively. These collections were then later re-released in limited CDr format in 2005 (though to my knowledge these specific collections are not available now, though I could be mistaken). Also, the Mindphaser website was offering them as a free download several years ago (this is how I acquired my mp3s of the songs), but, following a recent re-design of the website, many of their previous download offerings are no longer available (including the rare Front Line Assembly tracks "Holy War 1" and "Resuraction"). If you are interested in acquiring the "Insane Music..." compilations, I would recommend that you contact Alain Neffe to determine availability. In the meantime, I will inquire to see if anyone is offering it in download format (will update this post when I find or arrange something).

Much like the "A Chud Convention" release, this is an interesting detour: far from essential, but still a nice curiosity for those who are fans of the respective artists (although it must be admitted that these tracks are far more 'conventional' and 'accessible' than the relatively 'out-there' "Sorrow" album).

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Discogs Page
Mutual Mortuary Mindphaser Page
Mindphaser cEvin Key Quote Page
Insane Music Website
Insane Music Discogs Page
Insane Music MySpace Site

A Chud Convention - Sorrow

2007-08-31T21:20:00.000-05:00

Now this is a rare and interesting oddity if there ever was one. Though Skinny Puppy has plenty of rare releases and side-projects (W.E.L.T., The Petty Tyrants, Raw Dog, the excellent Mutual Mortuary project, and Rx), this album is one of the most spontaneous (which makes sense, considering that it was never meant to be released to the public). The album consists of two twelve-minute recordings Skinny Puppy and Belgian industrial band à;GRUMH (please do not ask me how to pronounce their name) they have created in their spare time during a 1986 European tour. Crediting Nivek Ogre and JΔ3 Seuqcaj (with the latter individual credited for all "coughs) while cEvin Key and SΔ3 Evets responsible for keyboards, sampling, and drum programming, it is a far cry from anything Skinny Puppy had created thus far (as I am not familiar with à;GRUMH's discography, I can only assume and hope that they had/have created better albums).

Both songs are roughly the same: long form meditations of minimalist vocalizations from Ogre and whispers, coughing, and soft chanting from Seuqcaj. Imagine taking every incidental noise that ever came out of Ogre's mouth during the recording of his albums, arrange them in a morose procession line and process them heavily with reverb, and you get a rough idea of what "Sorrow" sounds like. From what I can tell, both tracks use the same basic vocal background. The track "Patient Sorrow" concentrates more on the vocal aspect, while "Silent Sorrow" reduces the number of growls, chants, and whispers, replacing some of them with a dark keyboard drone and muted drum programming.

Despite the extreme novelty of the album, it has a certain charm inherent in it's 'DIY' attitude. The production, while somewhat muddy, is still somewhat higher than what you would normally expect of a 'for fun' recording. In addition, the album is (strangely) quite effective in conveying a ritualistic element to the sound, with the majority of the vocalizations never forming complete words or phrases (with one exception in the second song).

While this was originally released by Play It Again Sam Records (supposedly against the will of the band members involved), the original foreign sub-label folded with the demise of Wax Trax! Thus, it has been out of print for quite some time (although, with a small amount of effort, one can easily locate it on the Internet in various forms).

Definitely not a necessary album, but a pleasant diversion for both the musicians and yourself.

P.S. If anyone can find larger album images, please let me know! :)

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Discogs Page
Additional Info
Circle Records Info
Official à;GRUMH Website
Unofficial à;GRUMH Website
Play It Again Sam Records (Under Construction)

The Swans - Cop/Young God/Greed/Holy Money

2007-08-30T23:57:00.000-05:00

Every time someone blithely mentions the phrase 'I remember the '80's!', I often have the irresistible urge to slap them. Why? Because 90% of what people 'remember' from the decade is either worthless tripe posing as trivia, useless celebrity gossip that now seems placid compared to the almost constant barrage of sex scandals, suicide attempts, and drug overdoses that now inundate Hollywood, and (most importantly) a scant 5% of musical talent is 'remembered', usually on idiotic television shows, such as "I LOVE THE 80'S!", as obscure talking heads desperately attempt to inject some semblance of relevance into their dessicated public image. News Flash: There was more to the 1980's than Foreigner, Whitesnake, Journey, Toto, Heart, Kansas, and Boston (though Boston usually escapes my scorn, because they kicked ass more often than most). For example, there was The Swans.

Formed in 1982, The Swans initially was connected with the nebulous 'no wave' moniker, but that association lasted for only one album, following the departure of their original guitarist. "Cop / Young God / Greed / Holy Money", released in 1999 (shortly after the band had disbanded), is a double LP featuring the albums "Cop", "Greed", "Holy Money", and the infamous "Young God" EP (which Kurt Cobain listed among his favorite albums). The studio recordings present Swans with their most unadulterated musical vision: agonizing auditory assaults, all recorded between 1984-1986. The guitar sounds as if it were being amplified through diesel exhaust pipes, the bass sounds as if it were strung with electrical wires, and the drums are accented with various metal 'found objects'. But one of the most unnerving aspects of The Swans' sound is Michael Gira's vocals. Alternating from a deadpan delivery (in which he issues matter-of-fact statements regarding death, dismemberment, sex, "humiliation as a disease", and other subversive conversation starters) to snarled shouting, he deftly explores the squalid underside of existence in a manner few bands are able to accomplish effectively.

While the "Young God" EP is stylistically similar to the "Cop" LP, there are a number of interesting differences between the two. Almost immediately noticeable is the fact that the songs, though similar to the previous album, are much more 'sinister' sounding than 'overtly brutal' (although it is important to note that there is no loss in intensity; in some respects, this album is a bit more intense). Also obvious is the fact that the band had, by this point, began to experiment with slightly more complex song progressions (such as the outro of "I Crawled"). Michael Gira's voice is also a little bit more diverse on these songs, with reverb and chorus effects appearing in the mix at times (this does, however, cause his voice to be somewhat further back in the mix). His ranting/screeching/shouting is especially pronounced on the song "Raping A Slave". And that loud clanking sound you hear every once in a while? That's a steel table and chain.

The second disc begins with an explosive machine-gun drum attack, followed by Skinny Puppy-esque programmed drums and rattling guitar feedback/noise. Initially, there is no melody to speak of, besides the random horn blare here and there. The first song, "Time Is Money (Bastard)" (from the EP of the same name) is where the band would change from dirge noise rock to pounding industrial themes (complete with a sampled nail gun in the previously stated track). "Another You" reintroduces melody in the guitar/bass lines, but also surprises the listener with a mournful harmonica introduction (which, on paper does not sound like it would work, actually sounds quite appropriate once listening to the song a few times). The next song, "Blackmail" is interesting in that it is the first song on this collection to feature the lovely voice of Jarboe (although it is important to note that this collection, for some strange reason, does not list the track titles in the same manner as the original albums). Backed by a strange (but beautiful) piano melody, the song's lyrics are also strange: the song is called "Blackmail", even though Jarboe encourages the listener to "Close your eyes...And close in on me...Say you'll do anything for me...I'll be your body when your body is broken". "A Screw" is Swan's oft-discussed exploration into 'industrial dance music', featuring jazzy horns, jagged & choppy guitar/synth melodies, and thundering (yet undeniably funky) percussive rhythms. It is extremely catchy and humorous, due in part to Gira's deadpan delivery of his most overtly sexual lyrics to date ("Open your mouth...here's your money!"). Meanwhile, "You Need Me" features a husky-voiced Jarboe (who honestly sounds like she is on the verge of crying) and piano, creating the VERY creepy sensation of an abuse victim desperately apologizing to their abusive husband ("I'm sorry...I won't do it again...I love you more than myself...I am your only friend").

It would be hopelessly cliche to claim that this is the most brutal of The Swan's recordings (given that nearly half of their studio and live recordings are given that status, with each being equally accurate to that claim), but I will admit that it does make for a harrowing two and a half hours. If you feel you are ready for the journey into despair, deprivation, cowardice, and fury, this is a good place to start. It is also an important collection in that one can easily hear musical trademarks which would later appear in other bands (such as Godflesh's "Streetcleaner" album, Cop Shoot Cop, and arguably Khanate as well). Unlike many other early 1980's bands, The Swans lasted until 1997 (ending their career with the almost impossibly diverse "Soundtracks For The Blind"); while Michael Gira and Jarboe continue to have successful solo careers. Nevertheless, this collection remains a landmark release of early 80's aggression and devastation.

PS : The first video is the 'original' version of "A Screw"; the second is the "dub" version. Both are from the Swans VHS "A Slow Long Screw". The second video also features Jarboe, so it's not for the kiddies.

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Swans Official
Michael Gira (Young God Records)
Jarboe (The Living Jarboe)

Ulver - Blood Inside

2007-08-26T23:51:00.000-05:00

This review has been in the works for quite some time. During the time it has been silently fermenting, many changes specific to the world of Ulver and it's members has taken place. When I first began writing this review, it was widely reported that Rygg/Garm had stated in a Head Control System interview back in 2005 that Ulver as a project was "in a state of total dormancy". Given the fact that Garm was working not only in Head Control System, but also doing guest appearances in several upcoming projects (the most notable being the recent Professor Fate album "The Inferno"), I had despaired of them ever releasing another album. Fast forward many weeks, and I recently discover that Ulver had recently announced (back in June) that they would release a new album, entitled "Shadows Of The Sun", on October 1st. Thus, it is even more crucial to re-examine what is arguably Ulver's greatest album to date, to be able to judge how their music has evolved with the coming of their new album. In my opinion, it will be very difficult to top "Blood Inside".

Reactions towards the album were generally favorable, with the most frequently commented aspect of the album being it's broad musical scope and expanded instrumentation, as well as their effective use of progressive influences. However, not all were pleased with the new album, viewing the continued distance from their black metal roots as a hopeless plunge into 'musical hypocrisy'. In particular, the review of "Blood Inside" by a member of Stylus Magazine, was particularly vehement in their criticism, opting to give the album a "D--". A quick glimpse at the article reveals more than it's fair share of name juggling and metaphor tossing. But, upon reading the full article, I was disturbed and appalled at the intense level of pretension inherent in the writing, coupled with inane (and often nonsensical) comparisons and assertions. While I am usually able to shrug off bad writing and/or reviews, the degree to which this review is off-kilter in terms of objectivity and/or fairness is so extreme that I took the time to write to the author in question (something I rarely do). As can be expected though, the links provided by the Stylus website were inaccurate, and by the time I received a reply from the editor of Stylus (who was kind enough to respond to my query in an almost semi-prompt manner) providing an alternate e-mail in which I could contact the individual, I had already lost interest (especially since, upon re-thinking my premises, it would be petty to criticize someone who, in all likelihood, would probably not give a shit).

Another individual who was displeased with "Blood Inside" (although for an entirely different reason) was the noted director Kenneth Anger. Best known for his film Lucifer Rising (including a soundtrack originally created by Jimmy Page, but scrapped after a lengthy feud between the two), he was also noted for creating several other experimental films from the 1940's - 1960's, and several new films since the new millennium began. Ulver thus probably wanted to reference his experimental film expertise in comparison to their music video for the song "It Is Not Sound", which features dark visuals and a surreal presentation. Unfortunately, Anger wasted no time in claiming that the group was "libeling" him through their "illegal use" of his name "in the video". As can be expected by such a frivolous claim, nothing came of the assertion (besides perhaps inadvertent publicity for Ulver), and on the band's website they humorously summarize the situation by stating: "The IT IS NOT SOUND video is of course not directed by Kenneth Anger. The set design is of course not by Albrecht Dürer. Being who we are, we assume that people read between the lines....Please re-read our press release. And between us: Thank you for your autograph."

Now, onto the moment you have been waiting for. Does the music truly live up to the high degree of hype and praise given to it? In my opinion, while it is not completely perfect (for a variety of reasons), is a very good explosion of progressive multi-genre artistry that effectively shatters genres, categorization, and expectations.

"Dressed In Black" begins the album with a series of heavy synth stabs, perhaps in reference to their previous album, the moody Perdition City. Soon, the highly distinctive voice of Garm enters the fray, along with complementary synth and drum lines. It serves as a pleasant introduction, but though it has an interesting musical progression, at seven minutes it feels slightly too long, especially given the fact that it serves as the album opener. Also, another problem quickly manifests itself roughly halfway into the song: the drums are, in general, far too close in the mix, making the cymbal hits seem intrusive and annoying rather than bombastic (this song is where this is most prevalent and noticeable, though minor percussive concerns do recur to a lesser degree in some of the other songs throughout the album). Thankfully, the synthetic squeals and beeps make up for these shortcomings (even though the oppressive drum kit nearly buries them in the mix). Towards the end of the song, the layers slowly fade away to descending series of piano notes and choral undulations to arrive at...

"For The Love Of God". The first thing immediately noticeable is a more balanced mix, especially with regards to the now-subdued drums (provided by Knut Aalefjær, who also played in Moment's Notice and Peccatum). The song, while slower paced, is packed with bass synths, horn sections, bells, and impressive guitar solos by Bosse. The vocals, while not terribly complex, are abstract enough to be interesting and certainly catchy in the long run.

Next is one of the album's standout tracks (though it is honestly hard to play favorites), the enigmatic "Christmas". Beginning with delicate chimes (percussion again provided by Aalefjær) and a melancholic violin, it quickly gains speed and complexity as Garm begins his vocals (which are basically an elaborated version of a poem written by the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa):

A god is born and others die. What is
has neither come nor gone, but error moves.
Today we have exchanged eternities
and what is past no novelty improves.

Blind knowledge is working at useless ground
and crazy faith is living the dream of its liturgy
a new god is a word - or the mere sound
don't seek and don't trust, for all is mystery.

Although it is rather short in terms of progressive rock's usual indulgent song lengths, that also reveals another facet of this album which differentiates it from other recordings of a similar nature, that while the songs may be highly progressive in nature, their running times are relatively modest, without ever feeling like the song was cut short in the middle of it's development. Each track presents it's own unique vision admirably.

"Blinded By Blood" continues the trend of auditory beauty, with a slowly pensive track, featuring organs, vibraphone, synth strings, and Kristoffer Rygg's floating vocals. In this song especially, it is especially evident that vocals, far from being utilized to present a specific message to the listener, are instead used as instrumentation (which becomes especially moving around 3:40 and 5:30), as words are stretched out far beyond their normal boundaries, to coincide with the slowly cresting waves of the music. Towards the end of the song, the music at last fades into a short and singularly creepy music box melody.

Serving as the album's linchpin is the ambiguously-titled "It Is Not Sound". Opening with a strange distorted tone (which, paradoxically, is not musical in nature), Garm swiftly proclaims: "For the record / No one will understand / What it is all about....", which, in some regards, be extended to the highly personal, ambiguous, and esoteric nature of the lyrics contained within the album. The lyrical reference to "33 years" is also a possible reference to the age of Jesus Christ at his death (note that this is my own interpretation, and is by no means an 'official' interpretation, and it is also implied that it also relates to Ulver's history as a group). This song is also, arguably, one of most 'rock-oriented' songs on the album, featuring a 'standard' configuration of vocals, guitar, bass, and drums for most of the song (of course, complete with darkly shimmering clouds of grunge-filled synthetics, strings, and various keyboards). The 'coda' of the song is highly influenced by Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. This fact has given many detractors more than enough ammunition to advance their theories of Ulver's 'pretentiousness'. I must confess that I myself was somewhat put off by the inclusion, at first agreeing that such an inclusion was probably not necessary. However, after setting the record aside and then re listening to it again with a somewhat more charitable stance, it occur ed to me that it is not only appropriate, but also necessary, in a sense, and serves as the song's ending quite well (this is enhanced by the music video, with it's juxtaposition of surreal, hellish and religious iconography).

In case you had assumed that the talent for the album had been "phoned in", the trio easily disprove this notion with the track "The Truth" (coincidentally, one of the few tracks that do not feature additional personnel). The understated guitar lines, while being quite unusual, are also interesting in that regard as well, being different in nature from much of the rest of the album. The programmed drums also seem to fit in quite well, despite the fact that they are quite spastic and up-tempo for most of the song (especially towards the middle of the song, when the rapid-fire snare and bass drum hits coincide with an impressive set of guitar trilling).

"In The Red" begins (and ends) with a distinct jazz-influenced atmosphere (almost as if a recording from Perdition City had it's synthesizers replaced with real instruments and sped up significantly). Once again featuring vibraphone and string backdrops, the song takes an unusual detour after two minutes: split-second jazz and lounge samples! It might be just be me, but hearing them, somehow managing to be almost comically out of place (while somehow succeeding in justifying their importance) usually brings a smile to my face. After all, given the mostly somber and serious nature of the album, it proves that Ulver does have a sense of humour in their work, even if it only shows up every once in a while.

The other standout track is "Your Call". It is easily the best track on the album. Easily. There is no way for me to overstate this. Even the opening of the song blows most weaker-willed acts entire discographies out of the water. Featuring an astounding violin performance by Jeff Gauthier accompanied by an enchanting multi-tracked vocal performance by Maja S. K. Ratkje (who also appeared on the most recent Matmos album), "Your Call" also sees Rygg forgoing the previous song's somewhat willingly obscure and vague lyrics, instead softly crooning a set of highly moving and evocative set of lyrics, further expounding on the blood/hospital theme which had begun to intensify on the "In The Red" track:

Who is here
To hold your hand
In the dark
Where no one
Answers the phone
Speaking of the dead
When the red light rings
Don't be alarmed
Someone is dying
With no one to talk to
Other than those carried
Down the corridors
Open in the end
End in the open
And the sun is
Waiting

A persistent cell phone, present through the second half of the song, is at length left to echo by itself. The sound continues for several seconds, proving itself to be highly unsettling, until at last a hospital dispatchers answers the call, providing the introduction for...

"Operator". Beginning with siren-like horn/synth blaring, and fast-paced drums (provided by Czral, current drummer for Dødheimsgard). It is suitably apocalyptic in nature, with an impassioned set of vocals with suitably desperate lyrics ("Truth is a ... HOSPITAL!!!"), as well as a set of distorted hospital dispatcher samples and a frenetic guitar solo from Mike Keneally.

In short, a truly epic album. While it is only 45 minutes, 45 seconds in length, it is an exhausting listen, because of the emotional intensity and thematically-connected diversity inherent in the album. Basically, it is something you have to devote the time and concentration to listening to it in it's entirety, because the majority of the songs flow into each other, creating a massive forty-five minute musical experience. If you are at all familiar with Ulver, it would be criminal to admit that you did not own this album already. It's that good. If you are new to Ulver, however, then you will find in this album a perfect entry into their discography (followed by Bergtatt and Perdition City). Go get it or listen to it. Now. You'll be glad you did.

PS This was an exhausting review to write: a lot of research involved, fact-checking, link indexing, etc. Plus, due to the unique nature of the sound of the album, some of the music/instrument elements were hard to describe accurately (especially since the band credits itself with the frustrating 'Everything Else' label when it comes to instruments). Any questions, comments, concerns, or observations are, as usual, greatly appreciated, and I will probably go back over the next few days to make small changes (if necessary). I also incorporated a lot of the relevant links into the actual article, as it always helps to cite your sources (plus it makes the read a bit more interesting).

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Ulver
Jester Records
Ulver MySpace
Ulver Wikipedia
Ulver - Blood Inside (Discogs Page)
Ulver - Blood Inside (Encyclopaedia Metallum page w/ lyrics)

The White Mice -- BLasssTPhlEgMEICE

2007-08-15T19:53:00.000-05:00

Perhaps it would be prudent for me to stray away from too many 'mice' references in this review (after all, The White Mice have enough of their own to fill several Third World countries). Thus, instead of claiming that this album is akin to being enveloped by continous streams of rabid rodents possessed by virulent demons, I will instead describe it as being trampled underfoot by a neurotic rhino as a violent urban riot erupts in the background. While this might be slightly too extreme of an example, the important thing to remember is that it is only slightly so. The White Mice are vicious.

As a trio composed of bass guitar, drums, and digital oscillation mechanics, you might be lulled into a false sense of security. But do not be fooled; they are extremely loud and abrasive, easily more extreme than some of their more well-known contemporaries in the hardcore, rock, and noise genres respectively. Easily. With a callous disregard for restraint and convention, the group tears through thirteen tracks in just over forty-two minutes, with the majority of the songs being around two and a half minutes in length (with the notable exception of the "hidden track", which runs seven minutes).

While the songs themselves are wildly different in their arrangements, the basic approach remains relatively constant: a fairly consistent bass melody and drum accompaniment is assisted by varying degrees of vocals and digital oscillation. The synthetic element of the songs range from buried synth loops and beeps to the improvised electronic squeals that usually feature prominently in their live show. The amount of oscillation present within each track varies wildly, with it being very noticeable in the tracks "Sewercide", "Violence of the Lamb", and "Diabeasstitty" (all album standouts), to being somewhat more subtle (if such a term is even appropriate for this release) on "Wrawblow" and "Hole (Sweet) Hole". That is not to say that any of the tracks are signifigantly better than the other, for they all involve furious bass melodies with an unending stream of spastic (and highly accomplished) drum assaults. Meanwhile, the vocalist growls and screams with the impassioned determination of a lithium-deprived Rampton out-patient suffering from throat cancer and schitzophrenia, being almost completely incomprehensible for the majority of the record (when it is clear that he even forming words instead of cathartically screaming his lungs out in a bewildering haze of post-production reverb). Furthermore, several of the songs are punctuated by tongue-in-cheek movie/TV samples ("...and don't forget the taste of human flesh", "We take applause like a needle!"), enhancing the mood created as well as increasing the humor inherent in the songs.

While I would reccomend the album as a whole, a few tracks naturally stand out. The tracks "Catasstasteatrophy" and "Sewercide", in addition to be impressive musically, feature absolutely insane and over-the-top vocal performances, sounding as if there were fifty vocalists in the studio instead of one. "Violence of the Lamb", as it's name would imply, is especially violent in comparison to some of the other songs on the album (without implying that any of the songs are in any sense tame), boasting the most frenetic drum, guitar, and oscillation work on the album. (the break roughly three and a half minutes in is especially awesome). Finally, the massive end track ends the album on a slower note, almost approaching doom music techniques (without falling for the pitfalls of that genre or radically changing the sound).

In short, words alone are inadequete in describing how much this band kicks ass over many other bands. Boasting a high-octane and often-discussed live show (which 'true fans' will claim is the only way to 'properly experience' The White Mice) and having recently issued this release on Load Records (noted as having "the world's most challenging roster", which is not that pompous of a claim, given the nature of many of their previous releases, including albums by Khanate, Prurient, and others), this group looks to have an incredible future ahead of them. If you are in the very least bit interested in noise and hardcore rock/metal, then it would be an absolute shame if you did not check these guys out. Support them by buying their album; you won't be dissapointed.

NOTE: THIS REPLACES THE EARLIER "PREVIEW" REVIEW WRITTEN SEVERAL MONTHS EARLIER. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE.

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White Mice
White Mice "MiceSpace"
Load Records

Aidan Baker - Within The Final Circle

2007-08-15T14:00:00.000-05:00

One of the many releases from the incredibly prolific Aidan Baker, "Within The Final Circle" is one of several net releases from Baker that explores the periphery of ambience, dark ambience, electronica, and sound collage. In addition to the electronic soundscapes, this release also contains guitar, flute, and violin accompaniments, also all played by Baker. While the price of the album may not give clues as to it's quality (as it is a free net-release from the experimental electronica label Mirakelmusik), "Within The Final Circle" is a rewarding and contemplative experience to listen to.

"Shadow of Death / Dream On" is, appropriately, a long-form ambient excursion. Featuring several different electronic drones slowly pulsating with and against each other, it also has a prominent rhythmic pulse as well, which can be best described as a synthetic helicopter blade rotating in slow motion. Thus, this gives the interesting effect of the music being performed underwater: effortlessly floating yet progressing very slowly. A robotic voice appears occasionally, exhorting the listener to "...dream on...", though such prompting is probably not necessary (especially if you are actually close to sleep when you listen to the song).

"Godwound" begins with several distorted vocal samples, followed by a gentle and serene guitar melody. A short time later, violin and an additional guitar line slowly make there way into the procession. The vocal samples themselves are somewhat unsettling, as a middle-age woman calmly recounts an experience in which she physically "felt Christ's scars". Halfway into the song, an enchanting flute drone makes itself apparent (being closer to the front of the mix on this song than the preceding song) as the drones become increasingly dense and strange metallic hums creep up towards the end of the song (with an unexpected high-pitch solo shortly before the twelfth minute). Much like "Shadow of death...", this track is a beautiful collection of soundscapes (although the emphasis here on this song is more in the melody, with the first track being more atmospheric in nature). Otherwordly and yet somehow still suggestive of foreign lands and places, the intricate orchestration and instrumentation of this track overcomes the slightly lo-fi nature of the vocal samples. A strange mechanical whirring eventually makes way into...

"There is no out of here...". In one of the most powerful moments in this album, the following conversation can be heard:

Evil Doctor: Where do you want to go?
Jacob Singer: Home.
Evil Doctor: Home? This is your home. You're dead.
Jacob Singer: Dead? No. I just hurt my back, I'm not dead.
Evil Doctor: What are you, then?
Jacob Singer: I'm alive.
Evil Doctor: Then what are you doing here?
Jacob Singer: I don't know.
[crying]
Jacob Singer: Something's happening.
Evil Doctor: What IS happening?
Jacob Singer: Get me out of here.
Evil Doctor: There is no out of here. You've been killed, don't you remember?

(EDIT : Taken from the quotes section of IMDB page).

As the above-listed conversation introduces the final song, a darkened stereo drone phases in and out slowly. As the samples begin to pile up on top of each other in a claustrophobic manner (mimicking the desperation and despair of the second speaker), menacing electrical buzzes surge forth, like an over driven power generator or a malfunctioning neon fixture. This stands in sharp contrast with the previous track's somewhat gentle benevolence; "There is no out of here..." is grim, rumbling dark ambience awash with strange metallic clinking and clanking, industrial stereo waves, and exponentially multiplying samples. Halfway into the song, a single synth-choir drone struggles to make itself heard, as it is almost buried in the oppressive collection of preexisting sounds. Eventually, the various layers slowly fade away, as if the very electricity running them suddenly ran dry, providing an excellent ending.

Most of Aidan Baker's releases are noteworthy in one way or another, but this release is special even among his discography, and not only for the simple fact that it is free. Technically, one could say that this is a 'minimalistic' recording, but Baker uses the limited palette of sounds on this album to maximum effect. Beautiful, alluring, and foreboding, "Within the final circle" is an exemplary dark ambient/experimental album (especially if you ignore the somewhat simplistic cover art).

PS As noted by "adn", samples are from Jacob's Ladder and the documentary "Gambling, God, and LSD". Thanks again. :)

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Aidan Baker
Aidan Baker Free Net-Releases

Stephen O'Malley & z'ev - Magisterial

2007-08-15T13:43:00.000-05:00

My thoughts regarding this album are (as they have been for many of O'Malley's recent releases) somewhat conflicted. Though it is far from a resounding failure (as I believe neither artist capable of creating such a thing), it is also (arguably) not as polished or accomplished as his recent releases and collaborations. Initially, I was interested in discovering more information about this album when I realized that, unlike the previous Sunn O)))/Boris "Altar" album, it was receiving very little promotion outside of O'Malley's website (whereas the former album has gone a long way in powering the rocket-fueled ascent of promotion that Southern Lord now rides, for better or for worse).

Although I had assumed that the material from both parties would be new, it turns out that z'ev's percussive contributions to the album were recorded between 1982 and 1990. While the age of the recordings does not make itself immediately apparent, due to the nature of the production, it is somewhat disappointing when you ponder how awesome it would have been to have z'ev pair a recent performance with Stephen O'Malley's guitar work (O'Malley's eight minute guitar solo, which is radically altered and deconstructed during the album, was recorded December 2005). The file names themselves are also quite strange, and while I might be mistaken, I believe that the titles represent the song length, the section of the guitar solo the song manipulates, and the status of the submix z'ev altered before they were again mixed and mastered by Randall Dunn and Mell Dettmer (respectively).

"Magisterial" is a very experimental and atmospheric album, more in line with the recent releases by KTL than anything Sunn O))) has created. The tracks themselves are more or less homogeneous in nature, although there is a bit of variety within each track. Consisting of echoing industrial-esque drones, hazy washes of synths or feedback, and the underlying rumble of O'Malley's guitar, the phrase that comes to mind when describing this album is "lost at sea". While it may seem a strange phrase to use, it also seems the most appropriate as well. The songs do not have any sort of underlying structure to them, instead, they seem to slowly evolve as electronic tones rise and fall, like the uneasy waves of a turbulent sea. Meanwhile, z'ev virtually attacks his percussive set with seeming abandon, sometimes indulging the listener with a semi-rhythm, only to brutally cut it short a few moments later. This furthers the feeling of being assaulted by the storm.

This is far from a bad album, but the somewhat lo-fi and improvisational nature of the recordings limits it's accessibility somewhat (this might have been intentional). For those who crave comparisons, I would venture the opinion that "Magisterial" is, sonically, somewhat similar in nature to the early experimental-percussion trio Nachtluft (although there are many differences from that band as well). If you are a fan of experimental percussive industrial and do not mind devoting some time to acclimating yourself to the record, then you will find a gem in "Magisterial".

PS I included a recent performance by z'ev in the review to give readers a 'general' idea of what z'ev's percussive performance sounds like (although, in the album, as stated earlier, it is quite a bit more improvisational in nature).

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Southern Lord
Ideologic (O'Malley)
rhythmajik (z'ev -- Under Construction)
z'ev Wikipedia
z'ev Myspace

The Tuss - Rushup Edge

2007-08-05T19:33:00.000-05:00

Featuring a rather inconspicuous design, with ultra-minimal packaging (as is standard for certain Rephlex artists), The Tuss is a recently created project helmed by Brian Tregaskin, along with certain collaborators at points, including his wife Karen. This is the official version. Unofficially, there are many indications that, rather than being an incredible debut from a previously unknown underground artist (found, of all places, through a "talent search" of sorts on MySpace), it is instead created entirely (or at least heavily influenced) by the highly idiosyncratic and iconoclastic Rephlex label head Richard D. James.

Although the official MySpace page for Brian Tregaskin (even though more than one apparently exists) in no uncertain terms states that he is not Richard D. James, several facts would indicate otherwise. First, the MySpace page indicates that "The Tuss" members consist of not only Brian and Karen Tregaskin, but also Mike Podolak (http://www.michaelpodolak.com/), Reid William Dunn, Robbie Martin, and Richard D. James. So, at the very least it is heavily influenced by R.D.J., if not entirely created by him (which is entirely possible, given that similar ambiguous attributions were given in the Rephlex releases of Universal Indicator in the mid-90's). Also, many note the fact that, on their previous EP "Confederation Trough EP", there is a song named "GX1 Solo", in which it is argued that a Yamaha GX1 synthesizer is used. The extreme rarity and cost of the now obsolete synthesizer (roughly seven to ten were made, each costing around $60,000 each), along with the fact that it is known that R.D.J. is in possession of one argues in favor of R.D.J. heavily influencing or entirely creating the music (Brian Tregaskin, however, counters that people are instead making too much out of song titles, and that there is no way he could afford a GX1). There is also the well-documented fact that one of the Rushup Edge tracks was introduced at an Aphex Twin gig in Italy, along with the usual Aphex Twin visual presentation iconography. Finally, there are conjectures made that, since Chrysalis Music is publishing, it is argued that, since Chrysalis has traditionally published Aphex Twin material, that "The Tuss" must therefore be a new pseudonym for R.D.J.

In the end, it does not really matter whether "The Tuss" is Richard D. James in disguise, a collective heavily influenced by the Aphex Twin, or Brian and Karen Tregaskin with numerous collaborators. Why? Because this is awesome techno "braindance", simultaneously nostalgic and modernistic, with a polished sheen in it's production. The music is perhaps the greatest indicator that this is the work of Mr. James, as anyone even vaguely familiar with Aphex Twin's past material will be able to spot numerous similarities. Although it is not as polished as the "Richard D. James" album or as scattershot as "Druqks", it instead sounds to me like an interesting combination of these works along with certain elements and structures found in the "I Care Because You Do" album (which is what I would consider to be the closest comparison to it, especially since I have not yet listened to the Analord series AFX released recently, which is apparently what Warp Records compared The Tuss to).

"Synthacon 9" is an excellent opener, featuring characteristic acid bass, an upbeat drum/cymbal beat, along with soaring atmospherics, vocoded vocals, and higher pitch synths (which remind me of the "Mt. Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount" song, for some reason). One of the reasons why this song is so good is the same reason why many of Aphex Twin's songs are so memorable: an almost impossible attention to melodic progression throughout the song. Although themes are frequently repeated, they are very rarely boring or arbitrary-sounding, as very subtle permutations abound throughout the melody, auxiliary instrumentation, and percussive lines. "Last Rushup 10" is somewhat more intricate, with a greater focus on jaunty drum beats and syncopated bass rhythms. "Shiz Ko E" veers off into "funkier" territory, with house-synth stabs and continual hand-claps (supposedly created by Karen Tregaskin). It is also reminiscent to Windowlicker in many regards. Although enjoyable, it is unfortunately one of the shortest songs on the album, and I could easily have seen another one or two minutes of progression being appropriate and in order for the song, especially given the 'cut off' feeling towards the end of the song. "Rushup i Bank 12", known for being introduced in the Aphex Twin performance in Torino, Italy in 2005, is also another standout. While having rhythms similar to "Last Rushup 10", it is a bit more expansive than the other track, with a fluid (and slightly detuned) piano melody interwoven throughout the middle of the song. An unofficial music video exists of this track, featuring what appears to be edited films from the eighties starring several kids skating around a small city. Towards the end of the song, when the strange outro begins, the video takes a decidedly darker tone, as the protagonist pulls a gun on an unfortunate stranger after he and his friends sabotage a fire hydrant. "Death Fuck" (which is apparently the official name, even though Brian Tregaskin complained at one point that he would never release a song with "such a twat title") is more reminiscent of "Druqks" highly complex programming (which is both it's strength and weakness, to some). If you are pining for vintage "Aphex", you might be put off by this track. Personally, since I am also a fan of the "Druqks" album, it gives the album needed variation in it's short duration. Finally, the ending track "Goodbye Rute" ends the album on a calmer note (ala "I Care Because You Do" or some of the "Selected Ambient Works Volume II" songs with the original beats). A heavy bass line and minimal cymbal beats are paired with mournful synth lines, quietly ending an otherwise energetic album.

In short, this is simply one of the best techno/IDM albums I have heard this year. Regardless of whether you are not you are an Aphex Twin (or believe that he did/did not author this material), it is a well-rounded release that will appeal to many different people for different reasons. Along with the official press releases is the hint of more material from this group to come. Whoever is ultimately creating "The Tuss", I congratulate them and eagerly await future offerings.

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Rephlex Records
Chrysalis Music
Record Label Records
The Tuss MySpace Page
Brian Tregaskin MySpace Page (Current)
Discogs Page
Wikipedia Page
The Tuss Press Release
The Guardian Article On The Tuss

Shankar - Who's To Know?

2007-07-30T18:38:00.001-05:00

At long last, the often delayed "Shankar" review:

I am not a huge fan of "world" music. To me, even the name is a misnomer, as if the listener and their respective cumulative cultural experiences were one set of phenomenon and the entire world is placed on the other side. Furthermore, much of "world music" is extremely bland, with many playing up preconceived expectations so prominently that no motivation beyond the need to make a quick profit (hence why they are thankfully imprisoned in dollar stores and seldom perused bargain bins). What's worse: often the so-called world music will not even be truly representative of the culture attempting to be presented, thus throwing any possible sincerity out the window.

None of this applies to the "Who's To Know?" album by Lakshminarayana Shankar (not to be confused by the similar Ravi Shankar). This is for several reasons. One being that, while Shankar is described as an "interpreter" of Southern India music, he and his collaborators play the album with a commendable zeal and passion. Composed mainly on a "ten string, stereophonic double-violin" (supposedly an instrument he invented and designed himself), the instrument accounts for about 85% of the string sounds, as it is noted as having a highly expansive range of sound that is able to be produced. Shankar is accompanied by two additional musicians, credited as playing 'regular' violin, tabla percussion at points, and consistent tamboura drones.

Both tracks are very long tracks, running twenty-eight and twenty-three minutes respectively (I hesitate to call them "ragas", as he uses a different tuning from traditional Indian music and they are not specifically referred to as such as far as I can tell). Yet this does not detract from how awesome this release is. You would think that the extreme length of the songs would repetitive by their nature, but this fortunately not the case. Although there are familiar themes that re-appear at points throughout the song, there are also many long-form solos from the various instruments themselves, in a bewildering variety of styles. The music, while being active, also is very powerful in lulling the listener into a state of peace and tranquility.

In short, an intense and powerful performance by incredibly adept and skilled musicians. Highest recommendation.

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Wikipedia page
1978 Interview @ Pages Of Fire

An apology to Death In June, Tony Wakeford, and "Alwc"

2007-07-27T01:42:00.000-05:00

This post has been heavily edited, for a variety of reasons.

It turns out that my acceptance of some of the research sources I utilized was perhaps premature. If that is the case, I will apologize. I was mistaken on a few levels.

Initially, I will concede that the possibility that Stewart Home accepted as truth various facts and historical sequences that were not exactly true, or by people claiming to be the individual's in question. After giving this matter some thought, it would then make sense for Home to sensationalize the events and perspectives as much as possible, even if they lose their objectivity towards the truth. Also, the Wikipedia Talk:Stewart Home discussion page also was quite eye-opening, especially when compares it to what he claims on his own webpage, mainly regarding the level of contact he has made with Tony Wakeford, Douglas Pearce, etc.

With regards towards Home's opinions on "Waldteufel", while I am not familiar with them, I agree with "Alwc" that Home made serious mistakes and lapses in judgment when issuing blame. Furthermore, his idea of definitions are very broad indeed, giving him the maximum amount of leverage for accusations against bands/individuals he chooses to dislike.

I was especially surprised at the Uncarved blog post regarding the "Above The Ruins" where Home caustically and viciously claimed that poster "Anathema23" was either a Nazi or a sympathizer (again, based on his broad definition). I applaud her well-written and concise response to Home's rambling accusations.

In short, I will retract any opinions that could have been applied to Sol Invictus. It seems that the absolute truth in this instance is rather nebulous and grey from both sides. Also, to be completely fair, when I have the chance I will also check out and/or review one of Sol Invictus' albums. I think I owe them that much, at least.

When considering Death In June, I also felt the need to re-assess and re-define some of my opinions regarding that band. Perhaps the most important difference is that I have a distaste for the history of the band, mainly their persistent use of fascist imagery, and the questionable nature of some of their songs (such as the lyrical content of "Till The Living Flesh Is Burned" and the musical content of "Brown Book"). I will concede, however, that the lyrical content of most of their music is abstract enough to not be offensive to the average listener and that their musicianship is not as bad as I had claimed.

I still have an intense dislike for Boyd Rice. Sorry.

Also, I am still a huge fan of David Tibet and Current 93.

In conclusion, I offer an apology for what I had written previously. While researched to a certain degree, it obviously was not researched enough. "Alwc" opened my eyes to the true nature of where I was receiving my raw materials for my opinions, and I thank them for that. As stated above, my opinions regarding the above-stated bands have changed completely, and while I am not to the point where I can enthusiastically recommends them, I certainly will not persuade anyone NOT to check them out.

In regards to the links, I will keep the links I have previously provided up, along with the important websites that "Alwc" has provided. There, you can come to your own conclusion regarding the matter.

Hopefully this will go a small way in putting things to right.

PS The original article I wrote (though for obvious reasons I do not like to look at it at the moment) has been saved if anyone absolutely has to read it.

PPS Now that I hopefully have achieved closure on the verbal/ideological hole I inadvertently dug myself into, new reviews should be forthcoming very soon (including, if all goes well, the Leagas review). Stay tuned! :)

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WE MEAN IT MAN: PUNK ROCK AND ANTI-RACISM (S.H. article on DIJ, R.A.R., etc)
TONY WAKEFORD, SOL INVICTUS & ABOVE THE RUIINS (article on Tony Wakeford, etc)
Stewart Home Society
Death In June
Brainwashed Death In June Page
Wikipedia Death In June page

Tony Wakeford (Tursa)
Wikipedia Sol Invictus (Edited On Multiple Occasions)
6 comm (Patrick Legas)
Wikipedia Patrick Leagas
MySpace 6 Comm page
Uncarved Org Blog
Uncarved Org : Satan Is Dead (mentions Rice, reasons why Satanism fails, etc)
Stewart Home Wikipedia Talk Page (alternate perspective)
Uncarved.org blog post (Anathema23 vs. Stewart Home)

The Legendary Pink Dots - Under Triple Moons

2007-07-23T18:49:00.000-05:00

Collecting many songs from four of their earliest cassette-only limited releases ("Premonition", "Chemical Playschool 1/2", "Kleine Krieg", and "Traumstadt 2"), this collection is an entertaining collection of early synth-pop, presented through the highly individualized and charismatic musical vision of Edward Ka-Spel, the Silverman, and their many companions. I was first introduced to this group by the now-defunct music service Audiogalaxy, which mainly served as a gigantic indie music bazaar promoting underground and/or sub-genre phenomena. Having earlier bought their album "The Whispering Wall" years earlier, I recently discovered upon this 1997 release.

One of the most immediate realities one experiences when first listens to this album is that, while a disclaimer is inserted into the linear notes "that all pieces were recorded on primitive equipment...Do not expect digital bliss, sensurround...", it must be noted that, while indeed sounding a bit dated when compared with later work by themselves and others, these recordings have fared the ravages of time much better than other albums and bands recording during this time (this is partially due to the excellent re-mastering by ROIR Records). Furthermore, while the band seems to apologize for the 'primitive' nature of their equipment, it in no way detracts from the well-crafted structure of the songs, as well as the minute attention given towards the production.

Roughly half of the album consists of the majority of the "Premonition" release, thus most of the songs segue into each other seamlessly. Most of the songs consist of multiple keyboard rhythms, along with various treated samples swimming around Edward Ka-Spel's monotone (yet strangely musical) vocals (on occasion accompanied by heavily vocoded vocals that are usually unintelligible). Drum beats, when they are even present on the song, perform their function perfectly without being overly noticeable or noteworthy. "Splash" is a mellow account of a night of public drunkenness, while the oddly named "Dying For The Emperor" is an upbeat song featuring spacey synth lines (and the classic chorus "We've gotta destroy the aliens, gotta destroy the aliens"). "Oceans Of Emotion" has more in the way of an actual song progression (as opposed to layered keyboard rhythms), with a prominent and slightly groovy bass and drum backbone. Halfway through the album is the album standout "Premonition 2". Beginning with lethargic keyboard chords, it soon shifts to an awesome acoustic guitar passage amidst a backdrop of compelling news samples, dating from the conflict in Northern Ireland, in which the Protestant leader (possibly of the IRA) addresses an unknown audience of their conviction in their beliefs. Truly inspirational. Meanwhile, "Frosty" is a synth-psych freak-out about a paranoid kid who hides himself from the world in...the refrigerator. "A Lust For Powder [Version Apocalypse]" hides within it's already strange sounding interior a veritable mishmash of cut-up samples, bargain store keyboard stabs, and cheap drums placed at random. The song will sometimes dangle a hint of organization for a few precious seconds, only to dash your hopes to the ground as different and new elements arise out of the seemingly endless stream of them (the many different choirs procured is quite impressive).

In short, Edward Ka-Spel has enough stories in this one collection alone to fill several books. He and his group succeeded in portraying a palatable sense of paranoia fueled by psychedelic experiences, illustrated aurally by well-constructed synth-pop. While the age of the recordings is still very apparent, it has retained it's integrity throughout the years (something that cannot be said for the majority of 80's synth-pop musicians...*cough, Gary Numan, cough*). For those new to The Legendary Pink Dots, and their extremely unique and diverse brand of music, I would recommend that you first purchase one of their more recent albums (such as the very good "The Whispering Wall", which I bought way back in 2004) or the "best of" collection "Canta Mientras Puedas". If you are familiar with the Dots, though, then this should serve as an excellent window into their earliest years of existence. Their signature trademarks, which would be radically explored and expanded upon with future releases, can be seen in very powerful form in their songs created by "primitive equipment".

The linear notes end on a positive note, stating that "...brain damage is guaranteed". Thankfully, it is the good kind (if such a thing exists).

"Sing While You May"

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LPD Online
Discogs Page
ROIR Records
Soleilmoon Records
Beta-Lactam Ring Records
Unofficial "Flesh Parade" video (not for children!)

Employer, Employee - Discography

2007-07-14T02:33:00.000-05:00

"He's stabbed a hole the size of Tennessee in the hull, and he exhibits no concern!". These and other intriguing lyrics permeate the two "Employer, Employee" releases. A quick glance at the lyrical contents of these songs (gleaned by scouring various lyrics websites), you will quickly discover that the music does indeed possess a surprising poetic intensity, given the relative complexity of the vocals being screamed (which is somewhat ironic given that is hard to understand exactly what he is saying the first time around). Take another step back, and you will startle yourself that you have uncovered a hardcore band that, rather than presenting caustic social commentary or pure incomprehensibility, instead attacks you with a surprising amount of depth and complexity in it's vitriolic attack. Intrigued, you investigate further...

Released early in the existence of Robodog Records (now more commonly known as Robotic Empire) in a limited edition of 1000 copies, their debut CD "Sic [Sic]" finds "Employer, Employee" playing a rather energetic form of hardcore, featuring screeching vocals (in keeping with the "metalcore" identification) with a relentless guitar and bass assault, kept in check by kinetic drumming. Most of the songs remain within 1:30 to 3:00 minutes, which is a good thing because they are still quite exhausting, even considering their short duration. Within the eighteen minutes of the album, vocalist Craig spastically shifts vocal styling, from intense screaming/screeching (which I assume is "metalcore" or "screamo" in nature....sheesh) to mid-range low growling and spoken word breaks. The music makes frequent structural changes, although they, upon observing the entire song, are a logical extension of the frequent evolution which occurs throughout a single song. I have read reviews that these changes are "less pretentious" than those structured by other bands, such as Dillinger Escape Plan, and while I do not quite understand what that is supposed to mean, I can at least understand how someone could reach that conclusion (read explanation above).

Meanwhile, the "Mother Spain And The Seafaring Myth" 7", a devastatingly short nine minutes in length, almost outdoes their 'full-length' album. Despite the brevity of the album, the songs are much more clear on this recording. In particular, the drumming on "One Count Of Mutiny" is particularly impressive (as well as the off-the-wall shouting) while "Richard, My Love" breaks things up with a fast-forwarded orchestral segment. This record was also released in extremely limited quantities, this time on Relapse Records limited series.

As is typical for local area hardcore bands, there is virtually no information regarding "Employer, Employee" anywhere. At best, you will be lucky if you can find reviews of their album. However, various members from Employer, Employee still perform in the Austin, Texas area as Warwolf. This band is much like Employer, Employee, only it is much harder, faster, and thoughtful (if you can imagine it). Also, they are still performing occasionally in Austin, so if you are ever around the area, I encourage you to go check them out.

"Transactions receipts...make your life complete..."

PS Any help to find more online info on these guys or Warwolf (lyrics/bios mainly) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! :)

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[Sic] Sic Album Review
Warwolf Myspace
Level-Plane Records

Jesu - Heart Ache

2007-07-13T17:51:00.001-05:00

The long-awaited Jesu review; this went through at least eight revisions. I am still not 100% satisfied, but it is a lot better than when it started. May go back and tweak a few things later, but for now, enjoy the review:

When it comes to devastating and brutally heavy music that is also simultaneously highly emotional at the same time, Jesu is quite naturally found this list, somewhere close to the top. "Heart Ache" is the debut album from Justin Broadrick's band Jesu, after the traumatic dissolution of his seminal industrial-metal band Godflesh. While this album firmly establishes many of the trademark elements which would be found on future releases, albeit in many different forms, there are several unique aspects to this album that cause it to stand out on it's own. Having dissolved Godflesh in 2002 on the eve of a major tour, Jesu was the expression in which Broadrick shed the self-imposed limitation previously set when creating records as Godflesh. Thus, the entire album was created, arranged, and produced by him, arguably the purest expression Jesu has yet to offer.

Consisting of two LONG (19:42 and 20:13 respectively) tracks, entitled "Heart Ache" and "Ruined", both feature the same basic principles: huge low-end guitar riffs (which do not quite reach the 'drone' territory they would explore on their self-titled sophomore album), mechanically precise percussion (via drum programming) and a host of auxiliary instrumentation.

"Heart Ache" is the more upbeat (in terms of tempo, not in mood) of the two songs, as the crisp guitar chords are accented with various mellotron layers (of varying effectiveness, unfortunately), abstract "guitar noise" lead lines, and (thankfully) a clear bass guitar backbone. The most memorable section of the song (around nine minutes in) arrives when the song shifts into slowly ascending guitar notes over an insistent drum beat, as if it is the aural representation of time swiftly drifting out of your hands in the midst of your misery. It is a powerful segment, and it can easily lead to imagining a music video, populated by your own frustration and melancholy. Meanwhile, Broadrick's soaring voice floats over the mix, resulting in one of his strongest vocal performances yet (which is surprising, in my opinion, because I had alwasy viewed that Broadrick's vocals, at times, were one of the weaker elements of Godflesh). There is not much variation in the song overall, but that is what enhances it; the gradual overlapping of the various segments towards the end is really quite effective.

"Ruined" takes a different approach, with a slowly developing piano melody. Towards the end of the song, a clean electric guitar melody shyly joins in as the piano melody increases in complexity. This brief tranquility is brusquely sandblasted away with even rougher guitar rhythms than the first song. The vocals are especially harsh towards eleven minutes into the end, as Broadrick finally distorts his vocals somewhat to screamed repetitions of the phrase "Rise, Rock!" (I have yet to hear a suitable explanation for what exactly he means by this, but it is clearly open to multiple interpretations). The ending of the song is quite impressive, as strings and several clean guitar layers/lead lines are brought in, leading up to an impressive acoustic guitar solo backed by (what sounds like) treated piano and mellotron strings.

Very impressive, even for Jesu standards. Though it is difficult to assert whether it is "better" than other Jesu releases (they are all good, in my opinion), this certainly stands out on it's own. From here, Broadrick would unite with several former Godflesh members to record their landmark self-titled album.
In a word: awesome.

PS - It's too bad that The Eye interviews had to use those particular live videos, for they illustrate vividly how much Broadrick's live vocals pale in comparison to his studio recordings.
Also, found a good YouTube vid of Black Boned Angel playing live (thanks Blizzard Over The Swamp) and have included it in my Black Boned Angel review.

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Jesu Official Site
Dry Run Records ("Heart Ache")
Hydra Head Records ("Silver" & "Conqueror")
Temporary Residence ("Jesu/Eluvium Split")
In The Flesh (fansite)
MTV Justin Broadrick Interview
The Eye: Interview One
The Eye: Interview Two
The Eye: Interview Three

Napalm Death - Scum

2007-07-13T14:55:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay: I've been busy and unfortunately have a backlog of reviews to finish (as well as some which have been begging for rewrites. More will be forthcoming soon).

To me, it is difficult to listen to various forms of grindcore without it seeming somewhat derivative. To demonstrate this, I once told individual with somewhat narrow musical tastes that I would pick a random song from Napalm Death's scum and a completely random song from Nasum and that they would sound very similar, if not exactly the same. While I cannot remember the exact songs I picked, I do remember that I successfully made my point vividly.

"Scum" is an interesting album, not only for it's historical importance. In this one album, the launch-pad for the careers of a young Justin Broadrick and Lee Dorian were laid out. Also, the musical style known as grindcore would rapidly develop and expand into even more extreme permutations, as the various members of the original group would go on to form the (also genre defining) groups Godflesh, Jesu, Carcass, Scorn and Cathedral.

As is now standard with the majority of grindcore releases, Scum contains twenty-eight songs in thirty-three minutes, with none being longer than four minutes (and the shortest being less than a second long, the aptly titled "You Suffer"). There is not much differentiation between tracks, although there are a few interesting standouts. "Multinational Corporation" is a great opening track, as waves of guitar noise swarm about like a plague as the lead singer hoarsely screams: "Multinational corporations : Genocide of the starving nations!" over and over again. "Polluted Minds" contains an impressive guitar solo amidst the thundering drums and insistent rhythm guitar. The song "You Suffer" is also noteworthy in that it is one of the shortest songs ever recorded, lasting less than a second, as the words "You suffer, but why?" are shouted faster than seems humanly possible.

The second half of the album, from tracks 14-28, features a completely different lineup, with Lee Dorian (pre-Cathedral) on vocals, Bill Steer on guitar (pre-Carcass), Jim Whitley on bass, and Mick Harris returning as the drummer. The second half of the album is not vastly different from the first half, but there are a few interesting differences. First, the mix is generally a bit less distinct than the first half, with a different guitar tone being present. Dorian's vocals, while not as upfront as Nik Bullen's, are also quite a bit more diverse, with several songs featuring guttural growls as well as shrill screaming. Harris' drums, on the other hand, are just as fast as they were on the first half.

As with most grindcore releases, this is best listened to in it's entirety in one listening session. There is not much variety in the album, but then again, that is probably to be expected. Listening to the original recordings also reminds one how dated the material really is (although the remastered recordings might help address this, although I have not had the opportunity to listen to them). Nevertheless, this is an excellent introduction into the world of grindcore, and aptly illustrates the exciting development that Napalm Death (as well as the genre itself) would soon take.

PS: Live recording is from 1989.

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Napalm Death
Century Media
Discogs Page

Nod - The Story Of The Three Little Pigs And The Big Bad Wolf

2007-07-05T19:37:00.001-05:00

It has been a while since I listened to this album, and for good reason: it's not very good. While there are a few good tracks on the album, it does not hide or excuse the rather half-hearted noise attempts that make up the rest of the album. Introduced, along with IRM and another band, on the Cold Meat Industry Nihil sampler several years ago, Nod soon followed up with their debut (and to my knowledge, only) album, "The Story Of The Three Little Pigs", which was released in a limited edition of 1000.

In theory, the album should be at least interesting, right? You would think, as it is presented as a retelling of "the three little pigs and the big bad wolf" mythos. Yet listening to the album makes it painfully clear that the concept is what was expected to make the album sell. The noise is of the metallic clamoring variety, more organic-sounding than digital (if that easily makes sense), but it is also quite one-dimensional. Occasionally bits of melody will be present towards the beginning of the songs, but by then it is a case of "too little, too late".

That is not to say that this album is a complete failure. Far from it. For the two songs which are presented as samplers of the album on the Cold Meat Industry website are also, ironically, the only two noteworthy songs on the album (in my opinion). "An Enemy You Are" is the most 'quiet' song on the album, consisting of an echoing kick drum, ocean wind sound effects, strange synth lines that alternate between two pitches (which gives the whole song a huge degree of unease), and a strangely lifeless vocal performance: a man muttering vague uncertainties. You may perhaps find it strange that I would recommend this song for these reasons, given the 'active' nature of many of the other songs on the album, yet compared to the rather ineffectual screaming and aggressive posturing, this lifelessness becomes welcome. Although at times it is hard to exactly determine what Daniel Wihlstrand is saying (though it is probably not necessary to catch everything the first time), what is easily understandable is haunting and cryptic:

"I traveled so far and beyond, to seek my fortune in solitude...once you had been a part of me, but no longer...we shall never again drink my wine, never again shall I take your hand, from my enemies...of course an enemy you are...I travel out to sea, caught between the devil and the deep blue...of course an enemy you are...my ecstasy is in your...of course an enemy you are..."

(As usual, this is based on my understanding/interpretation. Also, it was much harder than usual to determine what was being said on the song, due to the heavy degree of distortion, echoes, and strange inflections which blur the words together slightly).

The second song, "Armies Of The Earth", is an effective stab at power-electronica, with high-pitched electronic squeals, gritty bass-pulse rumbling, and multi-tracked vocals, similar to "An Enemy You Are" (only much harder to understand this time around). Strangely, both of these songs are exactly 3:19 in length (even though this song seems to be cut short towards the end, even though it could have benefited from an additional minute to two minutes of development).

However, neither of these songs are presented on the Cold Meat site anymore. Instead, the title track is available for download. The female narrator (punctuated by a strange low-range male) is somewhat amusing (especially after the wolf fails to blow the house of bricks down), and the watery power electronic bleeps are competent, but there is not much there in the way to keep the listeners attention.

Overall, there is not much to recommend this album beyond what can be offered by similar projects. Not one to write off projects that show even a glimmer of hope, I checked out the background info for Daniel Wihlstrand's project. Unfortunately, there is little to no information to be found anywhere regarding him or whether he had any musical output after the album. He contributed to the "Nihil" sampler for the label before releasing the "Story..." album. He also had created an interesting-named album called "When Dogs Run" in 1997, but it was apparently never released on a label. It is quite depressing that Cold Meat is not offering the two good tracks on the album for download anymore, but granted, you are only missing out on curiosities of implied potential, and nothing groundbreaking or essential.

PS Any info that can be found regarding Daniel Wihlstrand's future projects (if any exist) would be greatly appreciated. Also, any agreement/counter-arugments/discussion regarding my opinions on this album would be highly appreciated as well (seeing as I no longer have this album and it has been two years at least since I listened to it in it's entirety).

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Cold Meat Industry
Discogs Page

Coil - Time Machines

2007-07-02T19:59:00.000-05:00

Although much of Coil's work falls under the conceptual category, this is probably the album where concept and utility are taken to their logical extreme. Within this album are four long drones. Also, by "drones", I mean it in the purest sense of the word: electronic pulses and slowly oscillating synths that lethargically evolve and permutate over a period of time. Each track is named after a psychotropic drug: Telepathine, DOET-Hecate, 5-Me0-DMT, and Psilocybin (respectively), which it is supposed to represent (I seem to remember reading an article once which stated something to the effect of these songs were meant to replicate the subconscious 'hums' one is said to experience under the influence of these drugs, but of course I cannot verify this for certain). Also, the tracks were apparently "tested and retested for maximum narcotic potency", so that they may "dissolve time" to the maximum effect.

Is the album good? Yes, but mainly from an intellectual standpoint. Due to the highly unique characteristics of the sound and the mostly repetitive nature of the compositions, this definitely is not an "everyday" listening experience. The question you probably are scolding yourself for asking, but are asking anyway is: Does it work? My short answer to this is: I'm not sure. Granted, I will not be taking any of the aforementioned drugs, so I imagine I am not experiencing the "ideal conditions" (if any exist in this instance). Nevertheless, "Time Machines" succeeds admirably at presenting four drone documents, and is a stand-out release from Peter Christopherson and the late Jhonn Balance. A two-disc version is to be released by Threshold House at some point, so I eagerly await when that day arrives.

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Wikipedia Page
Threshold House

Strapping Young Lad - Heavy As A Really Heavy Thing

2007-07-02T00:40:00.001-05:00

As promised, the gigantic S.Y.L. review:

O, how the mighty have fallen. In this case, I am (of course) referring to Devin Townsend. Virtually exploding onto the metal scene after his short hit-and-miss (and supposedly quite tumultuous) tenure with the guitar master Steve Vai, he now seems poised to retreat entirely from the music "business" entirely, having recently become a father. However, the reasons behind his so-called "burnout" go much deeper than that, as revisiting his debut Strapping Young Lad album shows. Constant, relentless touring, coupled with extreme mood swings brought about by clinically diagnosed bipolar syndrome, an IMMENSE collection of misgivings about the music "industry", a nearly endless stream of interviews (at least according to everyone representing Townsend), and a haphazard balance struck between his Strapping Young Lad project, his solo efforts, and his many production and collaboration stints all created an unstable situation: one that could collapse at any moment. While I, like many other S.Y.L. fans, had previously thought that S.Y.L. was immortal, retrospection can easily show that the writing was on the walls for a long time, even though it was written in subdued colors and in cryptically ambiguous messages. S.Y.L. was doomed.

Although some do not care for the Strapping Young Lad / Fear Factory comparison, it actually, if given enough specifics, is quite apt and appropriate. Both bands started as extreme metal bands which would deviate wildly with their next albums (although Fear Factory had started roughly three years before S.Y.L.). Both bands pioneered (but by no means "popularized" or "initiated") the now standard vocal technique (for those who can pull it off) of extreme and melodic vocals. Both bands then followed up by introducing a plethora of additional influences and sounds into their production (mainly industrial, techno, and arguably grindcore and death metal aspects as well). But this is where the comparison begins to diverge. While Fear Factory descended from being a slightly faster Godflesh to "Frontline Assembly with a metal band" (comparing Demanufacture to FLA's Epitaph album is damnable evidence at how often Leeb and Co. recycles their signature set of sounds...also highly ironic when considering that Townsend provided the guitars for FLA's Millennium, Circuitry, and Hard Wired albums), Strapping Young Lad would polish their attack from their admittedly scattershot (but still powerful) debut to record the classic City album. With regards to City, I would rate it one of metal's top twenty albums EVER. If not the top ten (if that is not too audacious a statement to make).

The title "Heavy As A Really Heavy Thing" is probably the best title the album could have received (although it also would have made sense to self-title it as well). It is also unique in that it is the only SYL album not to be created by their "signature lineup" of Gene Hoglan (formerly of Dark Angel, Death, and several other influential metal bands), Byron Stroud (having also been simultaneously in Fear Factory over the past several years), Jed Simon, and Townsend. Instead, it seems that Townsend himself performed and arranged the majority of the album, with the help of several individuals (mainly Jed Simon, Adrian White on drums, Chris Valago, Greg Reely as engineer, and others).

The production on this album is undoubtedly Devin's best (along with City). The amount of minute aural details shoved into each one of the songs is absolutely astounding. Having owned both H.A.A.R.H.T. and City for years now, I still occasionally run into new details upon repeated listens. This is one of those records that, while sounding incredible on your home stereo system, requires headphones and advanced concentration to fully appreciate and experience.

Gushing about the stellar production quality reminded me of a quote from an interview with Trent Reznor shortly after his "With Teeth" album was released. When asked about the difference between the technology he used for the "Pretty Hate Machine" and "Downward Spiral" albums, he replied that the technology had indeed changed and that he could not use the same "tricks" as he did back during his (undeniably better) albums. I always found this to be a bit odd. The technology improved and the ability to create a much wider variety of sounds increased, so that restricts your ability to create complex and aurally dense songs? However, for S.Y.L., a much more obvious (and plausible) explanation exists to partially explain S.Y.L.'s rather sudden and dismaying descent: the heightened need to produce (specifically for the Download performances). Thus, it is understandable to believe Devin's reason for bowing out, given that he had grown tired of committing to S.Y.L. for obligational reasons. My take on the situation regarding their last album was that it was rushed, plain and simple (although of course I could be wrong about this).

I had attempted a track-by-track review, but those are always much harder to do than regular reviews, so I will do my best towards a semi-decent overview. "Heavy..." consists of blistering metal, tinged with many different industrial elements (in both the several programmed drum sequences and mix elements). "H.A.A.R.H.T." is basically a in-your-face of the many elements of bipolar disorder (concerning the real disorder, not emo crybabies, dysfunctional high-schoolers, or cyclothymic iconoclasts like myself). Opening with a scathing barrage against the "corporate music industry" ("S.Y.L") that he had been a part of until that point, it quickly shows that the record takes no prisoners, with the song's blunt: "I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!" chorus. The music video for "S.Y.L", interestingly enough, is also highly influenced by the music videos of F.L.A. (especially the "Millenium" video). Also, it is also important to note that, while Adrian White is no Gene Hoglan, he is definitely no slouch behind the drums either.

One of the interesting facts about this album is that, while most of the successive Strapping Young Lad albums would be relatively uniform, "H.A.A.R.H.T." is wildly diverse. From the insane "Happy Camper" (in which a huge 670-word rant is somehow screeched out in three minutes) and the defiant "S.Y.L." (featuring the child-friendly chorus of "I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!") to the pensive "Filler - Sweet City Jesus" (featuring enigmatic samples discussing "the transmission and perception of sound) and the brooding "Cod Metal King", this album is one of many hats. In addition, Townsend' s voice itself is also highly processed effectively in many different ways, further adding to the menace and paranoia of the songs(unfortunately, they would never return to any of these treated vocal techniques in future albums, which is a shame). In particular, "Cod Metal King" sounds similar to a robot who is on the run from the police after grand theft auto and assault, while "Skin City" features an exercise on the upper tolerances of the human vocal chords (in other words, his distorted/layered voice screams a lot). If I had to pick the best song on the album (which is really difficult, as they are all amazing in their own regard, with the slight exception of "Goat"), I would have to choose "Drizzlehell". Why? First of all, it has a great name, memorable riffs, fantastic lyrics, and a kick-ass overall presentation (I am rapidly running out of positive adjectives). Finally, the album ends on a strange note, the humorous "Satan's Ice Cream Truck". To me, the title says it all.

While this is not my favorite album, it is definitely not my least favorite (that distinction goes to their latest album "The New Black"). This album shows where all of the Fear Factory and Ministry comparisons originate, and also showcases many different avenues that S.Y.L. could have pursued (not that they made a mistake in their future development, but the potential was there nonetheless). In terms of metal albums, this one gets my highest recommendations. A masterpiece of intense musicianship, un-cliche bipolar angst, rage against the music industry, and yes...heaviness.

Questions? Comments? All greatly appreciated. :)

P.S. While the "Detox" video was a song from the "City" album, I included it because it stomps most music videos into the dust.

P.P.S. Is it just me, or is Century Media quickly falling into the mediocrity that Roadrunner Records and Earache have consistently peddled?

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Strapping Young Lad
Century Media Records

Nadja - Base Fluid

2007-07-01T23:38:00.000-05:00

As Jesu edges closer and closer to pop accessibility, Nadja is quickly asserting itself as one of the finest guitar-drone bands out there. With a string of several acclaimed albums (mainly "Body Cage" and the recently released "Thaumogenesis"), the duo of Aidan Baker (prolific multi-instrumentalist) and Leah Buckareff (Canadian bookbinder) continue to improve on their gigantic epics of albums. This EP showcases a song off of their upcoming album, "Corrasion", as well as an exclusive, unreleased track (of a seemingly recent vintage). The album itself is a re-recording of one of their many extremely-limited CD-R releases (following their recent re-recording of their "Touched" album), as well as including a few bonus tracks, including one from an instantly sold-out split between them and doom-metal band Moss (which should please fans of both bands).

The "Base Fluid" release is also special in the fact that it is offered as a FREE download on Foreshadow Records website (which also will eventually release a Nadja / Fear Falls Burning collaboration). This is somewhat noteworthy, as while Aidan Baker has many releases available online, there is much less Nadja material able to be previewed. Thus, this comes as a welcome addition to their mostly unavailable/sold-out discography.

So, what should you expect from this EP? While it is not a significant departure from any of their other releases, it is still quite good. The first song, "Base Fluid", is from the upcoming album. Featuring crushingly distorted cyclical guitar riffs that move about a snails-pace dirge along with soaring extended guitar soloing (also quite slow) and pounding drums. At various points in the song, the guitar/bass assault drops away to reveal delicate ambient sections, featuring softly hovering ambience and a gradually unfolding clean guitar passage. However, these ambient sections, while having a beauty of their own, only serve to throw you off your guard, as the main segments of the song come roaring back with a vengeance (most likely startling the listener the first time they hear it). "Numb" is slightly longer, at twenty minutes, and features a greater use of distortion, synthetic effects, and the guitars are a bit more distorted (which is both good and bad in a way). Do not expect any interludes on this track. Instead, the guitars trudge forth with a determined persistence, but as the song progresses, a number of light synth beds quickly accumulate towards the second half of the song. Imagine the slowest (but largest) tornado you have ever seen. Now imagine that the various synth lines are the many pieces of debris this tornado picks up, swirling them around the mix. It continues to come closer and closer to your home, gradually increasing in intensity as you grow increasingly intimidated. By the time it gets to the twentieth minute, it is almost as if the instruments are about ready to explode (thankfully the song stops before they or your head explodes).

If you are new to Nadja, by all means check this EP out. Then, a proper introduction would be their "Body Cage", "Thaumogenesis", or aforementioned "Corrasion" album. Those already acquainted with the band will also find elements of interest in this release (mainly in the unreleased track, even though the "Base Fluid" song is slightly better in terms of quality).

Now, if only they would re-release the Nadja / Methadrone collab...

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Nadja - Base Fluid EP at Foreshadow Records
Nadja Home Page
Foreshadow Records
Alien8 Recordings
Profound Lore Records

Sarin - Nihilist

2007-07-01T12:11:00.001-05:00

I have always been quite curious as what exactly this early collaboration between Stephen O'Malley and EDGY 49 (future vocalist for the doom-band Burning Witch). Recently, I pounced on the chance to listen for myself.

One of the first descriptive adjectives that came to mind was "rough". Not "rough" as in needing development or improvement rough, but instead the "rough" that can be found in most lo-fi noise recordings.

"Tektoniks" is a rumbling piece of extended feedback and processed static excursions. Not much else can be said, really.

"6:66" (which also, coincidentally, is not the final running time, as it manages to go a few minutes over), is a rather irritating piece involving a high pitched whine and muted white noise. While the white noise evolves somewhat during the song, the high-pitched noise only increases at a somewhat distressing rate. I have heard of noise compositions simulating tinnitus before, but this is the first time I have heard anything faithfully replicate it. Not a pleasant experience, when considering that it is over six minutes long.

Compared to the last 'song', "Red Army" seems almost tame in comparison. Thankfully, it also manages to be quite interesting (without running the risk of inner-ear damage). Scraping and crackling noises accompany a rather strange synth melody that becomes increasingly distorted and muddled as the song progresses.

The last song arrives as a bit of a surprise, as (unlike the previous songs), it is roughly twenty-three minutes long. "War Of The Worlds" as rather strange, for while it opens in a manner very similar to "Tektoniks", it soon involves an indecipherable/distorted series of
vocals as well as additional static bursts interspersed through a bubbling and rumbling backdrop (perhaps meant to simulate the hum of an alien engine). Although not certain to me, the vocals could be samples from the original "War Of The World" broadcast (determined mainly by the frantic sound of the vocals as well as the particular intonation of the actual voice as well.
Distorted effects increase in frequency as the voice becomes increasingly frantic and washed out.

In short, while this is an interesting journey in noise/experimental electronics, it is by no means outstanding or essential. It is mainly for the curious fans (such as myself) who are interested in noise and/or would like to view the beginnings of Stephen O'Malley's music career.

P.S. Many thanks to BloodIsTruth for this one, since it's was an extremely limited edition cassette and out-of-print since it was released. Go check it out over there if you want it.

P.P.S. On a mostly unrelated note, Eibon Records has, after what seems to have been an eternity, finally updated their site with new releases, news, and promos. Something to look into...

P.P.P.S. Sorry, one more thing...I also updated the Totally Fuzzy link, so it should be correct now.

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Discogs Page

Current 93 - I Have A Special Plan For This World

2007-06-25T19:36:00.001-05:00

To my mind, it is difficult to find music that can truly claim to be "sinister". Of course, there are many difficult records that can claim to be "obtuse", "unsettling", "somewhat frightening", or even perhaps "startling". But these do not truly find themselves next to something that is "sinister". Thus, when one considers listening to music that is sinister, they have to consider their motivations behind doing so. Almost inevitably, the realization arrives that you should probably somewhat familiar with the artist before attempting to listen to "the sinister".

Thus, we arrive to Current 93's "I Have A Special Plan For This World". Few of David Tibet's albums past Nature Unveiled and Dogs Blood Rising even come remotely close to the apocalyptic nightmares exhibited in these albums. Yet, while those albums were immense (if not particularly long) journeys into ideologically charged industrial soundscapes, this album is instead a minimalist dark ambient masterpiece. The record consists of twenty-two minutes of "voice-synth" drones (my way of describing it), along with scattered field recordings of a British man, various sorts of radio static, tape machine squeaks and blips, and David Tibet's deadpan delivery of Thomas Ligotti's (an American horror writer, of whom David Tibet has been a long-time fan) misanthropic "I Have A Special Plan For This World" narrative. Tibet's voice is one of the greatest aspects of the recording. Gone is the fervent "spoken-sung" voice he uses on his recent albums. Instead, he speaks in a disinterested monotone a strange tale of the nature of death, the "world as a mistake", twisted puppet shows, obsession, futility and paranoia. It is also fairly low-fi and two-dimensional, as if he recorded it on the tape recorder which is heard throughout the recording. Throughout the reading, a highly distorted (and disturbing) voice (which may or may not be an electronically-distorted version of David Tibet's voice) accompanies every spoken passage, as well as sometimes appearing by itself.

Not convinced that the passages are creepy? Check this selection out then:

There are many who have designs upon this world, and dream of wild and vast reformations.
I have heard them talking in their sleep, of elegant mutations and cunning annihilations.
I have heard them whispering in the corners of crooked houses, and in the alleys and narrow back streets of this crooked, creaking universe, which they, with their new designs, would make straight and sound. But each of these new and ill-conceived designs is deranged in it's heart.
For they see this world as if it were alone and original, and not as only one of countless others whose nightmares all proceed, like a hideous garden grown from a single seed. I have heard these dreamers talking in their sleep, and I stand waiting for them, as if at the top of a darkened flight of stairs.They know nothing of me, and none of the secrets of my special plan...while I know every crooked, creaking step of theirs.

If some records are akin to kittens or baby seals, than this record is the equivalent of a stunted hell hound. It probably would not be able to kill you, but it certainly exudes an aura of uneasy menace and dread. This is best listened to in total darkness, alone, with no other sounds being able to heard (if you can manage it). I can say I have...but I didn't like it. That is not to say that the music is not good (indeed, it is excellent). It is just that it almost effortlessly takes away any comfort the listener may have had at the moment, and continues on a pulse of uncomfort for twenty-two minutes. Awesome mood music for fatalistic moods. Although a similar recording, "In A Foreign Town, In A Foreign Land" (featuring heavy input from electronic artist Christoph Heemann), I consider "Special Plan..." to be slightly better in that it is a complete work, while "Foreign Town..." was a "musical accompaniment" to the stories, with occasional vocal cues from Tibet and others.

From what I can gather, the CD version has been re-issued over the last few years, so it's available in many locations.

PS Thanks Chris for the correction! :)

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Thomas Ligotti Homepage
Brainwashed Current 93 Homepage

Black Boned Angel - Eternal Hunger

2007-06-21T23:54:00.000-05:00

Suffering from Sunn O))) burnout, yet still want to get your darkened drone fix? Black Boned Angel might be right up your alley. Granted, the differences between the two are not that extreme, yet there are a few aspects of Black Boned Angel's sound that differentiate it from various other acts of a similar nature (for better or for worse). Although the curious and newly initiated might be better off exploring their LP "Supereclipse" first (as it is obviously a longer and somewhat more diverse excursion than many of their EPs), Eternal Hunger is in itself quite interesting. Sunn O))) and Khanate fans will instantly recognize the overall chord structure and song progression; much like Douglas Pierce and his infinitely repeated favorite guitar strum, they manage to find an infinite variety of ways in which to diversify from a limited palette.

But I digress. While the slow motion drone is present here, it does go through a rather lethargic chordal progression. The overall feeling is one of unease, specifically that which can be found in a semi-decent to good horror film (preferably a somewhat dated one). This mood is enhanced by a rather nervous keyboard line and strategically placed drum sets. It builds and develops for around ten minutes, and slowly begins it's climax and descent around twelve minutes as the keyboards and drum hits slowly increase in density and dramatic impact.

However, there is a sudden twist at the end (those who wish to keep the suspenseful surprise for themselves may wish to skip to the next paragraph): after roughly thirteen minutes, the music suddenly cuts out only to be replaced by a ominous church/cathedral bell and sub-sonic bass reverberations! Suddenly, the experience seems to come into place: The mourners and graveyard attendants had been throwing dirt on your coffin, despite your muffled screams and fevered attempts to unlock the entrapment you had somehow become ensnared in. Now, the church bells toll prophetically, as the grave has been refilled. You have been "Entombed Alive".

Unfortunately, beyond the dramatic ending (which comes dangerously close to being filler on the fact that it is just a tiny bit too long, although still very effective), this material is not that outspoken or outstanding compared to the many other acts like them. They are often used in comparison with other bands (in particular, I have often seen them lumped together with Bohren Un Der Club Of Gore, though I'm not familiar with them myself). One of the reasons why Sunn O))) (and Earth, for that matter) are still relevant and discussed widely is that, though achieving a great amount of popularity through their initial recordings, they eventually expanded their artistic vision and implemented it in new and exciting directions. Those who follow in their footsteps, regardless of how skilled or talented they are, always run the risk of contributing to the stagnation of a continually evolving musical sub-genre.

I am interested in people's opinions on this, so if you have anything to contribute to the continuing discussion, I am always happy to hear your thoughts! Also, good luck finding the majority of his work! (As is usual for smaller "underground" phenomena, most of their CD-Rs are extremely limited, with many of his releases being 150 copies or less pressed).

EDIT: Recently found a kick ass Black Boned Angel live vid. on YouTube, so I included it here.
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Wikipedia Page
Discogs Page
Myspace Page
Official Page (links to associated record labels and Myspace)

IRM - Virgin Mind

2007-06-16T03:51:00.000-05:00

Five years is a long time between album releases. Many changes can occur, and many did for the power electronic's duo IRM. Consisting of Martin Bladh and Erik Jarl, they created the highly regarded (at least, within the underground noise scene) album "Oedipus Dethroned", noted for it's quasi-religious overtones, unique vocals, and intense noise structures. Erik Jarl would later go on to release several solo albums under various names, while Martin Bladh would venture into performance art, solo albums, collaborations with various musicians, and films. This album, their latest, was released in 2005 in a limited edition of 1000, marked an extreme shift from their previous efforts.

Virgin Mind is a massive two-LP set, with five of the songs over ten minutes long (although they are far from overstretched). Whereas their previous albums briefly entertained various concepts beyond their established formula (pulsing bass, squeaks/hiss, and distorted/watery vocals), this album vastly enhances the sense of exploration. The album itself, far from being merely a "power electronics" album, incorporates many different elements of industrial, power electronics, dark ambient, noise, and even several spoken word segments, merging into a fascinating sort of avant-garde. This is further reinforced by the fact that the "movements" (as it were) flow from song ending to the next song's beginning. An emphasis is placed on performance and musicianship over their previous albums emphasis on mood, atmosphere, and ambience. Yet these are also highly evocative works: the music is multi-dimensional when listening to it. Even the more minimal of the tracks have several details that unveil themselves with repeated listens, and the more "upfront" songs (such as the awesome "Aktion Anthem") have many, many intricate elements to them.

It is difficult to write a concise summary on the vast quantity of different sounds present within the two albums. In short, it can be said that "Virgin Mind" is a reflection on the accumulated musical experiences and maturation of Martin Bladh and Erik Jarl, while leaving behind all but the most fundamental aspects of earlier IRM work. The "noise" elements, once highly synthetic, now acquire a ringing, metallic overtone to the majority of them (perhaps reflecting on the nature of their previous live performances). Yet the "noise" and "industrial clamor" is almost secondary to the many other sounds found within. The previously stated "Aktion Anthem" contains not only noise elements, but what sound like distorted violin passages writhing against synthesizer ambience. "Love Chamber I" contains a sombre synth drone with oscillating/panning stereo effects and a consistent (non-distorted) bass drum hit. "My Mother" resumes with a stuttering noise assault, which introduces clanging metal percussion (ala Einsturzende Neubauten, to a limited degree). This continues onward with "Silver Bells", which has a shimmering layer of feedback as rumbling echoes uneasily in the back of the mix. This continues for five minutes until arriving at the album stand out track: The Actor. A solitary drone of some sort (unfortunately it is not easy to describe other than the fact that it fits the song perfectly) repeats itself as a voice whispers cryptic assertions regarding his perceptions "upon the stage". Thankfully, there is no processing here, so it can be understood perfectly:

Behind the mirror that is me
Waits an audience to be entertained.
Red light right, red light left.
Dreams increase.
Moving closer...
Closer...Focus...
Stop...Action...
I'm not a bleak charade, sucking to breath
For my admirers.
First, oxygen. Second, hydrien (?).
Third...final, breathe in.
It takes multiple efforts to reach the concrete in front of me.
The mirror...
The floor in front of my mirror is a stage.
I'm an actor: Pathetic, drunk.
Doing cheap tricks to get your attention.
All around me lies the corpses of birds,
The skeletal insects.
Did they come from inside of me?
I think they did.
Killed themselves in the kamikaze of light.
Against me, the filthy glass.
I'm always dressed-up in a stage costume.
I made it myself.
Bird-skin sewn shirt (?) covered with blisters.
I'm crawling like an insect, burned by the stage light.
Wings useless, spastic.
Underneath my skin sheets, the surrounding room becomes a blur.
Spaces reek...closing in.
Outside, the audience, they laugh (?).
Raptured by my stage presence.
Feeding themself through my impotence.
They know who's the greatest...desirable...original...huge.
I know I'm good...I must be good.
My audience loves me.
No one can do them like I do.

(lyrics transcribed by ChandlerN, so there may be one or two mistakes)

In my opinion, it is no exaggeration to confidently state that this album is valuable by this track in itself. It is that awesome, compelling, and fascinating. Yet there is still more to uncover. "Birth's Mark Of Cruelty" and "The Nervescales" are two ten-minute compositions, the first consisting of static bursts, strange wailing feedback and screams, along with violent industrial clanging, loud synthetic drones, and a fevered ranting towards the end of the song (which seems like a different voice from the one which is usually featured) while the second is more of a nod towards their earlier albums (especially their "Four Studies..." EP) with lonely trumpets, bells, dark ambient pulses, and screamed vocals, with a crashing crescendo of guitar effects noise as an effective closer to the first disc.

Incredibly, I have only written about the first disc. The second disc continues onward with various permutations of the concepts established on the first disc. Stand-out tracks include the highly abrasive "Umbic Burns", the subdued and contemplative "Revelation: Pure", and the thundering last track "Sebastian", featuring highly distorted and amplified piano (I am assuming that it is some sort of piano, anyway).

The hype that can be found about the album is true. This album represents an astonishing leap forward for IRM and the musicians involved. Needless to say, this album is an excellent mix of industrial avant-garde, mainly focused in industrial noise, but effectively venturing out into several other genres. Not much else can be said except that I give it my highest recommendations.

Get this album. Do whatever it takes. It's that good.

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IRM: Oedipus Dethroned

2007-06-16T01:45:00.002-05:00

"Christian Power Electronics". I must admit, I was skeptical myself. Although I have yet to find printed lyrics of their works (I doubt that they are included in their albums except for their newest, although I could be mistaken), I did manage to find an interview on an "unofficial" fan site, in which a doctor tells a strange story in which he saw the musical half of the duo, Martin Bladh. Throughout the interview, he analyzes the lyrics presented on "Oedipus Dethroned" from a Biblical standpoint. What makes the interview so bizarre is that the writer goes one step further, and proclaims Martin Bladh to be the resurrected Christ! While the music is obviously obsessed with various Christian principles (mainly regarding the crucifixion), it is perhaps safer to say that the music approaches the matter with a more ambiguous attitude, while outwardly projecting a zealous (almost fanatical) image. Proof of this can be found on the lyrics printed on the front of the "Four Studies..." EP IRM released in early 2000. The graphic lyrics, although presenting the listener with an immediate horror, are very symbolic in nature, and thus open to multiple interpretation.

But what about this album in particular? It basically consists of deep electric bass lines, muted kick drum rhythms, and various higher pitched squeals and beeps. Various kinds of static, distortion, and feedback also freely float throughout the songs. This is complimented by Erik Jarl's highly distorted and watery shouting (ala Will's John McRae, although in a much less irritating manner). Industrial elements also appear from time to time. Finally, a small amount of samples are scattered throughout the songs as well (mainly in the first song).

So, how does the album stack up? Well, it is best to ignore the pseudo-religious/spiritual overtones and enjoy the album through what you probably sought out in it in the first place: the noise. Also, it is always refreshing to find a power electronics outfit that manages to be effective and menacing without resorting to cartoonish violence, childish misanthropic stances, or highly charged political incorrectness. There is also a nice diversity to the sounds as well, ranging from alluring hums (some of which border on dark ambient) and the highly oscillated and distorted (one of the best songs is "Inside The Skull Of A Manniquin", which strangely reminds me of Throbbing Gristle's "Hamburger Lady" for some reason, mainly because of the vocals).

Power electronics is of course an acquired taste, but for those with a taste of the electronically unusual, "Oedipus Dethroned" is an excellent place to start. Cold Meat Industries should still be selling this album, otherwise you might have to search a little bit. If you can listen to their contributions to the "Nihil" compilation on that label, they are also quite excellent and rank up their with the best of their work.

EDIT: Removed the 'unofficial IRM page' link, per request of a member of the band.

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Cold Meat Industry
Discogs Page

The Spires Of Oxford : Graves Of Two English Soldiers On Concord Battleground

2007-06-15T21:38:00.000-05:00

A very interesting recording, this album is (to my knowledge) the only studio recording of The Spires of Oxford. The solo side-project of the late Jason DiEmilio (by suicide), he was better known through his psychedelic/experimental group The Azusa Plane, which released several highly regarded works of multi-track guitar drone compositions, with elements of dark ambient and noise appearing now and again. However, The Spires Of Oxford is instead a heavily multi-tracked and echoing series of seemingly random Fender guitar passages. Honestly, it is somewhat unsettling to listen to the entire track all of the way through (it is twenty-seven minutes of improvisation, after all). The passages seem to purposefully clash with one another, and just when it seems that you are enjoying a certain segment, another totally different movement brusquely arrives to negate the previous one (whilst the other is slowly fading off into the distance). This track is also interesting in that the website in which I discovered it from (Epitonic.com), also suffered from a rather untimely demise (although I believe it is still possible to download the track from Epitonic). So, as long as you do not mind seemingly aimless and wandering guitar improvisation (or actively enjoy it from time to time), The Spires Of Oxford is an interesting document of days which shall never return.

P.S. Tried to find information on the Jason DiEmilio run label "Colorful Clouds For Acoustics", but it appears that only a Discogs page exists, so I have included that as well. There is also tracks of his main group The Azusa Plane on the Epitonic site, which are also long compositions, but there the sonic palette is much broader, ranging from fragile and delicate to rumbling moodiness.

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The Spires Of Oxford (Epitonic)
The Azusa Plane (Wikipedia)
Pitchfork Article
Colorful Clouds For Acoustics (Discogs)

Teeth Of Lions Rule The Divine - Rampton

2007-06-14T03:16:00.000-05:00

Teeth Of Lions Rule The Divine - Rampton

I read an interesting phrase in a noir fiction novel once that has always stuck with me when I think of sleazy politicians and especially multi-millionaire CEO figureheads. It basically amounted to the observation that high-profile individuals tended to stick their chins out with gigantic smiles on their faces, practically begging you to unload a punch. They typically do this with impunity, for they are well aware that YOU know that, should you decide to do so, that the repercussions would range anywhere from catastrophic to ultimately fatal. Their grins are even larger when they consider the fact that if you do not act on your instincts, then the white-knuckled grip at your side would be your reward: testament to your spineless nature.

Of course, "Teeth Of Lions Rule The Divine" will not bring about the same reaction should you choose to disagree with it (hopefully), yet it is similar in that it proudly revels in it's particular form, inviting critical opinions for those who only take a cursory glance at it. To some extent, the detractors have a point. After all, who wouldn't be at least slightly daunted at the prospect of a thirty minute guitar dirge detailing a violent drug overdose?

Named after a track on Earth's "Earth 2" album, "Teeth Of Lions Rule The Divine" was a one-off "doom super group" featuring standard faces Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson, along with former Napalm Death vocalist Lee Dorian (who is more commonly known as the vocalist for Cathedral), and drummer Justin Greaves. Their debut album "Rampton" was released in 2002, and then the band disappeared into the darkness from which it came. The three songs, while wildly divergent in duration, all present roughly the same product sonically: lumbering and monotonous guitar dirges, bringing to mind images of swamps and drug dens , accompanied by Lee Dorian's heavily distorted and multi-tracked vocals. The mix, while purposefully muddy, dense, and claustrophobic, thankfully is clear enough to allow listeners to detect subtle nuances while being dirty enough to greatly enhance the mood being set. As for the drums, while they mainly serve as rhythmic time-keeping only, there are a few interesting solo-esque sections that manages to keep things interesting (saving the first and longest track from utter stagnation and boredom).

This album reeks of paranoid delusions and deviant intentions, in large part due to Lee Dorian's disturbing (but also highly original) lyrics. Sung (mostly) in a strange monotone, his voice also features simultaneous growling of the words or random stuttering on occasion. "He Who Accepts All That Is Offered (Feel Bad Hit Of The Winter" is exactly that (besides being a jab at a similar titled Queens Of The Stone Age song), an epic tale of overdosing with over a dozen different substances, and the paranoia/self-loathing that occurs before and/or after the act. Meanwhile, "New Pants And Shirt" is a strange Southern nightmare for the average working man after a hard day's work and "The Smiler" is an abstract (yet vivid) condemnation of religion. However, unlike many other bands of a similar nature, Dorian's vocals, while grim and distorted, are still relatively comprehensible, which is fortunate given the superb song-writing which accompanies lyrics such as the following example (from "The Smiler"):

Barren emotion cuts like a blunt knife
Against the hatred of your blackened heart
Brewing through states in search of joy
They spit out rejection, you worship the same
Annihilation of your inner-self
Breeds gratification in your hunger for wealth
All that was beauty you've smashed wide apart
With the fist of envy, for nothing that's smart

In short, if you are familiar with Stephen O'Malley's earlier work, this album is not a radical departure from his basic musical formula he has stuck to over the years. However, with regards to doom metal in general it is extremely atypical, and though it is patently too psychotic and divergent for the average listener, doom fans with a sense of patience will be rewarded by this experience. As is usual for this type of recording, it is usually best to listen to the whole recording straight through (unless, like the anti-hero in the first track, you are too spineless to do so).

EDIT: I have officially reached burn-out status w/ anything Stephen O'Malley related. Too much discussion everywhere. Blah. Never fear though, I am officially off of my break, so hopefully will resume with a semi-normal update schedule.

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Southern Lord Info Page

PS They used to have an interview and complete lyrics on the S.L. site, but it appears they removed them when they re-arranged the site. Phooey. While the lyrics can be found on many different websites, I am not sure if they interview was printed elsewhere, which is unfortunate, given the fact that it gave valuable insights into the creation of the album, various inspiration, etc.

Atrium Carceri - Seishinbyouin

2007-06-05T01:03:00.000-05:00

Thankfully, most of us have never graced the walls of a mental institution or asylum. Even the very words are enough to trigger automatic responses, ingrained in us by collective cultural perceptions (regardless of whether they are ultimately true or not). They were places seldom mentioned in the modern era, and were feared in the ancient days, when a general lack of sanitation, proper medical procedures, and understanding of basic biological functions (and the myriad ways in which they can decay) often led to an overwhelming madness. Thus, many of society's undesirables eventually found their way to these cruel institutions, with maintenance workers whose self-hatred was only eclipsed by the inhabitants of the asylum, and the executive director, who profited immensely from the mentally ill.

Now, imagine an asylum where the only lights are those that flicker and falter. Where spoken speech is barely tolerated (that which is heard is subdued Japanese) and the distorted cries of the inmates can be heard echoing off of the walls. The doctor's, when they are not treating patients, can be heard playing forlorn piano in their expansive office. No one can understand the regular announcements that come over the PA system, for the speakers garble all recognition. Liquid squelching, animal cries, and structural creaking are constantly heard, for the asylum is extremely old and decrepit, and has not been renovated since the state retracted it's funding for the institution.

This is a literary depiction of "Seishinbyouin", a collection of thematically linked tracks. Although considered dark ambient, the music also makes frequent nods towards industrial (mainly in the semi-frequent drumbeats and distorted electro-bass). Unlike many dark ambient acts, Atrium Carceri's songs usually range from about three to five minutes (thought the vast majority of them feel thoroughly explored and full at their current duration). The music is also invokes strong feelings of it being designed for a movie soundtrack. Throughout the album, various conversations in Japanese are spoken, usually in what appears to be a question and answer session. Furthermore, piano, synth strings and choirs only add further to the expansive nature of the songs.

Notable songs include "Illusion Breaks" (for the enigmatic second half of the song, featuring female vocals, a gruff Japanese speech sample, and unusual "screen read-out" sound FX), "Dark Water" and "Librarian" (both for their use of piano throughout, which almost borders on being similar to ambience found in the early Resident Evil games), and "Frosted Snowflakes" (for everything).

Granted, "Seishinbyouin" is not perfect, as there are a few places where the sound seems a bit awkward rather than effective, yet on the whole it is a very solid performance. For those of you who are looking for compact dark-ambient/industrial that carries a hint of menace, yet also manages to be delicate and cinematic at the same time, should look into Atrium Carceri.

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Atrium Carceri
Cold Meat Industry
Atrium Carceri Myspace

Type O Negative - World Coming Down & Dead Again (Short)

2007-06-03T00:08:00.000-05:00

Continuing into "essential gothic albums" (that are not really gothic, but can be considered as such) is the massive "World Coming Down" album. Recorded under a backdrop of drugs, alcohol, multiple deaths in the family, and personal problems (and this is BEFORE his relatively recent incarceration, rehab, institutionalization, and subsequent conversion back to Roman Catholicism after many years as an atheist), the album is a bleak descent into ironic despair, retrospection, frustration, melancholic mourning, and death, containing little of the self-mockery of the gothic culture and the band itself, instead presenting Type O's most thematically straightforward album to date.

As is usual for Type O Negative, fuzzed-out guitar dirges, assertive basslines, and melodic keyboard interludes are the order of the day. Many of the songs feature death, both figuratively and literally (as is the case in "Everyone I Love Is Dead" and the classic "Everything Dies"). The sense of loss and longing is also present in nearly every song. Peter Steele's vocals also exhibit a refreshing sense of variety throughout the album, from near-spoken murmuring, his traditional vampiric croon, and anguished screaming as well. Emotional without being overbearing or pretentious, it is the sound of a man recognizing the descent of his fortunes and emotions, being fully aware of the fact and not recognizing any escape from the plunge.

"Everything Dies", the popular live Type O Negative favorite, is one of the best songs on the album (although it is difficult to conclusively choose a "best" track from the album, given the fact that many of them are equally good in different ways). It basically summarizes the feelings present throughout the album in a single song, as well as being a powerfully emotional work of depression, fear, and self-loathing. The guitar solo and keyboard break towards the end are also quite impressive as well, yet neither of these elements overly intrude in the mix, yet are instead presented as logical segments which usher in the end of the song.

There are also several Type O Negative "staples" and curveballs thrown in. Included in this group is a song about Halloween ("All Hallow's Eve"), a slightly brighter song called "Who Will Save The Sane?" (featuring some of Steele's most surreal lyrics to date, with weird words such as "technochocolate" and "periodic tableware" appearing now and again), and a Beatles song trio titled "Day Tripper (Medley)". Thankfully, it is at the end of the album, so it does not seriously disturb the thematic continuity of the album, and as a song it is quite interesting as well (literally showing where the moniker "The Drab Four" originated).

Also, there are three short "death sequences" (for lack of a better term) scattered throughout the album, fittingly entitled "Sinus", "Liver" and "Lung" (the body part which is being portrayed failing in each piece). Although some people may be annoyed at their inclusion, I feel that they are appropriate and essential to the album's flow. As miniature dark ambience and unsettling noise interludes they are quite effective (especially "Liver", featuring cheering crowds, pouring sounds, and at last an unanswered telephone call).

Compared to the band's earlier work, the album was not as well received, but in my opinion they have yet to surpass this album. Though it is somewhat self-indulgent towards the depressive spectrum of emotions, it can be forgiven when considering that this is an honest expression of Peter Steele's life at the time. Definitely not a record one can listen to in any circumstance, it is quite effective when traveling through life points (or perhaps whenever you want to listen to less-than-happy music that still manages to be catchy and memorable).

PS: A quick word on the new album "Dead Again", since I decided not to do a review since it has been heavily reviewed elsewhere already: I am basically ambivalent and undecided regarding my feelings on the album. Musically, the album is top-notch as well, although (as started on the previous album "Life Is Killing Me") the song selection is slightly skewed towards the faster, up-tempo songs. However, the conversion of Peter Steele has been a cause of some concern among many fans. Personally, it does not seem to me that big of an issue. Granted, I do not agree with Roman Catholicism at all, but that does not mean I am going to hold anyone else (especially the singer of a rock band) against it. I especially will not make ridiculous claims, such as "Jesus is now in every Type O Negative song" that other people have been flinging around. Steele himself has stated in interviews that the specifics of his faith are private (as they should be). I think Type O Negative's lyrics have always been open to interpretation (although many are based on Steele's personal experiences, such as "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend" and "Everything Dies"). While many of the songs find Type O Negative treading water, a few are among their personal best, mainly "Dead Again", "September Sun", and "Tripping A Blind Man" (especially with the catchy choruses towards the end of the song). The true test of the Type O Negative fan base will likely arive with the next album. Until then, relive old classics with "World Coming Down" (and "October Rust", for a slightly, but not much, brighter experience).

PPS: The bonus live CD on "Dead Again" is, unlike the actual album, undeniably awesome, featuring excellent renditions of "Everything Dies", "My Girlfriend's Girlfriend", "Love You To Death", and "Black No. 1".

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Type O Negative
SPV Records

Dead Can Dance - A Passage In Time

2007-06-02T21:38:00.000-05:00

I will be upfront and admit that I am not a big fan of the "gothic" phenomenon. There was one point, earlier in my life, when I wished to emulate it. But now, having the experiences and beliefs that I do now, I (for the most part) find the whole thing overly cliche and somewhat ridiculous for those who are seriously into it. Furthermore, in the area where I live, the rapidly dwindling goth sub-culture is nothing more than a group to ridicule, a sad remnant of the late 80's and early 90's: individuality which ironically became mass produced to the general public ("Hot" Topic, etc).

Nevertheless, there are a few aspects of gothic culture that I can still appreciate. One of them is the very talented group Dead Can Dance. You may wish to disagree on this assertion, but Dead Can Dance is one of the few indispensable musical forces I utilize when contemplating gothic thoughts (others being Will and The Legendary Pink Dots to a lesser extent). From the absolutely astonishing and versatile voice of Lisa Gerrard (which, while mellowed with age, lost none of it's vitality) and the five-dimensional musical arrangements of Brendan Perry, which has been (and still is) some of the best examples of "neo-classical" music available today.

"A Passage In Time", originally a stop-gap collection in the middle of their existence, is now an excellent retrospective of their 'mid-era' albums, featuring songs prominently from "Spleen And Ideal", "The Serpent's Egg", and a few tracks from "Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun" (another excellent album) and "Aion", as well as containing two new tracks recorded for the collection. While, those who own the original albums may wish different tracks were included (for example, since I also own the "Within The Realm..." album, I wish they could have included the tracks "Xavier" and "Summoning The Muse"), the selection presented is (for the most part) quite excellent and diverse (except for the fact that there are no tracks from the first album and EP, given that they are very different compared to the main canon of Dead Can Dance's work). Also, the balance between Perry and Gerrard's contributions is almost evenly matched, but the surprising fact is that Perry's songs may be even greater than Gerrard's (definitely arguable, but plausible). For example, "Ullyses" is a great example of a condensation of what makes Dead Can Dance awesome: harpsichord passages, violins, horns (natural and/or synthetic), and soaring vocals (here a story regarding John Francis Dooley, comparing him to the mythic wanderer Ulysses). However, several fan favorites are also included, such as the brooding "The Host Of Seraphim" and the light-hearted "Fortune Presents Gifts Not According To The Book". Finally, the two additional tracks, while nothing special or remarkable compared to the rest of the material, are still interesting in their own right (mainly because of how different they are compared to the rest, with one featuring prominent bird ambience and the other featuring an electric bass accompaniment).

It has been said before (but it bears repeating) that this compilation is an excellent way for people just discovering Dead Can Dance. But it is also a good collection for those who enjoy the band, but balk at the steep price of the three-disc set (mainly poor people like myself). For those interested in neo-classical, Lisa Gerrard, or Dead Can Dance, you can do no wrong by purchasing this excellent compilation. Totally awesome and well worth every penny. Highly recommended.

PS: Once again, to repeat and clarify, I do not provide links to full-album downloads. There are plenty of other great sites where one can download if they choose to do so.

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Dead Can Dance (slightly outdated)
Lisa Gerrard
Brendan Perry
4AD Records

Juno Reactor - Bible Of Dreams

2007-05-31T02:50:00.000-05:00

There are possibly people out there in the real world who believe that techno consists simply of Moby, Orbital, or (even worse) Paul Oakenfold. Yet, amidst all of the generic cookie-cutter techno bands out there, there are a few that stand out that neither delve into single-loop inanity nor burrow into freakishly complex Aphex-Twinian compositions (not that it is a bad thing to experience every once in a while).

Granted, this is still "dance" music, yet it retains only the absolutely essential cliches. One of the greatest aspects Of "Bible Of Dream", and Juno Reactor in general, is the variation within an album: a diversity that manages to remain thematically connected throughout the songs. Each song features the basics: a steady drum beat and strong bass lines. The additional ornamentation is what makes each song unique. Two of the most atypical songs on the album, "Conga Fury" (featuring "Nelson Mandela's favorite traditional South African percussion act") and "God Is God" (featuring strange female vocals and religious samples), contain various instances of live tribal drumming and singing/chanting (which would be explored in greater depth in their later albums). Thankfully, it is still recognizable techno/trance, but it manages to evoke images other than a crowded dance floor or cityscape. A few other tracks, "Kaguya Hime" and "Children Of The Night", are much more synthetic and darker in nature, containing foreboding industrial-esque ambiences (the "Children Of The Night" track reminds me of the Front 242 "Off" album, though I do not know if that is a common sentiment or if it is just me) and sound effects. Finally, the two best songs, "Komit" and "High Energy Protons (Orion Mix)", are simply excellent trance-techno. "Komit", with it's phased string introduction, addictive bass line, extremely mobile synth leads, and breaks including chorused choirs, is quite simply one of the best electronic songs I have ever heard that is good for any listening occasion or mood. Period. "High Energy Protons" (a remix of one of their earlier singles) is also quite intriguing, though the updated remix, while improving upon the original song, paradoxically also reveals how dated the song is in comparison to how much the band had progressed since their original debut in 1993.

If you only buy one fast-paced techno album ever, buy this album. Or (worst-case scenario), if you only listen to one techno song in your entire lifetime (unlikely, but possible), listen to "Komit". It's that good. After all, they would later go on to create two more highly-regarded albums and score two Matrix movies, so they must have been doing something right.

P.S. Took a quick glance at the comments on the You Tube page for the Juno Reactor video: those people must be some of the most quarrelsome and kverulant people in the world. :)

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Juno Reactor
Metropolis Records

Nurse With Wound - The Sylvie And Babs High-Thigh Companion

2007-05-25T00:40:00.001-05:00

While I am far from considering myself a "fan" of Nurse With Wound, I do hold a certain appreciation for some of their albums. Though a few of them are just too "far out" (even for me, which is impressive), many of their earlier albums (specifically "Merzbild Schwet" and "Chance Meeting...") are brave and commendable presentations of dadist avant-garde experimentalism.

"The Sylvie And Babs High-Thigh Companion" is atypical, even for Nurse With Wound. Consisting of two LONG (both tracks a little over twenty minutes each) tracks, titled "You Walrus Hurt The One You Love" and "Great Balls Of Fur", the albums is a long, meandering expedition into strangeness. Seemingly dozens of vocal samples soon give way to clanking metallic sounds (a jackhammer is included, pre-dating Sunn O)))'s use of one by years). Featuring over forty different contributors (reading like a who's who of interesting people in music's underground), it is definitely possible that the majority of this album was created, rather than sampled (although there are a few places where you can hear easily recognizable TV segments, such as the intros to cop shows and a very short segment of "the Monster Mash"). Insturments also come and go with an alarming speed: electric bass, horns, various synthesized elements, many different percussive insturments (including many that sound like soup or garbage cans). Vocals should technically be counted as an insturment too, as they are often edited to pieces (literally) or plied with several different sound effects and/or distortions.

I would give individual track descriptions, but that would spoil the suprise. In addition, with the thousands of sounds packed into each song, it is almost ridiculous to even begin to attempt a simplification of what is, in the end, to expansive to simplifiy into textual description. The best way to summarize this album is that, while it has been promoted as a spoof of "easy listening", it would be best to claim that this is exactly opposite of that: "uneasy listening". Not that it is overly uncomfortable or non-conformist, just strange and highly unusual.

Unfortunatly, while the tracks themselves are quite good in individual segments, they are too scattershot and wandering to be completely effective. And, at twenty minutes, they are way too long, with certain sections feeling underdeveloped at the expense of needlessly repetitive motifs elsewhere. That is not to say that the album is not good; it could merely have been much stronger with a shorter, more contentrated and "unified" presentation/concept. Nevertheless, for a forty-three minute of the aural equivalent of having a radio and television set turned on, whilst randomly changing the channels as aliens and electromagnetic waves further distort the percieved message, this will certainly do the trick.

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Brainwashed Info Page

Captain Dan & The Scurvy Crew - Authentic Pirate Hip-Hop

2007-05-23T21:12:00.000-05:00

How could you possibly not appreciate pirate hip-hop from "the only rap group with buccaneer technique"? No, really. Basically, the premise for this group sells itself: a multi-faceted exploration of various aspects of pirate life through well-constructed hip-hop. The production of the music is one of the best aspects of this album, as every song is much more intricate and detailed than the average hip-hop song (these days), in some regards reflecting the various band member's involvement in several other bands (mostly smaller industrial-metal bands). The lyrics, while joyously indulgent in cliches in many regards, there are also many clever and original ideas and concepts floating around as well (the best one being the sales pitch for "sea weed").

I could write further on how awesome this album is, but few words need to be said. Instead, go check out their Myspace page for a few songs from the album. It includes the two songs which ended up being made into music videos, as well as two others of a similar nature. While all of the songs are good, some of the best songs are not featured; all the more reason to buy their CD.

Finally, the chorus from "Blackbeard's Treasure", which sums up the mood of the album:

I'm a bilgerat, mateys: I'm a serious sailor

I don't need two hands just to rob from my neighbor

Hitting you with rhymes like a nine-tailed cat

We are off to sing and dig where the treasure is at

Blackbeard's gold is all that we seek

We plunder and we steal from the old and the meek

Dropping phat rhymes every day of the week

We're the only rap group with buccaneer technique

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Myspace Page
Non-Existent Recordings (Label)

O.L.D. - Formula

2007-05-22T23:50:00.001-05:00

As an electronic musician who initially got his start by creating songs in which the backbone usually consisted of a few repeating sound loops with various permutations throughout the song, "Formula" has a special place in my heart (and subsequent music collection). While this is far from the album typically thought of first when thinking of "O.L.D.", it is unique in that it marked the end of "O.L.D." and was clearly an influence in his solo album "The Joy Of Disease" (created two years later).

Old Lady Drivers (O.L.D.) began in the late 1980s, as a juvenile grindcore band, one with plenty of talent, yet could never be accused of taking itself too seriously. From then until 1995, they released three more albums, each noticeably different from both their 1988 debut and the album that immediately preceded it. "Lo Flux Tube", released three years later, was a dramatic departure from their previous self-titled. Gone was the elderly jokes and scatological humor. Instead, listeners experienced a blitz of high-octane guitar experimentation, highly distorted vocals screaming nihilistic proclamations to an unknown audience, and an especially intense guest appearance by John Zorn (who makes his saxophone sound as if it is trying to escape from drowning.
"The Musical Dimensions Of Sleastak", released a short time later, continues the development of the "pysch-freak-out" industrial-grindcore, with an increased amount of guitar synths and effects (and a strange remix called "Backwards Through The Greedo Compressor").

While both of these albums enjoyed a small cult following, it is commonly assumed that the band floundered due to the lack of commitment Earache (the band's label) had towards promoting them. When the "Formula" album arrived four years later, it would be the last for "O.L.D." as Plotkin bid the record label adieu.

"Formula" is the end-result of O.L.D.'s progression: an album so alluring and compelling as their debut was frenetic and immature. Composed of cyclical guitar rhythms, steady drum beats (provided by a rhythm machine), half-spoken/half-sung vocoded vocals, and a very few amount of synthesizers, "Formula" is an interesting album, to say the least. While there is no guitar heroics to be seen, the strength in the songs is that they are structured to be very catchy, in their own way. The guitars, for lack of a better term, shimmer and glow (sometimes immensely, such is the case for "Break (You" and the beautiful "Under Glass"). Far from "mainstream" (as has been claimed), there is definitely an "accessibility" to the record that was willfully absent from previous records. But do not mistake "accessibility" for "friendliness". Alan Dubin, though not performing with nearly as much manic energy, instead has a very robotic and/or alien delivery in his words. This is especially apparent in the pitch-shifted introduction to "Devolve", as he tonelessly states: "Under a rock/ We call it a home/ Me and myself/ We're never alone/ Reaching for things/ That never stay/ Me and myself/ We scare them away". Imagine your answering machine (male voice). Now imagine that this answering machine is at an alien corporation, powered by a robot with a massive case of depression, existential angst, and societal disconnection/alienation (which must be pretty intense, seeing is that it is amongst aliens). Although the vocal treatment changes on every song, it manages to fit with the song perfectly, almost as if the spoken words are trying to bleed into the music. Finally, while there is nothing incredibly unique about the drums and bass of the songs, they commendably serve their intended purpose, in propelling the songs along (although, in all honestly, they need little prompting).

Ironically, though the album is called "Formula', it also has several instances of random occurrences as well. Most notable of these are the orchestral tune-up sample in the first song "Last Look", and the multiple samples in "Thug". For the latter, Plotkin inserted various clips from his first hardcore band, which recorded back in 1983. Though this lo-fi song, abrasive and primitive, is obviously not meant to jel completely with the song, it nevertheless manages to maintain a strange harmony with the main segments of the song.

In the end, O.L.D. would be terminated (though both Plotkin and Dubin would later find a greater degree of recognition in the influential doom-metal band Khanate), an apparent casualty of label indifference. While this album is not for those new to "O.L.D" (that distinction, arguably, goes to "Lo Flux Tube"), it is a fascinating glimpse into the final days of "O.L.D." as well as the early evolution of James Plotkin's solo career. He would later go on and refine the methods and techniques of "Formula" for his solo album "The Joy Of Disease", which has all of the beauty of "Formula", but, ironically, is not constrained by the need to adhere to a "formula" or pre-conceived expectation.

PS Thank you for the heads-up on the album cover pic! :D

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The Unofficial O.L.D. website
Earache Records
Old Lady Drivers Myspace (Fan-site)
Discogs Page
BNR Metal O.L.D. Bio
James Plotkin 1996 Interview
James Plotkin 1997 Interview

Current 93 - The Great In The Small

2007-05-19T18:00:00.000-05:00

The totality of David Tibet's work as Current 93 on one album, consisting of one hour-long track. For the average band, this would be for somewhat awkward proposition at best. For Current 93, however, the end result is mind-boggling. For the recording is supposedly every song out of every album in his 20+ album back catalogue, plus every unreleased song he has created (including alternate mixes, both b-side and compilation track inclusions). Thus, for sixty minutes, a veritable flood of noise rushes past your ears, with absolutely no rhyme or reason. Over a hundred guitar rhythms rub elbows with David Tibet's hissed and half-sung vocals as an astonishing amount of "proto-industrial" sound effects rise up all over the place. While it is possible to isolate a single song and listen in it in it's entirety, who would want to, given the immense amount of concentration to make it out amidst the dozens of other songs around it? Kudos must be givent to Stephen Stapleton, for managing to keep this album a bewildering curiousity rather than the absolute failure it could have been. This is musique concrete, taken to the extreme, then shoved off of the edge of sanity's plateau.

Those new to Current 93 definitely should NOT start with this album. In fact, fans of Current 93 in general should approach this album with caution. Because, while the aural assault may at times lessen in it's intensity, there is no stopping this train once it starts. It is an hour-long journey, and you either ride it for the duration of the trip or jump off beforehand. I must admit, that while I have a great deal of patience (cultivated over the years), I have only been able to listen to the entire track straight through once. People who are well-aquainted with Current 93's formidable back catalogue may find it interesting to identify the individual elements in the album, it is not enough to reconcile the fact that you have basically wasted an hour of your life with the one album in which David Tibet does not have a concrete message to give to the listener.

To my knowledge, The Great In The Small remains out-of-print, but it should be available on Amazon.com, E-Bay, and other vendors.

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Durtro (David Tibet)
Brainwashed Info Page

KTL - KTL

2007-05-19T17:51:00.000-05:00

Stephen O'Malley and Peter Rehberg joined together to create background music for the theatrical production "Kindertotenlieder". One contributed guitars and the other contributed electronics. While these songs were not actually used in the production itself, they are supposedly created from those aesthetic elements.

Strangely enough, the best song is also the first: the lengthy "Estranged". To me, the many elements within the song: the buzzing electronics (reminiscent of insects), the underlying drone and synthetic washes of sound (which could be anything from the silence of the forest to the underlying menace and mysteriousness any larger forest naturally exudes) very naturally conjure up images of a dark forest. O'Malley's sparse guitar improvisation, by contrast, could represent the "estrangement" of the listener. Wandering through the forest aimlessly, making sudden turns and detours because there is no clear way of keeping track of where you have been. The clear guitar tone is also a welcome change, as it portrays melencholic overtones as well as sounding vaguely mournful. It is, in short, one of the best "ambient" songs I have heard in a long time, and (in my opinion) is a large part of why some will claim that this is akin to "ambient offshoot isolationism" (though I confess that I am unfamiliar with Lull or Final's early work).

The majority of the album is taken up by the four-part "Forest Floor" suite (this is also where the "new form of black metal" is to be found)."Forestfloor 1" opens with O'Malley's patented low-end guitar with dischordant mid-range guitar riffing pulsing in the center of the mix. Just as quickly, however, comes Peter Rehburg's hissing electronics, flittering back and forth throughout both speaker channels. The lo-fi guitars do not change much beyond the initial pattern played, though the low-end guitars slowly evolve as the electronic elements wax and wane in intensity, with occasional guitar feedback squealing like a dying animal (or machine) towards the end.

"Forestfloor 2" see Rehburg's industrial machinery take on a more rhythmic nature (almost sounding like mechanical frogs or boars). Sonically similar to the first track (and the two after this one), it distinguishes itself by having a feeling of malice and menace to it (as opposed to the foreboding nature of the first track). The mid-range guitars are also pushed much further back in the mix, as opposed to being very noticeable in the first track. Less variation on the electronics, though. Thankfully, creepy organic noises are introduced ten minutes in (along with more guitar feedback), saving the song from musical stagnation (although it could be argued that by then it's too little, too late). A break at 11:00 minutes is a nice transition from the previous homogenous cacaphony. Eventually, all that remains is broken riffing and a half-hearted buzzing, as if the song itself is dying from the inside.

The third section of the "Forestfloor" begins with an amplified version of the buzz originally heard at the end of the second song, along with drone guitars that seem to be even further detuned and low-pitch than the first two sections. This track appears to have a bit more echoing involved, and the electronics sound like animals, clouds, wind, and insects (often at the same time). But these are not pleasant elements of nature; instead, they are enraged and violent, both at each other and at any individual foolish enough to stumble into their domain.

Finally, "Forestfloor 4" features a blazing black metal riff (with actual progression) prominently towards the beginning of the song. Rehburg slowly creeps in with digitized (and slightly understated) growls which pan back and forth.

KTL lets the listener down gently with "Snow". Opening with echoing clanking and strange whistling, along with the occasional bass hum. Insect chatter slowly crawls up after six minutes. It swiftly builds in intensity, while various guitar FX are used (while it sounds like O'Malley is physically striking the guitar). On the whole, it is peculiar, unobtrusive, and somewhat unremarkable.

Is this really black metal? Well, in my opinion I would classify this as something else altogether. Although I will give credit for O'Malley for inadvertently pointing out a painfully clear fact: that far too much self-parody exists within the black metal genre for it to be taken seriously. In a sense, black metal needs avant-garde productions like this in order to keep the more discenring listeners around for more than just a cursory listen (although it is important to note that, while black metal may need KTL, KTL in no way needs the 'black label' moniker). While I somewhat chafed at the lack of variation at certain points in the album, it thankfully never became more than a minor nagging point.

While at first I was somewhat unimpressed, a few more times listening to the entire album and I began to appreciate some of the subtle nuances in KTL. Peter Rehberg, in my mind, is the star of the show. While O'Malley obviously provides the meat and potatoes in most of the songs, it is Rehberg's various electronic and industrial elements which provide that special flair to the songs. While sometimes they are more effective than others (comparing "Forestfloor 3" to "Forestfloor 2"), they always, somehow, perfectly complement the elements O'Malley is adding. Given the satisfactory nature of this album, I look forward to someday hearing "KTL 2". Although I am not the biggest fan of (what could be argued as) Stephen O'Malley's posturing on many of his more recent releases (such as that of the just-released Grave Temple Trio album: "Me and Greg and a few other guys played in Israel even though our families told us not to!"), it is the unavoidable truth that he (along with his collaborators) are slowly making waves within their respective subgenres, changing them radically (hopefully for the better).

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Peter Rehberg (Pita, KTL, etc.)
Ideologic (SOMA)
Myspace
Editions Mego (Label)
Aurora Borealis (Label)

Gang Gang Dance - God's Money

2007-05-15T02:24:00.000-05:00

...then there are some bands that willfully defy catagorization, yet simultaneously tempting you to try to label them, only to fail miserably. Many of these bands also tend to through musicality out of the window, either for the sake of experimentalism, dischordance, or the presentation of severe auditory trauma. Gang Gang Dance is none of these things; instead, it takes musical conventions, but instead of adopting them, it instead dances around them. What exactly do I mean by this? Read further and discover...

Gang Gang Dance, a recently (within the last few years) formed band, which, within the context of their second album, mixes at least a dozen musical genres in a blender and creates an end-result that is quite unique (while somehow retaining distinct characteristics of the genres the music is portraying). Upbeat drums play an integral part to the album, providing the "tribal" backbone to the expansive and beautifully expressive songs. Yet there is also a gentle hailstorm of electronics floating around the mixes, often providing backdrops to the song but then interacting with the percussion in equal measure. Piano, guitar, chimes, xylaphone, marimba, and various keyboards/synthesizers also make their presence known. Finally, the vocals provided by Liz Bougatsos are as equally expressive as the various insturments are, and perhaps even more passionate. Though it is sometimes hard to understand what exactly she is saying (when she is even singing words), her delivery paints a very vivid (and abstract) mental picture of the possible visual representations of the songs. Assertive yet gentle, basic yet complicated, open yet cryptic and esoteric are just a few of the paradoxes encountered when trying to describe Bougatsos' sound.

I was going to write a song-by-song description, but with five Google server errors occuring at 4:00 AM in the morning, I finally got tired of writing and re-writing the same thing over and over again. So, long story short, "God's Money" is all good, especially the songs "Before My Voice Fails" and "Egowar". So go check them out; they are much better than the silly "neo-primitivist" or "avant-garde post-rock" labels would imply.

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Official Site
Myspace
The Social Registry
(Label)

Khanate - Things Viral

2007-05-14T04:48:00.001-05:00

How do you define 'absolute misery'? Is it something you experience only once in your lifetime (such as the death of one's father, receiving the news that you have a terminal disease that has yet to develop a name or support group, or witnessing your entire town disappear into a previously uncharted sinkhole) or is it a gradual descent into a 'contaminated' state of mind? Perhaps it is something so insidiously slow that the individual does not even realize that he or she is living in the absolute worst period of their life, and that the situation does not look hopeful. Yet one thing is certain: it cannot be mistaken for any other emotion or thought process. Neither momentary suffering or temporary setbacks can masquerade as this overpowering emotion and experience. Instead, it slowly stomps through the foliage and treeline. You can hear it, both the thunderous reverberations of it's massive hooves and the anguished squawks of disturbed birds, yet the terrifying realization sets in that, perhaps, you might never escape it.

If 'absolute misery' had a soundtrack, it would be hard to not recommend "Things Viral" to receive that distinction.

Khanate was one of the most recognizable acts performing "extreme doom", and with good reason: in the five years of their existence, they managed to produce three highly regarded albums (although, each one had their fair share of detractors as well). Things Viral is their second album, after their generally well-received self-titled album. While that album had a basic structure about it (albeit in a much harsher and slower form than your average doom metal band), Things Viral takes convention and stomps it to pieces; taking the dissolution of traditional "musical" structures to an (il)logical extreme. In this set-up, sound is not used as a paint brush, illustrating the message the artist wishes to portray. Instead, it is a hammer, utilized to attack the listener. Whether the listener "gets the message or not" is almost besides the point.

Throughout four "movements", Khanate drops minor-chord riffs and bass notes with the the plodding force of purpose, letting the resulting echoes and ambience hang painfully between spaces (with various electronic bursts as various points in the album). Vicious drum hits are added as punishing staccato punctuation marks (obviously exclamation points), as Alan Dubin, Khanate's lead singer, presents a truly chilling vocal presentation.

Much can be written about the vocals on this record, as they are one of the main reasons why this album is so effective in what it attempts (and succeeds) in creating: a palatable sense of unease. Previously in Alan Dubin's career (mainly with the pseudo-grindcore band O.L.D.), his voice was usually treated with various vocal FXs, making him seem more of a robot or manic-depressive alien than human. Yet here, his presentation is human. Horribly so. In four songs, a diverse range of ranting, tortured hypothetical questions, violent threats (wrapped in metaphor), and many instances of out-and-out screaming and yelling are witnessed, as Dubin ponders murder, suicide, depression, futility, paranoia, frustration, and death. There is no logic behind his ranting: it is instead with the anguished force of extreme depression. With such lines as "instead of reading, talking, laughing just feeling / now we're here / pieces of us in my hands, on the floor, in my pockets / RED GLORY", it is obvious that the individual being presented here is beyond redemption (either by himself or by society). By the fourth song, Dubin's vocals have moved galaxies beyond feebly attempting to express misery, and have moved into the nebulous realm of twisted/negative adjectives, in an attempt to show his utter distaste and disapproval of the outside world. "outside: things ugly, things viral / inside: ugly, dismal, safe, nothing more needed". It is clear that, ultimately the concept of absolute misery fuels a loathing that is equally directed internally as it is externally.

As for the music...well, it is not really music as commonly defined. Each of the four tracks at least nine minutes long, with the first two passing slightly over the nineteen minute mark. The space between sound is as important as the chords and percussion themselves, and while the songs themselves are slow to evolve, with relatively few obviously noticeable changes, those that do occur make themselves known immediately: a head-jerk reaction. The music, for the most part, perfectly describes (musically) what Dubin is screeching out at the given period of time. However, even the guitar and drums eventually fade away into the album's ultimate conclusion: a high-pitched hum begins as Dubin randomly rasps out words such as "sicken/ugly/envy/can't get past/dismal/safe", gasping for breath between each phrase. The sound suddenly increases exponentially, as industrial-esque generator noises and rumbling slowly intensifies, along with Dubin's labored delivery, until a distorted drum solo kicks up the claustrophobia factor to nearly the breaking point. And then the album ends.

Upon it's release, two factions emerged: one that absolutely loved "Things Viral", and another which condemned it for being either too boring or too dark. While I can readily agree that it would be easy to believe that this record would be above many listener's comfort levels, I cannot comprehend how anyone can find this album "boring". Granted, the pacing of the album is slow almost to the point of stasis, yet that is what makes it so effective. But there is enough variation within the album to keep interest up. After "Things Viral", Khanate would release one more album, "Capture And Release", that while improving on a few aspects of the band's sound, also retrogresses on many other's (namely the slightly muddier mix and the reduction of James Plotkin's electronic elements in the mix). Shortly thereafter, Khanate broke up, with James Plotkin accusing "other members" of the band of being more concerned with day jobs than being fully committed to music. With only three other members, and Plotkin continuing onward in several projects with Tim Wyskida (Khanate's drummer), it is not difficult to deduce who is partially to blame [given the fact that Stephen O'Malley is noted for his design work and various other side-proejcts in addition to Sunn O)))]. Although there were some who also believed Alan Dubin contributed to Khanate's dissolution, he was believed to have been surprised at the band's break-up (although, tellingly, he was quick to announce that he had begun to provide vocals for a newly-developed project and he also was noted by James Plotkin as having commitment problems towards the last O.L.D. album).

While a fourth album has been hinted at, and a sample (in which the music takes an intriguing move from the realm of slower-than-dirt doom to mid-paced improvisation), it has been up in the air for some time when (if ever) it will be released (although, frustratingly, Dubin's vocals seem to have recovered from the abstract third-person tale-telling seen on Capture & Release to embrace a style reminiscent of the first-person viewpoint expressed on "Things Viral").

Nevertheless, regardless of Khanate's untimely end (and the possible internal politics within the band which possibly contributed to it), "Things Viral" is a shining star in Khanate's small body of work. It stands as a masterpiece of music which transcends the genres of experimental doom metal, into something completely indescribable. It is, in short, an experience...one that is highly recommended. In short, as one Internet commenter noted: "This would affect even the most blithe". Truer words were never spoken.

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Khanate official page (Plotkin)
Southern Lord biography
Load Records biography
Alan Dubin MySpace
Encyclopaedia Metallum info sheet
Blabbermouth.net Khanate break-up announcement
Daymare Recordings (Re-releases)
HydraHead Records

Negativland - Escape From Noise

2007-05-13T04:16:00.000-05:00

One of copyright law's most visible opponents, Negativland presents a sound collages of bewildering perplexity on a variety of topics and situations. Some of the scenarios involved are serious (such as the physical and emotional remnants of car crashes), yet many of them are tongue-in-cheek (lampooning the early Pepsi ad campaigns). Recently, Negativland's most notable accomplishment was the creation of an album that was 100% sampled from other musicians/personalities material (although it must be stated that their album "No Business" is definitely not the first album to be constructed in this manner). While mainstream DJs bemoan the increasing costs of legitimate sampling, Negativland instead throws caution and convention to the winds as they create unique musique concrete pieces to the music industry and the modern consumer, as they champion "free use" policies and other issues regarding intellectual property concerns. Their most publicized creation was a parody of a classic U2 song, although "Escape From Noise" is one of their most consistent and straight-forward statements.

"Escape From Noise" is one of Negativland's most acclaimed albums. The concept that loosely intertwines the highly divergent songs is the continual escape from noise: from blind consumerism, fundamentalism, white noise, commercialism, and other nagging (yet perpetual) intangibilities. However, the album does not always hold itself to this concept, as it will just as often make wild right-turns into seemingly unrelated places of interest (although closer examinations can reveal similar aspects between the topics). Simplistic drum tracks with funky synth bass lines and infrequent electric guitar often accompany these songs, as samples narrate the direction of the song title. Occasionaly, a nasal-monotone man will explain along with the song (and, in an amusingly half-hearted attempt, singing), most often with various sound effects popping up at specific intervals.

Many of the songs directly deal with the "escape from noise" motif, often using the actual phrase as a chorus, in songs that present the shadier side of radio broadcasting, white noise desensitation, Christian fundamentalism's occasional targeting of rock music in "moral crusades", the possible physical consequences of white noise oversaturation, and the various non-beneficial ways sound can be utilized. They all share a similar vibe to a certain degree, and many of them utilize the same set of samples, though they may be radically altered from track to track. Also, all of the tracks present "noise", in all of it's various manifestations, as a fundamentally undesirable situation, one in which escape may be impossible (hence the repeated hypothetical query "Is there any escape from noise?").

Much like a town with main attractions, the out-of-the-way antique shops and ice cream parlors that are not associated with the larger establishments are often as interesting (if not more so) than the regular institutions. Thus, so it is with the albums "non-thematic related" songs. Included in the collection is an interesting tale of frustration caused by failures on the Playboy channel, a song about Lime Soda, a toddler singing "Over The Rainbow" (with hiccups), a somewhat long explanation of the extra-second inclusion in universal time zones, a mental health examination, and (resulting in what is unarguably Negativland's most controversial song) a song featuring the lyrics: "The loudspeaker spoke up and said: Christianity is stupid, Communism is good. Did you hear that? Give up! About five o'clock in the morning...til' ten o'clock at night!" (which meaning becomes even more indecipherable when considering that the samples apparently came from a Christian fundamentalist minister). Finally, the album ends with what it was fleeing and dreading the entire time: a short burst of unidentifiable static noise.

In many cases where music is designed to portray a specific message to the listener (in other words, it is not supposed to be open to interpretation), it often falls on it's face because the seriousness of the message will often turn off many listeners. Negativland overcomes this by masking the message in humorous appeals to the mundane aspects of life while interspersing their seriousness with various presentations of the surreal and bizarre. Granted, some of the songs now appear to be more controversial now than when the album was first released in 1987, yet they still have the same urgency and sense of relevance now as they did back then.

Hopefully, with this well-constructed work of re-constructed sampling, you can finally answer the question of: "Is there any escape from noise?".

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Negativland Official Page

Will - Déjà Vu

2007-05-11T14:39:00.000-05:00

Medieval techno-industrial. At first glance, this would seem like a rather overblown description for any band, yet this is precisely what Will is. Consisting of the trio of Rhys Fulber and Chris Peterson (both Front Line Assembly members currently and at various intervals in the past) with John McRae (who would later become the first vocalist for the Decree project), Will is “electro-Wagnerian” (to use the band’s self-description) music, mostly comprised of “martial” drums (both natural and electronic), church organ samples, harpsichord, horns, various melodic percussion, industrial synth backgrounds, a kitchen sink worth of choral samples, guitar (rarely), piano (rarely) and John McRae’s singing. Excuse me, I mean shouting. In a humorous anecdote, I once read that Will’s vocalist was promoted as “the most violent voice you have ever heard”. While this usually can be taken as a tongue-in-cheek comment from any band, this especially holds true for Will. Why? Mainly because McRae’s voice, while far from being completely ineffective, is laughably far from being the “most violent voice”. His “proclamations” (as it were), are one of the few negatives of the album, and while I do not hold them in contempt as other reviewers may have done, I will concede the fact that they are a bit of a weakness.

The album I reviewed, “Déjà vu”, collects the entirety of the band’s discography, omitting only two songs in the retrospective (although the band only released one LP and one EP during it’s lifetime). Songs are, for the most part, very similar in terms of overall feel and execution, yet thankfully there are subtle differences and instrumentation changes throughout the pieces , in order to keep them fresh and interesting (though, as typified by many bands which focus on atmospheric and emotional effect, the song structure is quite repetitive and cyclical). The choral touches often add a bit of majesty to the songs, which would be much less captivating without them. In addition, the various “electro-harpsichord” (?) melodies found throughout are also generally interesting as well (especially on the songs “Father Forgive (Remixed Version” and the ending of “Epilogue”). The lyrics, while not included with the CD, are somewhat obtuse medieval poetic “statements” (for lack of a readily available better term). While they do not always make an immediate impact on the listener during the music, they are, intriguingly, somewhat more interesting to read on their own.

This is a unique band and release. The band released their LP and EP during 1991-1992, then were inactive until the release of the compilation in 1997, which was when Decree was created, featuring Chris Peterson, John McRae (again on vocal duties), and guitarist Jeff Stoddard. While the idea to re-activate the band has been considered, it would be difficult to determine exactly how this type of music would be received by today’s listening audience. My fear would be that current trends would not support this type of music (although the individual musician’s development since the inception of Will would promise a greatly enhanced experience).

Obviously, the end result is that this album is a bit of an acquired taste, yet if the concept sounds interesting to you, then you will probably not be disappointed in purchasing “Déjà vu”. I can claim from personal experience that I wasn’t.

Edit: It appears that COP International has removed their info page they used to have regarding Will. Phooey.

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Mindphaser Page
COP International

Final - 3

2007-05-09T18:20:00.000-05:00

Most people, when they think of guitarist Justin Broadrick, usually think back to the days of industrial metal giants Godflesh, or perhaps the drone-ish, shoegaze-ish post-Godflesh project Jesu, or even his early work with the first LP of Napalm Death. They usually, however, do not think of Final, his first project, created (apparently) when he was thirteen. Initially consisting of noise/power electronics tracks, it slowly shifted over the years to a more psychedelic bent. The most recent version of Final is mainly composed of cyclical guitar manipulations. Although I have yet to remember where I saw it written, I am fairly positive that the material recorded for his last two albums in recent years were created mostly using electric guitars and various distortions/effects (whereas previous records had more synthesizers and samples being featured).

With material spanning from 2000-2005 (with the dissolution of Godflesh allowing for more time to be devoted to both Final and his new project Jesu), "3" is a rather lengthy set of tracks: twenty-seven to be exact, spanning roughly two and a half hours. The majority of the tracks range from about three to six minutes, with a ten to twelve minute track appear every eight to ten tracks. Most of the tracks are diverse excursions in guitar ambience, with many appearing to have an icy digital haze and echo about them (giving some credence to Allmusic's rather strange band description of Final specializing in "malevolent space music"). Others are more direct in their approach, with abstract chords and subdued industrial elements. Finally, a scattered few songs have repetitive melodies in them, although they are usually rather distorted or pitch-shifted. The mixes used in the songs themselves also vary greatly, from crystal-clear production to rather garbled lo-fi sound quality (although it usually matches the overall feel and effect of any given song).

Twenty-seven songs is quite a large presentation. Also, with material ranging over a period of five years, it is quite understandable that the quality will vary somewhat. Therein lies the one of the few main weaknesses of this double-record set: while there are many captivating and interesting sections in "3", there are also quite a few periods of aimlessness and misdirection. Thankfully, none of the songs are ever completely terrible (with the sole exception being the obnoxious "Eden" piece), and the better songs more than make up for the weaker ones.

If you are looking for actual songs, then you may wish to look elsewhere. This is best described as electronic guitar ambience, fortified with various synthetic structures. Thus, the emphasis is on mood and feelings, rather than melody (although the few melodic pieces in the album, such as "Trees" and "Golden" are interesting in their own way), with general album standouts being "The Light Orchestra", "Trees", and the moody "Confusion".

This album is my first exposure to Final, as I understand that his previous album "Solaris" was also quite good as well. Given that this is a compilation of sorts, I eagerly await his next Final effort as a unified presentation. It is best not to listen to "3" all the way through, but to find and play which song you are in the mood to listen to. Lucky for us, there are plenty of good choices to choose from in "3".

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Official Final website
Final wikipedia page
Crumbling Flesh discography page
Myspace page
Neurot Recordings

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EDIT: I am in the process of slowly cleaning up the blog, mainly in fixing the links to hyperlinks, but also polishing up various bits and pieces. Also will probably fix the first two posts to get rid of some of the excess detritus. As always, thank you all for your continued interest/support.

One Eyed God Prophecy - Discography

2007-05-07T22:56:00.002-05:00

One Eyed God Prophecy was a Canadian hardcore/"post-emo hardcore/crust band active for a very short time during the mid 1990's. They could also, arguably, be classified as "proto-screamo" as well, given that their music has been claimed to have heavily influenced Orchid and June Paik. During their short lifespan, they only managed to release one 12" on the indie label "The Great American Steak Religion" (which also released several vinyl releases by His Hero Is Gone). Later, a fan made "discography" CD was created in 2001, featuring the original LP tracks and two live sets.

Their quick and thundering guitar and drum attack is reminiscent of many other hardcore bands, they also incorporate slower, somber interludes, including acoustic guitar segments, strange spoken word samples, and menacing synth passages. Unfortunately, while the vocals are quite expressive and emotional, they are occasionally buried deep within the mix, one of the few negatives of the album in general.

While not incredibly groundbreaking, it is by no means unrewarding either. It is an interesting glimpse into the formation of the 'screamo' sound found in many other bands in the late Nineties. Of course, one can always wonder what would have happened had they managed to stick around longer....

Special thanks to "john" for the timely info/correction. Included below is the original article link and several additional sites of interest found when re-researching the band. Also, got rid of the "placeholder" picture and put up the proper LP graphic.
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OEGP Info From Quebec Hardcore News
The Great American Steak Religion (Wikipedia)
One Eyed God Prophecy

Ain Soph - II

2007-05-07T05:03:00.000-05:00

In many respects, the group Ain Soph is very similar to the more popular Current 93. They both began in the early 1980's as proto-industrial groups creating music for ritual use. Also, both groups made major shifts in their musical vision relatively early in their careers (with both exploring folk music, with Ain Soph also pursing "sacral-hymns" and psychedelic hard rock).

The first song is a meandering industrial haze, with murky industrial hums underlying metallic percussion (gongs?) in addition to strange tapping noises and warbling spoken word (apparently "reciting the Enochian First Key" formula, although I imagine it would be hard for anyone who wasn't immediately familiar with it to know it as such). At various times, barely discernable whispers float in the distance, far removed from the main vocals, as the music slowly builds in intensity. Eventually, what might be random guitar strumming (although that is far from certain) is added, as the whispered voice now becomes as prominent as the original distorted one, chanting the four words printed on the front of the album cover. While the overall presentation is relatively well-constructed, I am neither impressed nor disenchanted so far. Instead, I find myself curiously ambivalent. This is partially due to my admitted ignorance regarding anything Enochian in nature, thus I cannot tell if this is effective or not in a ritual sense (apparently one of the main appealing features most of the listeners found when this was first released). Ironically enough, this is also similar to my feelings towards Current 93's earliest work Lashtal (which was supposed to be an invocation for a demon or celestial being of some sort). However, in this instance, my ambivalence towards (unfortunately) to boredom, as the first track is just over thirty minutes. I can appreciate it being repetitive in the sense of being 'ritualistic', but since I am not familiar with how it is supposed to be experienced, it is hard for it to keep my attention more than short periods of time.

The second track is a bit more assertive than the first one, as a pounded (but slightly blurred) gong in the background accompanies a spoken word narrative (which is somewhat hard to understand due to the slight accent of the speaker and the clanging in the background). Once again, it's hard to understand exactly what the vocals are getting at, but what I can understand involves the speaker referring to very esoteric terminology and heavily symbolic phrases, the most common one being: "Be ready to fly or to smite(?)". Other notably weird phrases included: "...and a voice said: Stay outside" and "This is my kingdom...my sister, my lover".

A rumbling rhythm starts off the calmer third track, followed quickly by male/female vocals and whispers. Occasional bass hums and industrial noises punctuate the song at various locations. Also notable is that the lyrics are in Italian, making the inability to understand the subject matter somewhat easier to digest.

Finally, a strange buzzing synth levitates directly beneath somber male choir vocalizations. Quasi-operatic tenor (or alto) female vocalists soon join. It is significant to note that, while being the shortest segment of the group, it is also the track I am most excited and engage about when listening to it (which is somewhat tragic, given that it is the shortest at seven minutes). Why this theme is not pursued further on this recording is beyond me, given that the singing on this song is quite inspiring and genuinely moving during some sections (invariably reminding me of similarly styled vocals inserted at the end of Ocean Machine's "Voices In The Fan" song).

Overall, this is a good (if not terribly impressive) album, more important in a historical context rather than a musical context. Ain Soph would later abandon this experimental music form in favor of hard rock, avant-garde and folk music (not in that order). Judging from the compelling nature of the last track (easily the album's standout), I would be interested in hearing their album of "sacral-hymns". However, for fan's curious of industrial's/dark ambient 'ritual/cult' beginnings, independent from Throbbing Gristle, might find in Ain Soph's "II" album much of interest (especially if they are familiar with the theology represented behind the music). If, on the other hand, you have explored such avenues as Current 93's "Nature Unveiled" or "Dogs Blood Rising" or perhaps even the earlier Lustmord, Controlled Bleeding, or Nocturnal Emissions recordings, there is precious little here that is substantially different any of the similar artists during that time period (despite claims that they were one of the 'originators'...a somewhat sketchy claim at best).

EDIT: Also, just found out that the last track reviewed was a bonus track...apparently the original only included the first three. What a pity.

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Official site (in Italian)
Old Europa Cafe
Misty Circles (in Italian)
Discogs page

Slomo - The Creep

2007-05-06T17:56:00.000-05:00

Picture a sloth. Now, imagine that the sloth has just awoken from a deep sleep…cryogenic fugue, to be exact. He takes his first steps to find that he has stepped into an endless field of molasses, one that is quickly turning to ice in the frigid weather. All of this is taking place…underwater, by the way.

Is Slomo really that slow? No. But curiously, it comes close.

Featuring an hour long improvisational piece, consisting of a pulsating synth bass line, high pitched guitar manipulations (though it’s hard to tell that it is actually a guitar and not feedback, etc), random metallic clattering, and the frequently mentioned “zero eye-contact” feature (whatever that means, if it actually means anything). That is basically the extent that I can comment on the recording. Highly touted by such doom notables as Julian Cope and Stephen O’Malley, this is a “love-it-or-hate-it” type of recording. There is very little variation on the track besides the various guitar feedback, but then again, it was meant to be that way. On the positive side, the “music” at times does invoke a genuinely creepy feeling, mainly in that the music is very understated, yet consistent and unsettling. In short, this is doom that has been reduced down to the absolute minimum components: the line in which doom and dark ambience is purposefully blurred. Yet it also manages to hold your attention quite effectively, and before you know it, sixteen to thirty-five minutes have passed and you did not realize it. Such is the power of Slomo.

Apparently, Chris McGrail and Howard Marsden (the duo in charge of Slomo) are eventually going to produce a follow-up to “The Creep”. That would be quite an experience to listen to, for how can they possibly develop the near cult-like precision they apply to their sound? In a description in Aquarius Records, I found an appropriate line taken from the Slomo booklet:

“Whose detractors call static…but whose champions call Ecstasis?”

This applies to dark ambient and doom metal in general, but is also very particular to Slomo specifically. If you are a fan of dark ambient, doom metal, or slower-than-slow music, you can compare various bands claims, or you can go straight to the source with Slomo.

For best results, listen at a fairly high volume.

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Official website
Myspace website
Holy McGrail website
Important Records

Today Is The Day - Sadness Will Prevail

2007-05-05T15:30:00.000-05:00

First words: this is an intimidating release. With thirty tracks, a number that many grindcore bands will not reach on any given release, Sadness Will Prevail clocks in at 145 minutes. Today Is The Day became famous for playing a vicious variety of jagged metal-hardcore, most notable on seminal albums "Willpower", "In The Eyes Of God", and "Temple Of The Morning Star" (the latter frequently featuring in many musicians' list of influences). However, frontman Steve Austin widely expands his musical vision on this release, by including various noise passages, acoustic insturmentals, piano scores, and found sound. While his ambition for this album is readily apparent, it does not always translate into a coherent experience, with the musical direction of the album frequently taking wild left turns. In addition, the quality work and filler material is thrown in rather haphazardly, as if the project exploded into it's current form.

While it would be commendable if I reviewed every track individually, I am certain that I would lose my sanity by the end of the last song. Thus, I will approach them by groups. The easiest cluster of songs to describe is the "straightforward" rock songs. Here we find Today Is The Day in fine form, with many of the songs being at least as good as ones found on their previous tracks. Here, jagged riffs and scattershot drumming rule the day. In addition, Steve Austin's vocals are as abrasive and anguished as ever (although he tends to use his multi-layered "high pitch" vocals/screaming more often than on previous releases). Thankfully, while some of the metal songs sound vaguely similar (an unavoidable occurance with a double album this size), most have various solos and musical breaks to help distinguish themselves amongst the group. Notable standout tracks include "The Descent" (for which an awesome music video was made), the furious "Crooked", "Invincible", the huge "Never Answer The Phone" and the truly disheartening "Sadness Will Prevail" (which comes complete with a truly unnerving ending).

Unfortunatly, there is a very large amount of filler and/or ineffective material. Included in this category are song introductions or whole songs that are distorted beyond reason or purpose (the intro to "Distortion Of Nature", "Miasma") and shimmering interludes that sound very similar to each other ("Butterflies", "The Ivory Of Self Hate", "Your Life Is Over", and "Friend"). That's not to say that all of the filler is inherently bad: "Vivicide" consists of a compelling female vocalist, while "Voice Of Reason" and "Your Life Is Over" contain some interesting (though conflicting and possibly detuned) melodies on piano and guitar (with random electronic squeals hovering in the background).

In the long run, it is difficult to give a complete answer as to whether or not I would reccomend this album. On the one hand, it contains musical glimpses of ideas and technicality that are almost revolutionary. However, it contains much that, on the surface, appears extraneous and/or under-developed. Also, it is important to note that this album lacks the one thing which helped make every preceding Today Is The Day album a success: a coherent and unified theme, played with excellent technical prowess. In contrast, this album is sprawled all over the place, from well-played songs to sloppily (assumedly) improvised interludes. I must admit that I have yet found the patience to listen to the entire work from start to finish, and I do not expect many others to be able to either. For those that do however, you will find in "Sadness Will Prevail" a fascinating experience, provided you can stomach the various pitfalls of mediocrity and needless filler that dot the road along the way.

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Today Is The Day (Official site)
Supernova Records
Relapse Records

Alcest - Le Secret

2007-05-04T15:03:00.000-05:00

This is a beautiful album; hardly the sort of description you would typically find in a review of a black metal album. Yet, in the slowly increasing sub-genre of "black metal (but really isn't)", Alcest's EP "Le Secret" is a shining example of what listeners will find in the genre once they learn to accept elements beyond the stereotyped staples of the music form. While driving and cyclical black metal comprises of the majority of the song structure, there are many elements to the production which elevate it from your typical black metal release.

One of the main aspects of this album which make it enjoyable is that, far from being a "depressive" and/or "suicidal" sounding composition, the tone of the album seems to be one of at least optimism (judging from the music alone, since the vocals are in French). Also, while the "traditional" growled metal voice is present, there is also various types of fragile clear singing (particuarly on the first track, "Le Secret", in which the vocalist sounds almost fragile in his delivery, in which you almost have to strain to make out his singing against the mix) as well as various whispered segments throughout the two songs.

The second song, "Elevation", opens in a similar manner as the first, with a similar insturmental intro (in this case being a heavenly sounding synth bed as opposed to the first song's acoustic guitar intro). Also, the song introduces the "metal" vocals. While not as compelling as the clear variety, they are still quite good and effective for the song.

One of the main pitfalls of any black metal release is succumbing to it's own repetitive nature. There are few things worse than having to sit through an extended black metal song with absolutely no song progression. Thankfully, Alcest manages to circumvent this common mistake by crafting various "melancholic" melodies that manage to be instantly memorable (there were a lot of M's in that sentence), occasionaly inserting various insturmental breaks which add to the overall tone of the song without feeling arbitrarily inserted into the piece.

Of course, this release is not perfect (although I selfishly wish it was). My main negative with the album is that the vocals are slightly buried in the mix, when bringing them closer to the front would (in my opinion) have made a much greater impact on the average listener. However, aside from this minor quibble, there are precious few things to find wrong with this EP.

Currently, Alcest seems to have signed a lengthy record deal and is poised to release their debut CD sometime during this summer. Judging from the promo songs posted on their website, they appear to have shifted from a black metal basis to a more melodic post-rock genre (while retaining all of the elements which made "Le Secret" good). While their website posits the claim that their new album "...brings to mind memories of the innocence and bliss of a childhood long past as well as impressions of a fantastic realm of perfect harmony..." (which sounds rather childish and lame on the surface), upon listening to their debut EP, it instead becomes a rather inviting prospect to listen to.

Highly reccomended if you are fortunate enough to acquire it.

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Alcest (Official website)
Myspace page
Prophecy Productions Records
Drakkar Productions Records (Where the original, limited edition of "Le Secret" was sold. Unfortunatly, it is now a little bit harder to find without a decent amount of searching).

Black Mayonnaise - VII

2007-05-04T05:14:00.000-05:00

Black Mayonnaise is an "experimental doom sludge" one-man band (as well as "undecayed sediment, sewage, and petrochemical wastes" typically found on the bottom of harbors, bays, and oceans). Sludge is indeed quite an apt description of this album, as rumbling guitars fuzz contentedly alongside extremely garbled and low-end vocals (one website referred to them as "dying Elephant Man gurgles", which is actually a decent comparison) and a persistent drum beat. While this lo-fi concept initially sounds as if it could be viable, there are a few points within the album which detract from what could have been a fascinating production.

To begin, the album's main concept is that passages from Dante's Inferno are supposedly being recited on top of repetitive sludge doom motifs. Yet, the vocals are so slow and mangled that they actually could be about paying taxes, cutting your hair, or reading the back of a cereal box, and no one would know the difference. While the lack of comprehensibility will probably not bother most people who would listen to this, it does make me wonder why he bothered presenting the album as a conceptual work with thematically linked pieces if there is no way to tell they are linked other than the fact that they all sound vaguely similar to one another? Without a lyric sheet, there is absolutely no way to be certain what is being "gurgled" out (and gurgled is a very accurate description, almost to the point of creepiness in places, such as in the fifth song, where liquid sound effects bubble and percolate throughout the piece...very unsettling, to be sure).

In addition, the overall repetitiveness and blandness of the songs themselves further blunt the experience. Sure, the repetition of patterns is a commonly held staple of doom in general, yet there is little that sets the individual tracks apart. What is frustrating about this is that, during many of the songs, there are elements that are thrown in that sound promising, but quickly disappear back into the murky quagmire of the general theme of the album. Notable instances of this include the mid-tempo intro to the third song (almost tribal in nature) which inexplicably stops after a minute and weird "electronic sounding" manipulations of the "vocals" in the second song.

Then, there is the sixteen-minute "Waves" piece: an extended set of various rising and falling synthesizer tones and pads, remaining fairly constant until ten minutes into the song, where strange "outer space" beeps and blips are added at random intervals. One can't help but feel that this ultimately is filler of the worst sort (especially since without it the album would have run under 25 minutes).

Finally, the "bonus live track" is also quite a disappointment. Intentionally lo-fidelity production is further hampered by a mediocre live audience recording. While the previous songs were tolerable for curiosities sake, this is simply painful to listen to for more than short periods at a time.

Overall, this is an abysmal record. The majority of the songs have a feeling of incompleteness about them, with many of the more interesting moments vanishing just when they should have been explored further. It is also rather lopsided, as the "Waves" track could be considered the second sonic half of the album that should have been instead distributed in healthy doses among the rest of the songs. A small amount of research on my part revealed that he later would incorporate a somewhat cleaner production with various electronic on his first "official" full length "TTSSATTSR", and thankfully it would appear that many of the negative aspects of the "VII" album were for the most part corrected. But be assured, that despite what has been said by promoting sources, this is far from "classic" material (indeed, the most appropriate final word would be from the front man, Mike Duncan: "The other crowd of discriminators possess a much higher level of integrity. These are the individuals who have listened to the project and have empirically reduced it to simplistic weird sounds created by an overactive imagination and not "music" at all; more or less a truism... for the most part").

Gurgle, gurgle.

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Black Mayonnaise (Official website)
Discogs Page
Emperor Jones Records
Midheaven Mailorder
(to order "VII" record)
Aversion Online review of a Black Mayonnaise split album

Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030

2007-04-25T04:48:00.000-05:00

My last few reviews have dealt with rather dark albums, so naturally I wanted to listen to something more light-hearted. Thus, my thoughts turned to Deltron 3030, a collection of futuristic hip-hop songs featuring Gorillaz collaborators Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Dan The Automator, and noted turntablist Koala The Kid, as well as a handful of other producers and lyricists (such as Prince Paul, founder of the hip-hop skit) making short guest appearences. Deltron 3030 is a concept album focusing on the exploits of Deltron Zero and his crewmates in a post-apocalyptic future where humanity has finally been forced off planet Earth into the impersonal chill of outer space. As expected, outer space is far from a perfect place, as society has become corrupted through increased government oppression, but unlike other futuristic-aimed albums (Bigg Jus' "Poor People's Day" album comes to mind), the tone is often optimsitic (or at the very least humorously cynical).

The overall production of the album is meticulous, with techno elements usually prominent, along with a grab-bag of sci-fi sound FX, several spoken word clips, and many different turntablist elements (including a few instances of Del's older albums being scratched). In keeping with the futuristic theme, Del raps are almost entirely composed of very complex clusters of futuristic references, often taking the form of elaborate stories (in "Battle Song", detailing an actual battle fought in outer space). Lyrically, they serve well in setting the mood, as long as you do not mind the fact that 90% of them are probably tongue-in-cheek.

While a few songs ("Virus", "Upgrade") explicitly focus on technological aspects, the majority of the songs explore the various aspects encountered living in the year 3030. The song "3030" serves as a good introduction to the basis of the album, illustrating the exploits of Deltron and evading the police whilst confounding the general populace. "Time Keeps On Slipping" is (as Del himself states) incredibly funky with a groovy bass and hi-hat bed (as well as making the connection between them and Gorillaz instantly clear). Meanwhile, "Turbulence" tells a brooding tale of mutant rats, corrupt politicians, tracking chips, and floating educational facilities and "Love Song" is a humorous story of Deltron's fortunes finally reversing for the better ("Yo...I just won 10 grand in the Galactic Rhyme Federation championship, so I'm laughing a bit").

A notable exception to this trend is the song "Madness", in which Del laments the deplorable situation of music in the year 3030, even though many of the situations he describes are sadly true in the present. A good summary of his feelings can be found in this verse:

"I must appeal to you people with your faculties
Cuz everybody else is gonna laugh at me
People try to get over and take a crack at me
The universe is one and I can see what rap can be glorious
Put in the Smithsonium my podiums for holy hymns
But you see whos controlling them
F**k myself off cuz of the egotistical mode I'm in
No I can't slap you no five"

This and the verses that follow paint an incredibly melancholic experience, even though it is quite emotional as well. These are also broken up by the sung chorus "I'm caught in the grip of the city...madness", an apt description of the feel presented by the song.

This is far from a perfect record, and the main reason for this is in the prevalence of smaller "skit" tracks present in the album: nine of the twenty one tracks are under a minute in length and are largely unneccesary when considering the album as a whole. Also, while Del's delivery is (as usual) quite good, his lyrics are almost purposefully over-technical and obtuse on occasion.

Despite this, Deltron 3030 is a high-spirited glimpse into a possible future of hip-hop and the planet, galaxies removed from the cliches and staples that currently oversaturate the hip-hop/rap genres. Currently, there are rumours that a second Deltron 3030 album is in the works (from statements made by Kid Koala). Awesome, but next time, let's leave the skits at home, and let the music fully speak for itself.

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Official page
Kid Koala
Wikipedia Entry
Dan The Automator

In Slaughter Natives - Enter Now The World

2007-04-25T02:15:00.000-05:00

It seems fair to say that Roger Karmanik's Cold Meat release schedule has been somewhat uninspired as of late. Perhaps it is the usually unconvincing 'apocalyptic folk' albums being promoted or perhaps it is the inclusion of their mail-order service, which frequently promotes albums which are more compelling than their own, particularly from the smaller/independent labels.
Nevertheless, there is one bright star shining in the Cold Meat label, and that is In Slaughter Natives, one of the original bands to be signed to the label in the late 80's.

In Slaughter Natives is one of the originator's of the so-called 'symphonic industrial' genre. While many stylistic elements of this release can be found on their self-titled debut, "Enter Now The World" expands where I.S.N. began, adding many of the 'symphonic' elements which the band would become famous for. One of the most notable differences is that the more overtly 'industrial' elements of the previous album, such as the 'almost funky' beat on the "Napalm Death" song or the grinding metallic atmospherics of "Dusk Of Hope" (which sounds strangely similar to Decree's second album) are phased out in favor of organic components. However, the gritty drumbeats are largely unchanged from the previous album, although there is quite a bit of variation within the album.

The album wastes no time getting down to business, starting with the track "Sacred Worms". In similar fashion to the previous album (and industrial music in general), various samples are scattered throughout many of the songs. "Sacred Worms" quickly progresses into an ominous piece of synthetic horn blasts (the closest approximation I can use regarding the prominent synth), looming synth strings, a soaring set of male vocalisations, along with several chilling screams and vocal samples (an anguished individual screaming "Get him off of me, goddammit!").

"Give me your flesh". This command, spoken by what can safely be assumed to be a demon, starts the next track, the excellent "To Mega Therion". Beginning with the omnipresent drums and marimbas, the instrumentation suddenly backs away to reveal a hazy ambient break, with a strange pitch-shifting screeching sound piercing through choir-like hums. Textually, it is hard to explain what makes this section so compelling, yet it one of those moments which can easily produce an emotional response from the listener, even if they are not immediately aware of the emotion being produced (they nonetheless know instinctively that it has occur ed). This is also the first track that features Jouni Havukainen's vocals, which typically feature a rasped whisper which tends to be in the epicenter of the mix. Whispers and screams are also at times present within the song, making for a rather dense song structure (in a good way, as it is a compliment on Havukainen's skill in production). The song also ends with an extended version of the break earlier in the song, with the oddly compelling screech fading into the background. Easily one of the best songs on the album.

"Beauty And Bleeding" takes a detour from the pounding industrial. Droning bells dominate, evoking images of fog-laden European streets in the middle of the night. Soon, bass hums, drum hits, church bells, descending synths, metallic shimmers, and horns become enmeshed into the mix, further evoking the sensation of wading through murky surroundings.

Continuing the trend of dark ambience (at least for a short period), "Angel Meat" begins with several hard-to-describe high-pitched whines and whistles before a steady drum beat, church bells, and vocalisations are added. Halfway through the song, the tone takes an interesting turn as the high-pitched noises are re-introduced, along with several sampled screams and a few unintelligible spoken sections.

The next song is more of a 'traditional' industrial song, with metallic clangs and hits providing the backdrop for a horn line, operatic female vocals, stabbing string hits, it quickly intensifies as a foreboding synthetic string line is introduced alongside the horn. Also, as is the case for many of this album's song titles, "Skin Sore Eyes (Final Structure)" is a slightly silly name to use for a song. The only complaint I would point out is that, during the song, there is an annoying set of ascending noises present throughout the song. It's hard to describe them in sufficient detail, except for the fact that they are rather annoying.

"Transcendental Carnation" stands out because of it's various Eastern influences weaved into the song (mainly in the 'mostly' organic percussive elements, shimmering bells, and the sitar which features prominently).

"Saducismus Triumphatus", alongside "To Mega Therion", is one of the best tracks of the album (as well as, arguably, being the most 'hellish', for those who are keeping track or bother to care). Bells, distorted vocal samples, low-pitch singing, and unidentifiable noises echo endlessly over the prominent synth melody, itself a repeated motif only a few seconds long.

"Total Decay" features a strange hum (perhaps an electronic vacuum-cleaner or lawn mower of some sort) as well as an almost-danceable beat (similar to "Napalm Death"). A melody is also introduced halfway through the song, even though it takes some concentration to aurally observe it (due to the rather unconventional nature of the synths being used and the fact that the sounds themselves are undergoing various alterations even though the melody itself is not). Unfortunately, this song, while being one of the most 'active' songs on the album, also arguably has less variation within it than some of the other songs.

Similar to "Beauty And Bleeding", "Human Ashes" is a short instrumental featuring a consistent drum beat, male vocals (ala those found in the Goldeneye movie), whispers, choirs, and low-end unintelligible samples. It also features the same note progression as that found in the beginning and the ends of "To Mega Therion".

Finally, "Temple Of Flesh And Metal" ends the album as a dark ambient piece, with various clanking noises reverberating throughout. While it is a good song, it unfortunately ends the album in a very anti-climatic way.

In general, "Enter Now The World" is a solid album from In Slaughter Natives, which expands upon the vision set forth in their debut album, with the addition of various symphonic elements to augment the electronic bedrock of the sounds. While there will be infinite debate as to what the 'soundtrack to hell' will be composed of (as well as separate arguments arguing over whether such an argument is even necessary), "Enter Now The World" is as good a candidate as any. Recommended.

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In Slaughter Natives
Cold Meat Industries

Statement Of Intent

2007-04-22T20:53:00.000-05:00

This blog was created for the purpose of reviewing truly unique music groups, with a special emphasis towards independent groups and smaller labels, as well as rare albums and unusual sonic tastes. Most of the material here is still in print (or recently released), so if what you read intrigues and/or interests you, please support the groups by purchasing their work. In addition, the reviews will also include resources for additional information when possible. Finally, this blog also directs your attention to the right of the screen, where a guide to many excellent music blogs (of diverse natures and functions), record labels, and artists' websites can be found.
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Please note that this blog does not post links to full-album downloads. While it is a commonplace occurance in the music blog world, it ultimately hurts the respective music artists. There are many, many other blogs where you can find downloads if you choose to do so (although they will rarely review and/or promote the bands in question). Instead, as stated above, information is usually given on how to obtain the album (or links to history/info/availability if the work is out of print).
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Bands and/or record labels: If you feel that what is reviewed on this site is similar to the work you create/promote and/or believe it is similar to what your listeners enjoy, feel free to send a request for me to review something. Although I cannot commit to an iron-clad gurantee that I will ultimately create a review, I will at least check out your material and/or listen to the album in question. However, if you do email me, and you respond to the effect of "I'll get back to you...", please do so! While that may sound odd, I have already recieved two requests by start-up record labels (several months ago) to check out their work, and the individuals never returned my email requesting for more information! It's difficult to review entities you have no concrete information about!
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Because I do not offer/provide downloads to full-length albums, my viewer traffic is understandably lighter than it might be otherwise. However, interest does peak every now and again (depending on what I am reviewing at the time). Currently, my writing is at a slow peak for various reasons, but I will soon be back to writing again, including finishing up some half-created reviews and several new reviews I have been wanting to write for a while.
Thank you for your continued patience and support.

- Chandler N.

Nature & Organisation : A Dozen Summers Against The World

2007-04-19T13:19:00.000-05:00

Nature & Organisation : A Dozen Summers Against The World

A short EP, mainly featuring three stand-out tracks from their full-length ("Beauty Reaps The Blood Of Solitude") and the extended title track, "A Dozen Summers..." is an excellent summary of the musical genius of Michael Cashmore. The "Wicker Man Song" starts this EP on a high note, featuring a delicate folk-tinged composition, aided by Rose McDowell on vocals, and a variety of orchestral insturmentation to assist the several guitar and mandolin melodies simultaneously intertwining throughout the mix (including flute, cello, and bassoon). "Blood Of Solitude I" and "II" are two short interludes, featuring a sad violin solo, accompanied by cello and bassoon. Both are relatively similar, except where the first song gives off a somber vibe, the second is decidedly more melancholic (admittedly these are very subtle differences, yet they do exist). Finally, we arrive at the epic title track: the eleven-minute "A Dozen Winters Of Loneliness". Featuring a repeated vocal motif ("loneliness") spoken by an female speaker identified only as "Oriental girl" (somehow managing to be sublimely creepy and moving at the same time) and spoken lyrics by David Tibet, Michael Cashmore plays the rest of the insturments on the song, ranging from acoustic/electric guitars, keyboards, tubular bells, and glockenspiel. The song continues to expand majestically for about seven minutes, until only the repeated vocal returns, at which a jarring cacaphony of highly distorted guitar and drum soloing crashes into the forefront, continuing for five minutes before finally fading back to give the final line: "A dozen Winters of Loneliness, and the dozen summers against the world".
Although only nineteen minutes long, the four songs here exhibit an unnaturally high degree of musical beauty, and listening to this makes it quickly clear the high degree of influence Cashmore has had on David Tibet's Current 93 project since being introduced as a collaborator. This EP (along with the LP "Beauty Reaps The Blood Of Solitude") are both highly reccomended works of "orchestral neo-folk".

http://www.durtro.com/
http://www.myspace.com/natureandorganisation
http://www.myspace.com/michaelcashmore
http://www.michaelcashmore.com

Brighter Death Now : Kamikaze Kabaret

2007-04-19T03:32:00.000-05:00

"Aren't you feeling well, Bill? Aren't you hungry? What can be the matter? After supper, it's fun to play a while before bed. But there's still something wrong, isn't there, Bill. There it is again...poor Bill? What now? We'll soon know, because here comes mother..."
Spoken by a lethargic-paced middle-aged man who sounds like he was ripped straight from the 1950s, the album quickly gets down to the matter at hand: industrial power noise. Much like his previous albums, Kamikaze Kabaret consists solely of monotonous, grinding industrial pulsations. Every song has some sort of shouted vocals as well, either distorted beyond clear recognition (a trademark of his earlier records) or chanted/shouted/screamed ad infinitum. Occasionaly, various vocal samples (the majority of which seem to do with the home or family) are thrown in to further the strange effect this album has on the listener. Other elements are at seemingly random points on the songs introduced, but they are quickly subsumed into the main theme of the moment. Unfortunatly, as is observable in many of Brighter Death Now's other albums (with a very few notable exceptions, mainly Necrose Evangelicum and May All Be Dead), not much readily stands out in comparison to the rest of the album and most of the "songs" go on for far longer than they probably should. Speaking of songs, this album will only further obscure whether or not these works can be called "songs" (as well as complicate exactly what constitutes a "song"). Notable songs include "Big Happy Family", a subdued (in comparison to the rest of the album) electrical bass hum pulsates as a phased vocal tells an extended tale of family dissolution and domestic disturbance (almost reminiscent of "Slug Bait", by Throbbing Gristle, in that regard) and "Take Me Away", a strange tale of psychadelic drug use recounted through pounding industrial thuds, whistles, screeches, and clamor.
Overall, it is a relatively decent industrial/power electronic/noise release. However, it is very difficult to maintain interest enough in listening to it all the way through in one setting. Not because Brighter Death Now is "one of the most extreme industrial noise acts on the scene" (a doubtful and dubious distinction at best), because their not, but because the monotony quickly fades from ritualistic to just plain boring. Some of the songs, such as "Destroy" (with it's only lyrics being "We Destroy You!") and "Big Happy Family" are interesting in the fact that you need to be in a certain mood to listen to them, the majority of the songs have very little to keep the listener engaged.
In the end, Roger Karmanik proves that Brighter Death Now has very little to offer fans of industrial music which other bands can easily provide, often with much greater originality and quality. His earlier albums, highly regarded within certain circles, are fading further and further into the distance...

http://www.coldmeat.se

Lustmord : The Place Where The Black Stars Hang

2007-04-18T06:52:00.000-05:00

The last of the Lustmord series reviews the seminal "The Place Where The Black Stars Hang" album.

This album, in short, is the definitive masterpiece, of Lustmord's career. Without a doubt. While this may be a bold statement, given the very high quality of the majority of Brian William's work (as well as the many notable artists and musicians he has influenced over his career), "Where The Black Stars Hang" has many facets to it which propel it higher than his previous work. It is amazing to believe that this album arrived a mere two years after "This Monstrous Soul". While that particular album was good, it was created specifically in order to create a pre-determined mood, thus repetition and consistency were noticeably present throughout the album (to both positive and negative effect). "The Black Stars...", on the other hand, is a work of incredible dense complexity, almost three-dimensional in nature. No longer content to create auditory scenes of subterranean hells or horror-filled alleyways, "The Black Stars..." is a masterpiece of synthetic soundscapes which vividly portray the cold void of space. It is difficult to describe the sounds which inhabit this album, as there are very few points of reference available. On occasion, more earthly sounds, such as extended human-esque vocal notes can be heard, but they (paradoxically) only further serve the alienating quality of the music (most notable on the track "Metastatic Resonance"). Another amazing feat the album manages is that, taken together, the album is a single 75 minute song, with many different movements and moods (though many of the themes overlap and reappear in various permutations over time). Basically, if you are in any way shape or form interested in electronica, dark ambient, and/or experimental music, this is a MUST OWN CD. It truly is a landmark in the genre, which has yet to be imitated or surpassed.

NOTE: This review covers the 1994 edition, and not the 2006 version, which was heavily remastered.

http://www.lustmord.com
http://www.soleilmoon.com/

Lustmord : Lustmordekay

2007-04-18T06:24:00.000-05:00

For those of you fortunate enough to own and/or have heard this set of recordings, you already know that this is very different from the massive body of work which Brian Williams would later make himself famous with. Among the first recordings he ever released, "Lustmordekay" is a collection of early live tracks (some of which, most notably "Murderwrecker", can be found, albeit in edited versions, on the "A Document Of Early Acoustic & Tactical Experimentation"). Here, however, the highly experimental noise which would later be termed as "proto-industrial" (alongside such artists as Throbbing Gristle, Current 93, Clock DVA, etc) reign supreme. Also of interest is that the album begins with a short organ insturmental (and a relatively fast-paced one at that)!!! The second track is a collection of strange rumbling, interspersed with church bells, highly distorted voices (ala Throbbing Gristle) and short high-pitched whistles. The third track introduces echoing static, pulsing bass hums, and high-pitched whines, along with strange choir samples (I almost want to say they are holiday-themed of some sort, but I am not sure). While difficult to summarize, it definitely reeks of alien vibes. The fourth track begins with a rather creepy and garbled synth line interspersed with a music box...that is, if you can imagine this music box being stabbed and burnt whilst it is playing. This is one of the few disappointments of the album, as it continues with little change for seven minutes, until it finally gives up the ghost. Track five features a menacing electrical hum, with strange metallic bowing sounds. It soon leads to a maddening thud which continues for the next four minutes. This, strangely enough, sounds similar to what any number of electronic devices would sound if they were broken (like a paper jam, for example). Track six kicks it up a notch, with distorted metallic clanging, shouting and screaming of a (presumably) improvisational nature. Track seven (the longest track in the set) is one of the best, featuring creepy children's song samples, church bells, bass hums, various choirs, chanting, distorted synthesizer waves, ultimately reaching an apocalyptic creschendo, very similar in nature to the earliest of Current 93's albums (especially "The Mystical Body Of Christ In Chorozaim" and various tracks from "Nature Unveiled"). Track eight is a fascinating piece of industrial rhythm (which would later be placed on the "Document..." LP), interspersed with more distorted vocals, similar to those in the second track.

Highly confrontational, difficult to catagorize, and totally unique, this is a fascinating work which makes clear Brian Williams beginning associations with SPK and Nigel Ayers as well as provide tantalizing glimpses into what his work would eventually evolve into. Unfortunatly, this work is (and has been) out of print for over twenty years, so good luck in finding a physical copy for a decent price anywhere (even the creator of the album admits not being able to locate a copy for over twenty years).

Lustmord : This Monstrous Soul

2007-04-18T05:28:00.000-05:00

Lustmord : This Monstrous Soul

Ixaxxaar: There are claims that this is Lustmord’s most minimal record. While such claims are arguable, it is much harder to argue that this track is not one of Lustmord’s more straight-forward and (yes) minimalist compositions. Consisting mainly of a looped sample from a 1950’s horror movie (ironically enough, called “Night Of The Demon”) hovering over synthetic winds and synths, it continues for roughly five minutes as the sample is repeated every 4-6 seconds. It will definitely test your patience as repetition, as the sample continues unabated or changed as the piece slowly progresses. It is difficult to concretely say whether the sample is being used as a mantra or (probably Lustmord’s preference) as an invocation. Thankfully, however, the song is much shorter than the usual Lustmord song, this is because it mainly serves as an introduction to…

Primordial Atom:
This song spans half of the album at an impressive twenty-five minutes. Thankfully, it is much better than the previous track. Opening with creaking noises very much reminiscent of ambiences found on Lustmord’s previous album “Heresy”, Primordial Atom soon gets underway in a dramatic fashion, as a repeating drone (I would compare it to an ultra-low ritual horn) and percussion somberly alternate with each other. Subtle synthetic waves slowly arise from the depths of the mix, as occasional vocal samples (probably from the same movie) appear every now and again, concerning themselves with the nature of mankind and the devil, psychology, and the nature of reality, among other things. “Where does imagination end and reality begin?”. Roughly a fifth of the way into the song, various industrial scraping sounds begin to appear at sporadic intervals. This track also introduces one of the main aspects of the album, both positive and negative: that while the music is quite striking, it is the well-placed samples which elevates the music from merely excellent to incredible. It also clearly demonstrates the other noticeable auditory fact about the album: that this music portrays his skill into film score composing very well. Is this song overly indulgent? Perhaps. Yet indulgence is rarely this good by any group, and rarely as hypnotically powerful. After what seems like an eternity, we finally arrive at the…

Protoplasmic Reversion:
Beginning with a strange chant and clanking noises, a very low bass drone is brought in a minute later, followed by more “Heresy-era” whooshes (for lack of a better term). A lonely string sequence suddenly intrudes three minutes into the song, increasing the unsettling nature of the song.
Finally, everything fades back except for the cinematic strings and strangely unidentifiable names. Ultimately, the song ends with several dramatic movie samples: “It’s there! I see it, in the trees! The smoke and the fire…my time allowed is almost over! THEN THE DEMON TOOK HIM!!! NOT ME!!! NOT ME!!! THE DEMON!!! IT’S COMING!!! NO!!!”. An anguished scream from the speaker finishes this piece, bringing us to the front of…

The Daathian Doorway: A nod to Lustmord’s proto-industrial beginnings, The Daathian Doorway abruptly changes the pace of the album, presenting a clanging rhythm, reminiscent of clanking chains and rumbling engines. This theme remains relatively constant throughout, as if it were what you would hear observing the condemned in Hell (whether it be the hell of war, servitude, boredom, etc). Various industrial hisses and groans sweep through the mix, further enhancing the perception of rumbling machinery and effluent exhaust. Towards the end of the song, sounds akin to waves can be heard. Now imagine you are on a boat. You look down, and in the murk of your tiny little boat, you reach into the stagnant waters and pick up…

The Fourth And Final Key: Beginning with desolate synthetic percussive stabs (which can be comparable to lightning) and metallic sounding sweeps, lamenting choirs soon join the fray. Strange organic rumbling noises creep in as the drones become more pronounced. A strangely muted drum beat and gong appears halfway through the song, accompanied by a barely identifiable conversation slowed down to the degree of incomprehensibility. The whole song is ended by several gong hits.

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Overall, this is agreeably not Lustmord’s best work. However, that should not discourage anyone from listening to it, as Lustmord’s less impressive work tends to rank much higher than the average dark ambient band’s best accomplishment. For a darkly enjoyable experience (as well as for a chance to listen to material unique within Lustmord’s canon), The Monstrous Soul is an excellent choice.

It is the night of the demon…

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http://www.lustmord.com
http://www.soleilmoon.com/

Beyond Sensory Experience : The Dull Routine Of Existence

2007-03-30T05:43:00.000-05:00

Beyond Sensory Experience : The Dull Routine Of Existence

This was certainly an interesting album to review. As I was listening to it, I realized that I was doing so under the best possible conditions: at five AM, with no sleep, in darkness except for the harsh glare of the monitor in front of me, as a small thunderstorm rumbled outside in the rain. "The Dull Routine Of Existence", while being excellent dark ambience, is rarely dull. Instead, it paints a bleak picture of desolation, boredom, despair, and misery. With track titles such as "They All Say The Same Thing", "Futile Resistance", and "Escapism", B.S.E. clearly sets out to portray the underside of existence.
Muted bass tones and drones are set against washes of understated synth tones, samples, and occasional piano, with the occasional distorted drum beats and echoing percussive elements penetrating the mix. "Walking Through Syrup", another one of the track titles, is an apt description of the feel of the album, as songs slowly lumber along, with an interesting overall mix that seems equally informed by dark ambient, mood music, and (arguably) glitch. Yet they are never long for their own sake (only half of the songs go over five minutes), with the songs that do feeling full-formed rather than extravegently extended.
I also was struck by the name of the band when trying to describe this album. Beyond Sensory Experience...into the realm of pure emotion and feeling. This album acurrately induces feelings of "the dull routine of existence"; it is hard not to be slightly unsettled by this album. Not because it is disturbing or tense, but because (much like the Khanate "Things Viral" album) this is a work that allows for no happiness, no redemption, no hope, and no joy. Nor does it allow for easy genre classification, as tracks such as "The Dull Routine Of Existence" and album standout "Kverulant" (which is a foreign term for a cantankerous or difficult individual), with their prominent drum tracks and background guitar strumming, are far more active than traditional dark ambient will allow.
In short, this is a unique experience in music, unique even among their labelmates (CMI is known for releasing wildly different acts with only superficial similarities). Some people may not appreciate this album due to it's very bleakness; then again, that's the whole point. Also, without lyrics besides the occasional vocal sample, it helps convey the feelings of self-oppresion and stagnation that much better.
Life is suffering, but beyond that, it is also undeniably often of boredom as well. Let B.S.E. show you "The Dull Routine Of Existence".

EDIT: Am massively reworking this blog. SLOWLY. Expect perhaps a few more graphical/structure updates and most likely a few post revision/deletions. This and more coming soon.

Cold Meat Industries
Beyond Sensory Experience

Methadrone - Retrogression

2006-12-23T22:41:00.000-06:00

Methadrone - Retrogression

While listening to this music, it is hard not to describe it in metaphoric terms. The most readily available adjective, however, is ‘huge’. The band, consisting of two bass guitars and programmed drums, manage to push out some punishing noise. The guitar tones themselves are relatively thick and reverberate throughout the mix, recalling at once similar drone bands such as Jesu, Khanate, Sunn O))), and especially Nadja, yet while their contemporaries often proceed at speeds slower than molasses, Methadrone manages to move at a relatively brisk pace without ever feeling rushed or forced. Their second demo (the first being titled ‘Erroneous Enlightenment’) is a collection of eight songs, each roughly around six minutes in length, usually with interesting song titles, such as ‘Ebullient Drift’ and ‘Transient Release’.

However, as this is technically a demo, there are a few minor inconsistencies associated with it. To begin, while the guitar tone is appropriately thick, the mix often sounds (for lack of a better term) muddy, with the (admittedly minimal & simplistic) drums/industrial elements often being buried underneath the guitars and feedback. Secondly, the songs themselves are very cyclical in nature. While there is song progression, each song will usually focus on a strength and stick with it. Thankfully, the arrangements are performed well enough that the lack of progression is merely a minor concern (however, more would have been appreciated, as well as a chance for the musicians to showcase their talents at a greater length). Also, unlike the previous demo, no vocals are present in these songs (except for the last track, which is untitled).

Despite this, ‘Retrogression’ is an impressive presentation, filled with epic songs that tend to stick into memory for a while after they are listened to (especially the tracks “Emotionless” and “Of Less Emotion”). The band is currently working on another full-length album (with many details to be forthcoming, apparently), but you can purchase either of their previous albums (as well as earlier work with other bands), from their website.

Methadrone: http://www.methadrone.com/
Nothingness Records: http://www.nothre.com/

Battle Of Mice : A Day Of Nights

2006-11-28T03:03:00.000-06:00

So, I am back, after a small break and Thanksgiving. Today's review is of the recently formed band "Battle Of Mice", formed from members of Neurot Recordings regulars Made Out Of Babies and Red Sparowes.

When listening to this music, one of the most palpable senses that the listener experiences is a vast menace, conveyed by the alternating beguiling and raging female vocals. It is hard to refrain from inquiring into the band's personal history after hearing the composition of some of the vocals. Starting a song with: "Everytime I think of pushing you down the stairs, I lick my lips" and "I lie to you every chance that I get, and I make it just close enough to the truth, that you go for it every time" is definitely more disturbing than the hordes of 'evil black metal' bands can ever achieve, when you consider that an unnamed band member actually WAS pushed (or 'accidently fell' down a flight of stairs at the end of the recording sessions (a volatile event, one of several which the band refuses to discuss).

Enough of the introductions, on to the music! The majority of the songs begin with a soft opening synth passage, where vocalist Julie Christmas whispers softly, providing a gently deceptive opening to the song, which is composed of grinding guitar, occasionaly accompanied by piano tones or synthetic elements. While there is an obvious emphasis on creating 'atmospheric' rock (few if any recognizable solos, cyclical guitar passages followed by sparse interludes), thankfully vocals, guitar, bass, drums (which are prominent at points, but never intrusive), and backing elements are in perfect harmony (which is a complete counterpoint to the two main members of the band, who during 75% of the recording process hated each other so much they could barely remain in the same room for more than a few minutes). The music is a complex mixture of love, hate, violence, misery, and desperation.

Because there are only seven songs, ranging from five and a half to slightly over nine minutes, all of the songs are exceptional in one form or another, whether they be starkly beautiful in nature ("Sleep And Dream", "Salt Bridge") or the moving and slightly frightening ("Bones In The Water", "At The Base Of The Giants Throat"). The latter track ends with an absolutely terrifying 911 call (presumably involving the unspecified fall down the stairs) backed by a grim synthesizer bed floating in the distance.

After five of the seven songs were recorded, the bassist refused to continue with the process (can't really say I blame him). Despite the tumultous process which the record was created in, the band and several sources associated with them, they will apparently continue making music. In an admittedly divided sense, I am glad. Hopefully the path towards the next album will not be as violent as the last one (even if such measures made an absolutely enthralling album).

Next time there might be a Boris album review (though it will be an album besides Pink, because everyone and their mother seems to have reviewed it already).

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http://www.battleofmice.com/
http://www.neurotrecordings.com/

Khlyst : Chaos Is My Name

2006-11-07T05:13:00.000-06:00

Here is the promised Khlyst review:

Khlyst : Chaos Is My Name

This album is unlike anything you have ever heard before.

Trust me on this one.

To begin, it is the collaborative effort of James Plokin (of extreme-doom metal band Khanate, recently disbanded) and Runhild Gammelsæter (the vocalist for the pre-Sunn O))) band Thorr's Hammer). Basically, the album consists of two elements. One are songs where Plotkin lays down a bed of improvisational guitar and drumming to what can only be described hellish snarls, screaming, screetching, and wailing. In fact, I had to concentrate closely and peruse the lyric sheet to realize that she was actually speaking Norwegian phrases, rather than just randomly howling and muttering. The second element are the two songs which are much more subtle in their approach, as lonely percussive elements intermingle with themselves as gongs reverberate throughout the piece. Throughout the songs, Plotkin (an accomplished producer) adds various electronic elements, ranging from droning low-frequency ambience to a veritable grab bag of vocal manipulations, whether they simply create an echoing reverberation or distort them to bizarre electronic animal growls and snarls.

I only have a few quibbles about this album. My main concern is that, despite it's refreshing aura about it, it is far too short, clocking in at only 35 minutes. While some of the songs are quite developed and intricate, several of the more improvisational "chapters" (as they are referred to in the album insert) seem somewhat undernourished, as it were. Perhaps this is a good thing, as the vocals can be rather overwhelming at times. Also unfortunate is the fact that there is no translation to the Norweigan lyrics (which are included), but rest assured, with a delivery this intense and volatile, you can safetly bet that they are not pleasant topics and concepts being discussed. It also gives me the chance to use such phrases as: "She doesn't just sing the vocals, it is more like she tears them out of her throat before throwing them at you".

Obviously, this album is an acquired taste. At first, I was relatively disappointed. However, having listened to the album a few more times, it begins to grow on me (though I still bemoan the brevity of the album).

Hopefully this pairing will continue to grow and develop (much like the Khanate project did before it's untimely end), because personally I would like to see extended developments and varations of this theme.

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http://www.plotkinworks.com

Sunn O))) / Boris "Altar"

2006-11-07T04:46:00.000-06:00

Here is the previously mentioned Sunn O))) / Boris review:

Sunn O))) / Boris : Altar

Massive. Simply massive. Before even considering whether or not the album is good or not, one must acknowledge the sheer size of these songs. Comprising of the collaboration of the bands Sunn O))) and Boris, along with at least a dozen other collaborators (most from their contemporary bands, such as Earth and Thrones), there are many individual musicians making their numerous talents known. This album is interesting in the fact that it was promoted very heavily before it's public release, on the fact of it's many participants. The hype made the record very anticipated by it's fans, and while it recieved generally good reviews by the fans, critical reviews from various music critics expressed several different reasons why they were disappointed at the end result.

So, what are my thoughts on the record? In this instance, the diversity of the album demands a track-by-track analysis.

For those who ordered the limited-edition 2-CD set, the album came with an extra disc, which consists of a single 28-minute track entitled "Her Lips Were Wet With Venom", featuring Sunn O))), Boris, and Dylan Carson (see my previous "Earth" review). As usual for anything Earth related, this is a very long and extended guitar drone piece, however, it is made much more interesting due to the country-western guitar stylings of Carson's more recent work, coupled with the drone guitar of Sunn O))) and the lead electric guitar of Boris' guitarist. While it is rather good for what it is, I would hesitate it to call it phenomenal. One of my main concerns is, given to it's extreme length, it is hard to remember the more interesting aspects of the composition: you know that they are there, but it is hard to retain the specifics about them.

On to the main album, the album opener begins wonderfully with a whine of guitar feedback, bowed bass, two echoing lead guitars (as if they were playing from outer space), and a menacing bass guitar crunching away at regular intervals. As a name, "Etna" fits very well with the feeling this song portrays: slowly rumbling menace. This is interspersed with spastic drumming at various parts of the song, but thankfully they complement the work rather than feel intrusive. Roughly six minutes into the song, the lead guitarist from Boris rips into a harrowing solo, as if signalling the beginning of an eruption. This guitar continues until the end of the piece, making it an excellent segue into the next song. Overall, excellent concept and execution.

The second song, "N.L.T.", is the shortest song on the album, at 3:50. Composed of a bowed bass and softly shimmering gongs and chimes, it is an unsettling work, approaching the realm of dark ambience, much more so than either of these groups had hinted at in their previous works. Lustmord, Daniel Menche (who was also mentioned in comparison in another reviews), and other dark ambient artists immediately come to mind.

"The Sinking Belle (Blue Sheep)" takes an immediate left turn, and is easily the best song on the album. Consisting of a mournful guitar, muted piano playing, cymbal taps, and smoky female vocals, it is a moving song which is truly outside what either band had previously accomplished (which is the first time in this album where that claim actually rings true). It is refreshing, to hear this song halfway through, and to not have to worry whether this or that element gets lost in the mix or overpowered by other insturmentation. All is in order, which is an apt comparison to the feeling one get's when listening to this song.

The second half of the album is where most of the music critics express concern, and I will agree that some of their criticisms are correct.

"Akuma No Kuma" is, regrettably, somewhat over the top. The vocoder-vocals, provided by Joe Preston (of the band Thrones, previously of Earth fame) are strange at best and obnoxious at worst. Unfortunatly, that is not the only problem with this song. The drumming here seems to have been brought up too close in the mix, while the synthesizer lines are mostly unappealing and intrusive. Couple this with blaring horns (that seem very much at odds with the song) and the whole presentation is basically a failure, which is a shame, given that there are interesting ideas expressed in the song, but more work would have been needed to make them fit well together.

Things start to get slightly better with "Fried Eagle Mind" (which, by the way, get's the 'Weirdest Name' award), with understated guitar pickings eerily echoing alongside Boris' vocalist vocalisations (though whether or not she is actually speaking words is a somewhat nebulous and questionable debate). What sounds like whale noises and radio static are phased into the song halfway through. The guitar gradually gets harsher in tone by seven minutes, but by then, it's too little, too late. It is a very meandering piece, but unfortunatly by the time it get's relatively interesting, the overall interest in the song has disappeared. The tragic impression is given that, learning they were almost finished with the song, they rushed to add elements to save it, only in vain. Once again, interesting idea, but this time the only problem with the song was musical stagnation (and the rather jarring and abrupt ending).

Finally, while "Blood Swamp" is similar to "Etna" in many respects (and arguably just as good), it is hard to expect most listeners to be open to it after having to trod through the previous two tracks.

So, in some respects, the critics are correct: Altar is basically good, having many amazing moments that are sadly brought down later by several instances of musical overindulgence and conceptual meandering. Would I reccomend this album? Most definitely, as it encompasses the best of what the associated groups have done in the past, and points to interesting new avenues for them to explore.

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Order album at: http://www.southernlord.com/index.php
Altar info website: http://www.sunnborisaltar.com/

Fredrik Thorendal's Special Defects

2006-10-16T15:33:00.000-05:00

A special treat today; a rarely discussed album from one of the main members of the math-metal band Meshuggah: Fredrik Thorendal's Special Defects.

Basically amounting to a forty minute song in several movements, broken up into twenty-eight “songs”, with the shortest being fifteen seconds and the longest lasting roughly three and a half minutes. The average “movement” lasts about one and half to three minutes, as the main theme of the album slowly shifts, occasionally making sharp left-turns into guitar soloing or jazz-influenced guitar and/or saxophone excursions.

The lyrics are highly complex abstract constructions, mainly concerning themselves with metaphysical spiritual concepts, Buddhist principles, alien abduction phenomenon, disease, the nature of ignorance, mental paradoxes, and the nature of the universe. In a somewhat fitting manner, the majority of the vocals are likewise distorted using vocoders or digital studio manipulation. Also inserted in the linear notes are quotes from Plato, Samuel Beckett, William Burroughs, the Marquis De Sade, and other historical luminaries.

Obviously, this is a massive album, and not one to approach lightly. Due to the fact that the majority of the "songs" flow into one another, there are very few moments you can take of this album by itself. Even for me, much of the album's lyrical content goes way over my head (and perhaps that is what they intended). However, the lyrics are really secondary when considering the great technical musicianship exhibited in this record, elements which would later be in evidence in future Meshuggah records. Album highlights include the incredible guitar and saxaphone solos on "Zeta 1 - Reticuli" and "Zeta 2 - Reticuli" (respectively).

So, if you are interested in Meshuggah, or jazz-influenced metal with a highly developed musical and lyrical sense, peppered with some of the best guitar improvisation the genre has seen in a while, then check out this record. If, however, you do not prefer your music to leave you scratching your head in wonder, then you had best look for something more mundane.

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Meshuggah bio page for Sol Niger: http://www.meshuggah.net/disco/sol/
Order: It seems that is difficult to find the record at a reasonable price. Amazon.com starts around $150.00. Good luck finding it!

Earth : Earth 2

2006-09-26T13:45:00.000-05:00

Track(s) review For Earth 2:

Seven Angels, Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine, Like Gold and Faceted: Due to the similar nature of all three 'songs' on this album, I will review them collectively. This album was released by Sub Pop (most notable as the first record label for Nirvana before they became famous) in 1992, and is the sonic template that nearly all future drone bands (in regards to rock/metal) would follow to one degree or another. Seven Angels opens the album with chugging guitar and bass, coupled with various feedback, both from the acoustic sources as well as electronic. This continues in various permutations, throughout the albums three songs, for seventy two minutes and fifty-three seconds.
So what makes this an engaging listen? The guitar riffs, while only deviating every so often from a set template, are both engaging and catchy as they slowly evolve alongside the shifting waves of feedback. The second track "Teeth of Lions Rule The Divine" (which would become the band name of another notable doom band), bursts forward with more feedback, static hum, and slowly riffed notes. This continues on for about twenty seven minutes, until the final track "Like Gold And Faceted" increases the noise textures even further and adds scattered drum and cymbal crashes

Overall Review:
One of the several tongue-in-cheek 'consumer reviews' posted on the back of the CD cover re-issue enthusiastically declares: "...a physical presence in the room...I can almost touch the sounds" & "MY TENSION HEADACHES HAVE DISAPPEARED!" While I cannot personally assert the veracity of the second claim, the first one is quite correct, as it theoretically should be with most drone/doom/noise rock bands.The physical impact of the music can be quite impressive when played at fairly loud volumes (as is intended), although the music takes on a different aural aspect when listened on headphones, mainly because of the binaural stereo effect that is achieved when listening to any music on headphones. This is due to the fact that external objects in a room, the atmospheric conditions, and even the structuring of the inner-ear will prevent true stereo sound unless the music is heard from headphones.
While the "song" structures (if they can be called structured) are reptetitive, it is structured as a type of meditative experience, where one loses their sense of the present moment as the chords and feedback slowly evolve into more complex permutations. In a sense, it can be considered "active ambience", in which the music is not subtle, but achieves the same effect (tranquility/relaxed state) through guitar and feedback progression.
Obviously, this "music" is not for everyone. The listener must commit most of their attention while listening to the album for the full "effect" to take hold, and it is understandable that not everyone will have the patience to listen to, in effect, a seventy-two minute song with the same handful of chords repeated ad infinitum. If you think all the above text sounds like a pharmaceutical drug pamphlet description, I would also remind the reader that the insert of the Earth 2 album has a picture of no less than sixteen different drug bottles, overflowing with pills (some of which were undoubtedly consumed by the band's frontman, Dylan Carson, during the creation of the album).
In conclusion, if you are looking for a challenge, this is one album that should satisfy that desire. Earth would continue to create albums, although none would come close to matching the accomplished musicianship on this, their debut album.

Stars: * * * *

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Well, I finally got around to posting another review, hope you enjoy it. This was a review that I wrote a few months ago (edited mostly for embarassing grammar problems and the occasionaly awkward phrase). Lately I have been going over a lot of new (for me, at least) underground bands in a variety of genres, so hopefully several new reviews will be arriving relatively soon (time permitting, of course).

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Official Earth Website: http://www.thronesanddominions.com/
Sub-Pop Earth bio: http://www.subpop.com/bands/earth/earthbio.html
Current Earth Label: http://www.southernlord.com
Earth Re-Releases: http://www.subpop.com