Etherised Zine

Albany Sonic Arts Collective – Experimental New Music (C)

2009-02-28T23:24:00.000-08:00

Featuring Century Plants, Grab Ass Cowboys, Ghoul Poon, Bad Costume, and Bone Parade

After nearly a year of watching good shows pass me up at the Upstate Artists Guild down the street from my apartment in the lovely lands of Albany, I decided to brave the unseasonably warm February weather to see Century Plants for the second time. To seal the deal, I perused the myspaces of the other acts playing and started getting pretty psyched for Bone Parade and Bad Costume, as well. So, I headed down to the fabled UAG to see what all the fuss was about, grabbed myself a seat, and waited. For a long time. Apparently Grab Ass Cowboys were supposed to be the opening act and one of their members was running late, so the show was delayed for about an hour. Eventually Century Plants offered to go first, and first they did go.

I had high hopes for Century Plants, of course, after their smashing success with Sunburned Hand of the Man last year. Unsurprisingly, their set was entirely different than the one I had experienced before. Where the “Sunburned” set trafficked in drones and beauty, this one began in stark contrast. The drones from before were still there, but this time they were pierced, interrupted, and ushered by the furious and percussive abuse of the second guitar. The set’s steady progression from beginning to end, eventually switching from bowed soundscapes to more chaotic tremolo picking, was gorgeous. The set was a highlight of the night, and ended up being a fantastic starting place.

Grab Ass Cowboys were up next. They had a cool noise set with a decent drummer backing them. Unfortunately, the drums were mostly inaudible, but what I could hear was a cool addition. The most memorable aspect of the set was seeing a rather tall dude climb on top of a precarious stack of amps, lay his guitar down, and then climb on top of that as well - all to have what I can only describe as a personal adventure with his head up between the rafters of the gallery. The music that ensued was a good mix of noise and face-ripping guitar solos that would do Matt Pike proud. The only proper way to wind down music of this proportion was the unorthodox, and fun-to-watch method picked by our gallery-astronaut… And that would be to get off his guitar, and use it as a tool to unplug everything in sight one by one until there were no sounds left but the backing ambience and drums.

Ghoul Poon. Apparently they played too long, but I didn’t notice until somebody turned the lights on. I’ll admit I never really understood Ghoul Poon on record, I don’t know whether it’s just not my thing or if it’s because I’ve never heard anything like it before, but it just strikes me as kind of confusing… Their set was good, though. Much more centered and slow than I was expecting. It ended up being sort of drones with pulsing bass underneath. It did run a bit long, long enough for the pre-recorded projections to run once and a half, and there wasn’t much to watch, but the projections were well done and provided a good companion to the music.

Bad Costume were easily the highlight of the night. Their improvised set, half electronics and half drums, was nearly flawless. Hella-mad-dumb-wicked-stupid props go out to the drummer for being able to play so intensely for so long. Until that night, Sunburned’s drummer was my hero… And now I have two. His playing style was innovative, full of unique fills great rhythm changes, and musicality. The electronics aspect was various samples mixed with lots and lots of heavy synthesizer to create a whirlwind of sound that could be compared with noise, but in no way similar. The combination of such a powerful sonic experience with easily the best projector piece of the evening was mind-blowing.

Bone Parade were a great cap for the evening. Right before their set I picked up a t-shirt and an album (Along with some Century plants, and a free Ghoul Poon album since nobody else was selling merch… If only I could get my hands on something bad-costume-related!), and hunkered in for some great dark-ambient-ish-industrial-whatever. Bone Parade offered a great, if a little repetitive, set full of material that would fit right on Einsturzende Neubauten’s Silence is Sexy right between “Alles” and “Redukt”. The very full bass and drum machine sounds created a fantastically desolate atmosphere as a platform for some great operatic vocals. To top it off, they made the excellent selection of a largely high-contrast black and white video that added some excellent light play t the atmosphere. A+, I say. Very enjoyable in all respects.

The Albany Sonic Arts collective managed to gather a great and diverse group of artists for a fantastic show. I really do look forward to seeing many more in the future, and encourage those that have the opportunity to attend shows by any of these artists to do so without fail!

Weak Sisters - Final 7" (V)

2009-02-28T23:22:00.000-08:00

Weak Sisters is fucking noise. Harsh, like it's supposed to be. It's not a "rhythmic noise" thing or "noise rock" or any of this other shit, it's noise. Loud. Hard to endure. Dark. Unimpeded by guitars and blather about genocide and genitalia. He does wall noise, he does cut-up chaos. Aside from the usual chaos of pedals and electronics, he makes noise through violence. Don't ask me how it's wired, but he uses people as contact mics and fucking attacks them. It's like BDSM - consensual abuse. And it makes harsh blasts of sound. This is what hateful music should be - a direct expression of emotion through action. Pretty much amazing.

Weak Sisters recordings aren't exactly common, but many are still publicly available. I have here a clear 7" - first vinyl I've purchased for myself in a while, since Weak Sisters seems to mostly release vinyl and tape - called Final. As of this writing, it's still available at Hanson Records (hansonrecords.net) for $5 plus $2 shipping in the US.

The first side begins with a pulsing drone for a moment before Weak Sisters screams and switches into a blast of wild changes . . . before repeating the process with a longer, changing drone, screaming, and blasting into a wall of noise. Noises blast and loop and scream like a dying electronic animal. Glitches break and clip and flex their muscles and growl bloodlust. Then, silenced, the disc trails into the rhythmic sound of the needle on uncut vinyl.

The second side starts out with a fucking howl of hate and feedback. Weak Sisters blasts this into disorienting, uncomfortable shrieking soundscapes. The electronics are moaning, wailing, cursing their pain. The initial wails turn into blasts of hatred that freely wander between wildly shifting noises. And stop. And start. And redouble themselves. And change. And end.

This is one of 300 copies, released last August as the first release of "Secret/Wasting." I haven't been able to find out anything about Secret/Wasting - much like Weak Sisters, the label seems to have no presence online - but if this is the direction they're going to continue with, I'm going to keep buying.

This is some of the best noise I've heard to date.

Vision Éternel - An Anthology of Past Misfortunes (V)

2009-02-28T23:20:00.000-08:00

Vision Éternel is the soft, instrumental work of Quebecois artist Virkelix, previously operating under the name Triskalyon. Virkelix calls his music "ethereal," and this is certainly an apt label. The music consists at least primarily of smoothly ambient clean guitar work, and the minimalism of his composition leads one to drift along in the soft mourning he's left on tape without noticing the time pass. "An Anthology of Past Misfortunes" has been playing on repeat for most of an hour now, and it still feels like I've just put it on. "Love Within Isolation" is pulling me to stop writing and weep softly instead.

I will unquestionably be listening to this record a great deal. The only thing missing from this release is a soft, wistful vocal, and even that would only give me words to whisper to myself in the dark of night. Sometimes, when artists ask that we give their music a listen, we sit as a group and wonder what possessed these people to waste their time and ours with their music. Vision Éternel, however, is a real treasure. His first two EPs combined here, both stories, combine for a listening experience that is somehow compelling and timeless.

This is the sort of music that becomes a sympathetic friend and an embrace through pain and misfortune. Looking forward to hearing the upcoming split with Ethereal Beauty on Abridged Pause Records. In the meantime, pick up a copy of this from Frozen Veins at frozenveinsrecords.com.

Mount Eerie – Lost Wisdom (J)

2009-02-28T23:17:00.000-08:00

"10 songs recorded quickly and quietly during a surprise visit by Julie Doiron, keeper of the world’s greatest and saddest voice, and Fred Squire, hidden guitarist of the floating riff, in a small wooden room in Anacortes, Washington before they returned home to eastern Canada. Songs with the expression of the face of a baby in a burning world, in the swirling dust. They hang on a theme of impermanence and destroying forces. The river is revealed to be going right through the house, the river of inevitable chaos, sorrow and love." (Taken from Phil Elverum’s site http://pwelverumandsun.com/store)

Yes. Oh my god, yes. Sweet, merciful Jesus, yes. This album is…astoundingly good. But not just good…it’s great. It’s wonderful. It’s tear-jerkingly beautiful. I sat on the train today with this playing, watching the lights whir by as snow fell and it just…made sense.

Coming from my black metal roots, I couldn’t help but chuckle the first time I saw this album’s title (yes, this is a Burzum reference), but take heed, black metal fans, for this will not tickle your Varg/Grishnackh fancy.

“Lost Wisdom” fills every category needed on the good non-metal/rock album checklist:
Is it folk? Yes, yes it is. Check
Is it sad? Oh god, yes. Check
Are there male/female vocal harmonies? Yes. Yes. Yes. Check
Are the female vocals done by Julie Doiron? YES! Check
And last, but probably most important and relevant to this analysis: Was it recorded in a cabin in rural Washington? YES. YES. YES. YES. Check.

This time around, Phil Elverum meant business. After the spring release of the extraordinarily fuzzy, dense, almost metallic “Black Wooden Ceiling Opening” EP, he’s dropped the distortion, keyboards, and drums for a much more organic, desolate sound, and presents ten songs of love, loss, confusion, angst, existential confusion, and loneliness written alone in a cabin in the farthest reaches of Scandinavia. Songs written alone about being alone (how existential *chuckles*); I think this guy’s lyrical credibility went up a few notches in my book.

As mentioned earlier, Elverum enlisted the help of Julie Doiron, holder of the saddest voice on Earth, to harmonize with his quiet, distant yet familiar voice. When I first listened to this album (I feel so bad…I downloaded it off of a blog…), I heard the folky guitar enter with Phil’s voice and was pleased as is, but my eyes widened and my jaw dropped when Julie’s voice came in to complement his. In a romantic sense, their voices were almost meant to be together. Their voices waltz together, trade verses, build a choir behind a lead vocal track…they allow the other to grow their roots in the audience’s ears. This album is built around their voices; without these voices joining hands, the underlying theme of love lost and shared loneliness would be lost.
Elverum puts the acoustic guitar in the background, playing simple droning folky melodies as a backbone to the rest of the music. In this simplicity lies vast beauty and emotional complexity. Would the introduction of the first track be the same without the single note guitar beneath it? Would “Who?” lose its dark, nostalgic tone without the one-chord base? This simple style hearkens back to a more primitive time where music was a vessel to tell stories and express; not to prove technical prowess.

Fred Squire’s electric guitar work beneath Elverum’s adds a new layer of depth to these songs. A light fuzzy-yet-clean guitar flutters behind everything (“hidden” guitarist… “floating” riff…get it?), contributing to dynamics (note the louder strumming during the louder vocal parts in the title track, “Lost Wisdom”). The electric work of Squire gives “Lost Wisdom” the right amount of space to accentuate the loneliness felt by the narrator.

Speaking of loneliness and desolation, these dang lyrics are so bleak and excruciatingly sad, once you understand them, it’s pretty hard to “keep your cool” whilst giving this album a spin. My personal favorite lyrics are those to “O My Heart,” especially the second verse, starting with, “Oh, what’s this?” (following a very tasteful guitar solo):

“Oh what’s this? Is this my heart? Is it thumping? O my heart, there you are; I’ve stopped hunting. I thought you would be as big as a whale. My nets were knit, my heart moves on; I’ve had my ships sailed.”

These surreal lyrics that rely on a very nifty extended simile, surreal in the fact that his heart would be as big as a whale, though if his heart was that engorged he would probably die, but a cool image is seen in the mind’s eye, and the extended simile thus explaining that since the narrator thought that his heart was to be as big as a whale, he knit his net too large and his heart simply fell through the holes in the net, lost in the sea. Of course, his heart is lost in a sea of depression and turmoil; he wasn’t able to save love in time and thus it can’t be saved. Every song on this full-length demonstrates Elverum’s very strong grasp of prose; everything has an alternate, profound second meaning.

Mount Eerie’s “Lost Wisdom” is a wonderful work of deep, honest music. Every song is perfect the way it is, and is put in its logical place in the track progression. Needless to say this is probably my favorite release of this past year. It will accompany me on many coffee-drenched lonely nights and long drives. Let’s hope that Mount Eerie and Julie Doiron’s paths cross again.
Recommended for fans of: Low, Songs: Ohia, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Syndicate X, Thanksgiving, Charalambides, Nick Drake, Birch Book, Leonard Cohen, Ida, and the like.

Locrian - Drenched Lands (V)

2009-02-28T23:16:00.000-08:00

I've been a fan of Locrian since I first saw them - probably not a surprise for a veteran pair whose performance consists of incredibly building passion, raw volume, and sound ritually and emotionally evocative throughout their work.

I've often found that a vantage point at the top of a PA speaker is often a perfect way of experiencing Locrian, but last night at the Mopery in Chicago I couldn't help but add a semi-prone form of self-reflection and blind, thoughtless emotion. It comes through in the recordings on Drenched Lands.

This recorded material spends a great deal of time away from the walls of sound that I'm accustomed to seeing Hannum and Foisy create live, but perfectly captures the atmosphere of their rituals and tells a story that resonates perfectly with the almost colorless images of human loss and civilisational decay in the oddly black metal case. And when Hannum first cuts through the ache of their soft sounds with passionate screams in "Barren Temple Obscured By Contaminated Fogs," the images of "stagnant pools [infinite depths]/among the pylons" come through as a painful, tearful memory of an empty, lonely dream.

Locrian has no problem carrying their emotions and visions through this masterful work and through all 30 minutes of the closing track, "Greyfield Shrines." Locrian explores new and intense sounds and images throughout this work, and I'm still reeling in the experience.

Liam - Two Years and a Fragment (J)

2009-02-28T23:15:00.000-08:00

Behold the bastard son of post-rock, black metal, and doom metal. Think of it as a more uniform Caina (first full-length), slowed down, and with HUGE production; not to mention desperate, fantastic vocals (both harsh and clean).

Starting off as a regular post-rock/post-metal band a la Mono/EITS, the folks in Líam released the "My Journey to the Sky" EP in 2007. Realizing that this rehashed post-rock sound that hundreds (if not thousands) of bands use is getting old, these guys take a massive black/doom approach to post-rock. This change in style gives us "Two Years and a Fragment, " released in late 2008.

Though this EP has only three songs, it will not disappoint. Long have I waited for a band other than Agalloch to meld these genres together in such a tasteful, beautiful, and crushing manner.

Recommended for fans of Wolves in the Throne Room (they’re playing with them soon), Agalloch, Shining, Esoteric, Caina, Panopticon, ISIS, jesu, Trist, Parabstruse, Lantlos, and so on.

Heat from a Deadstar - Seven Rays of the Sun (V)

2009-02-28T23:14:00.000-08:00

Seven Rays of the Sun is the latest in a slow but steady trickle of releases from Boston label Ace of Hearts - possibly best known for Mission of Burma records in the early 80s.

I reviewed Heat from a Deadstar's Lighthouse EP in our July/August issue last year, and this full-length is unquestionably continuing to fuck with my mind. The only familiar track is "Elusive Ways." The version on this record is a lot cleaner-sounding and catches the ear with a sort of despairing Nirvana vocal melody. I have a feeling that within a few more listens I'll be mumbling half-remembered words under my breath and staring into space.

This album runs all over the place - from some sort of twisted punk to light almost relaxing music with ample pieces of dissonance, yelling, strange guitar sounds, and slowly developing minimalist structures. I can only imagine that this trio writes in a horrible mood in a basement somewhere most of the time. On the plus side, it's hard to ever pin Deadstar down to a genre or set of influences - they're always shifting, and something about them always focuses on a groove and a downward gaze. Deadstar is a repository for all the emotions we don't know how to put into words while they fester inside.

The Exciting Trio - In Chicago there is Willy (C)

2009-02-28T23:00:00.000-08:00

This album was a birthday gift from my father and I had no idea what to expect from it. I decided to give ‘em a check out on their label website, where they received the eloquent description of “touching equally on jazz and post-rock” which immediately piqued my interest. From the get go, this album goes somewhere magical. It opens in a serene landscape full of bowed bass and quick arpeggiation on the guitar that bring to mind some cross of the orchestration on Venetian Snare’s Rossz Csillag Allat Született and Agalloch in their more tender moments. Of course, this isn’t good enough for the Exciting Trio, who are determined to break new and, of course, exciting grounds. Every carefully crafted piece is punctuated by a bit of classic jazz instrumentation, and free jazz dissonance that may seem unnecessary at a first glance. I think the highlights of this album are tracks like “Remembering Tokyo / The Last Alaskan” and “You’ve Got a Moustache and Everything” that feel as though Boris have re-composed Flood and accidentally left the manuscripts at the practice space of a jazz trio made up of members of Pelican who are making full use of Wes Montgomery’s spirit. The players on this album are phenomenal, making full use of their instruments as well as excellent use of effects to add many dimensions to the album. The composition is incredibly strong as well, though at times there are elements that seem unnecessary or out-of-place, and really packs a wallop. I highly recommend this album for anyone who is a fan of jazz, post-rock, experimental, or “new” music.

http://www.482music.com/albums/482-1023.html

Century Plants - Circular Spaces Volume 1 (C)

2009-02-28T22:50:00.000-08:00

There’s a sort of chaotic beauty to this album that defies characterization. It starts off as a sort of psychedelic, earthy, tonal painting full of lively and bright colors. Aptly titled “Back Into the Bloom” the piece feels very warm, filled with cascading guitar licks. The following track is very similar, but instead takes on a more somber stance. The guitars trade thoughts throughout the track in a way that brings memories of the beach before a storm. Calm, a persistent breeze, waves crashing against the rocks. The final piece is very different from the other two. This piece is nearly indecipherable as far as any given instrument involved, and boiled down to various dissonances, some mysterious noises, and a very uncomfortable buzzing sound. The juxtaposition with the previous two pieces really makes it quite unnerving, and adds a lot to the emotion of the piece which only manages to climb and fall in an abstract way that forces you to sit and think. As the album roars to a near-deafening close, you finally start to realize the breadth of what you’ve just listened to. I, even after having seen Century Plants twice, am astounded by their flexibility. Each time I saw them live, they played something entirely new, and this proves that on record they can remain incredibly innovative and keep the magic and energy alive – a feat hard for most bands.

Highlights: “Back Into the Bloom"

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (J)

2009-02-28T22:49:00.000-08:00

So I’m back in an indie folk rut again, and the best way to summarize my current taste (other than Mount Eerie) is definitely Bon Iver. Yes, sad bearded-man folk music, but a lot more.
Justin Vernon recorded this album alone in a cabin in Northwestern Wisconsin (notice a trend here?) after an extreme breakup and a liver problem. While sitting alone in his cabin, Vernon watched a documentary concerning the Inuit. These people had a tradition of wishing each other a “bon hiver,” or “good winter” in French. Of course, “hiver” reminded Vernon too much of “liver,” which was causing him a good deal of pain, so he removed the H, making the name Bon Iver, which stuck.

Bon Iver is characterized by simple “strummy” folk guitar, occasionally masking a light glitch bass drum track, giving it a more upbeat sound, and, of course, Justin Vernon’s strong R&B-style falsetto vocals. No, not power metal falsettos; I’m talking big black guy-sounding falsettos. Of course, this one track of vocals doesn’t cut it; there needs to be over twenty tracks of Justin Vernon singing various harmonies, countermelodies, and bass tracks. Think of it as a choir of Justin Vernons; a big room of beardy-folk fellows that isn’t a coffee shop or record store (har dee har).

I had the opportunity to miss Bon Iver in concert (with The Tallest Man On Earth, a previously reviewed band), but from bootlegs and videos of live shows, Justin Vernon is accompanied by a live drummer and electric guitarist (does a lot of folk/post-rock/noise stuff O_o), but normally Vernon stands alone vocally, with occasional harmonies from everyone else. This more bleak sound is very pleasing, but a huge diversion from the more lush sound found on the album. Either way, it looks like Justin Vernon aims to please.

An interesting tidbit about Bon Iver live: Justin Vernon doesn’t want to be a one-guy-singing-with-a-guitar artist, so he has been known to hand out lyrics to the audience so they can sing along.

Overall, I like this album. A lot. It’s definitely up there with Mount Eerie’s “Lost Wisdom” for best album of the year, even though it was officially (self-) released last year.

Recommended for fans of: Low, Mount Eerie, Julie Doiron, Chuck Ragan, Neil Young, Steve von Till, and so on.

Bone Parade - Bone Parade (C)

2009-02-28T22:43:00.000-08:00

First, I’d like to throw a shout-out to some pretty sweet cover art on this album. I can’t explain what it is that I like so much about it, it’s just well-done and fitting to the CD inside. Bone Parade’s self-titled EP contains four tracks, two studio recordings, and two live recordings. The music is very minimal - steady drum beats overtop a grimy sounding bass, piano, and some chilling vocals. The intended impact of the music is very effective, conjuring images of a sort of a post-siege Rome through its lamentation. When I had first heard Bone Parade’s music I had been a bit skeptical of the vocals in combination with the music, but I almost immediately realized that this is how it had to be. Both singers bring equal amounts of depth to each song, committing themselves fully to the performance and energy needed. I love every piece on this album individually, but I also feel that the the major failing in this album is too much similarity in the structure at the core of most of the songs. With a bit more variation in the steady, war-drum-like bass & percussion combo (A great tool once, but it becomes gimmicky after a while), Bone parade could go from another interesting band to doing something really spectacular.

Highlight tracks: Harvester’s Hymn (Live)
http://www.myspace.com/boneparade

Benighted in Sodom - Plague Overlord (V)

2009-02-28T22:42:00.000-08:00

Benighted in Sodom is a raw mess of dissonant chords and crushing harmonies . . . the slow, deathly motion, however, is continuous and compelling as the rays of light shining down from the maw of oncoming destruction. This is one of those lights-out, candles-burning stare-into-space and cry records. Which probably explains why Benighted in Sodom's Thorn is completely covered in scars. The album manages to make transitions between atmospheres of guitar and blast beats and raw-black-metal cymbal pulses sound effortless and perfect. Emotion drifts from aching, beautiful, and hateful and back again, wrapping us in everything at once so that the eventual suicide is a work of beauty rather than despair.

Benighted in Sodom does, in fact, tour with session members (previously including members of Chaosmoon), and the next time you have a chance to see the ketamine molecule on Thorn's shirts (and Thorn without a shirt) live, go. And don't take any form of blade with you, you'll be tempted to use it. As great as the record is, it has nothing on the show.

For people who want emotion to eclipse thought. And don't mind feeling horrible about everything.

Aube - Purification to Numbness (V)

2009-02-28T22:34:00.000-08:00

Aube - Akifumi Nakajima, I should say - is by all appearances not quite your average noise artist. He started releasing noise - which he describes as sound design rather than music - under the name Aube in 1991 - around when Masami Akita started using digital recording and within a few years of the genesis of Masonna. But Aube has curious self-imposed restrictions.

Each Aube release is created entirely with one sound source - glass, the human voice, water, lamps, you name it. Purification to Numbness is one of a number made with a single voltage controlled oscillator, his third such and his seventeenth overall release in 1995. The release is a set of three soundscapes from this source. The first, "Elementary Particle," is a twisting seventeen-minute drone that sounds plausibly like an extremely effected guitar - all layered, distorted pitches and repeating sounds and sound loud, uncontrolled rock. The title track seems more meditative and features more noisy sounds, less of the midrangey Marshall amp attack. Sounds wander in and out, tending more to bathe the listener in an experience - a trip inside a machine-mind. The track spends twenty minutes building intensity before giving way (stopping as suddenly as the first track) to Aube-meets-Khlyst noisy glitches buried in the Aube wall of compressed sound. This all sounds very much like a chance-based live noise improvisation more than anything. Structure is linear and . . . unstructured. Every sound simply is.

Thanks to RRRecords for selecting this piece. I'm more than anything curious to hear more of Aube's work - it seems like a way of bringing home experimentation with sound sources and approaches, like surrounding yourself with electronics and creative minds. Certainly worth further study.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed - PCP Torpedo/ANbRX (V)

2009-02-28T22:32:00.000-08:00

As of this record - Agoraphobic Nosebleed is direct and brutal. They take advantage of the punishing power of the drum machines and build fast, effective tracks that are over as soon as the point is made. And better yet, this release is half remixes. Excellent remixes.

Admittedly, most of the time it's nigh impossible to make any connection between the remixes and the original tracks, but a mix of hardcore/speedcore and noise makes an effective combination with the so-called cybergrind Agoraphobic Nosebleed makes. The original tracks blast through and leave a mark, then the remixes keep the energy up and build interest through their varied distinct styles and artistic voices. Ah, the advantage of having Relapse on your side.

And this makes me want to give speedcore another chance. I was disappointed on my first attempt with a Neophyte best-of, but I see some actual potential here. And the glitchy chaos James Plotkin inserts - I might prefer an album of this to Khlyst. Might. Jansky Noise's remix is fucking brutal. And Justin Broadrick seems to have made Agoraphobic Nosebleed into a slow, crushing industrial band. I didn't know that was possible. And Masami Akita made a Merzbow track out of Agoraphobic Nosebleed samples - unmistakably Merzbow.

This CD, this CD I would recommend picking up.

Agoraphobic Nosebleed - Altered States of America (V)

2009-02-28T22:29:00.000-08:00

Agoraphobic Nosebleed is obnoxious and irreverent. While this mini-CD is something of a classic grind record with its 100 tracks, a lot of it is, frankly, shit. A lot of it is really enjoyable inhuman-speed drum machine grind, quick blips of songs like they should be. But it seems like Agoraphobic Nosebleed spends half the time on pure filler - not a problem on most 20-minute CDs. Dozens of tracks consist of random rants about drugs and Japanese terrorists and how much the band hates homosexuals and black metal.

We won't go into the irony of homophobia in a band and genre so amazingly obsessed with the anus and anal sex. But seriously, I don't buy records for a dozen tracks in sequence of some guy yelling over soft noise. Unless it actually sounds good. Which this doesn't.

I don't really like it, but I might if their lyrics didn't show them to be fucking shitty human beings, or at the very least if they didn't waste my time (it seems absurd to start getting bored around the 50th track on something so short) with bland filler tracks. I'll try something else (maybe that PCP Torpedo/ANbRX remix album), and maybe it'll be worth the second chance. But please, if you ever consider challenging this blast of sound, leave out the crap and stick to grind.

Sunn O))) - Domkirke (C)

2008-10-30T20:42:00.001-07:00

Sunn O)))’s latest masterpiece, Domkirke, is marketed as a “live album”, it really is just an original studio album that happens to have been recorded in a church in Norway in front of a crowd of what sounds to be about 10 people (all of whom I assume are either involved in the band, trained sound technicians, or close friends invited to witness the momentous occasion) if the clapping at the beginning of the album is to be believed. After the tremendous display of clapping, Sunn choose to start off the only way they know… Slowly. Why Dost Thou Hide Thyself in Clouds is, for me, possibly one of the greatest things Sunn has produced in their entire career. The first five minutes of low feedback eventually gives into pipe organ and deep, Gregorian chants. As the sparse, but powerful backing (dominated by the church’s featured pipe organ) plods onwards, the vocals go for a dramatic tromp through Norway’s mountain ranges, belting like a Wagnerian epic only to reduce themselves to the rumbling valleys once again like a cascading avalanche. This song, in the end, is what made Domkirke a worthwhile purchase. It truly demonstrates that Sunn, for all the shit they get (refrigerator metal, no talent hacks, just lean your guitar against your amp, anyone can do it, etc.), truly do maintain the ability to take their entire history and improve upon it time after time, and turn something admittedly intrinsically stagnant into a refreshing and enjoyable piece. As for the rest of the album, Sunn take a few more steps forward by allowing their influences to shine through like elegant stained glass – Steve Moore provides trombone on some tracks that adds elements of newer Earth pieces, while retaining the noisy despair of Sunn. The songwriting really displays Sunn’s functional use of the church’s space, as well as paying homage to its past. Domkirke, is, in my opinion, while not necessarily going to be hailed as “THE BEST SUNN ALBUM EVER!” easily a marked improvement on Sunn’s material, and a great step forward for them. It is a solid album from start to finish.

Suffocation - Despise the Sun (V)

2008-10-30T20:40:00.003-07:00

Despise the Sun is something of a short masterpiece. Every song is effective, tight, brutal, heavy. The guitar tone is great, balanced and powerful without going too far in any direction. Vocals sit defiantly and confidently exactly where they belong. The kick is clear and defined. The lyrics are powerful. This album makes you want to pick up an instrument or a microphone and create something to reflect its perfection. There's no mistake that swarms of younger bands are constantly compared to Suffocation. Though their last couple of albums (as clichéd as this complaint is) don't live up to this EP, probably largely as a result of weaker, washier distortion and less pure violence, Despise the Sun is a set of perfect song after perfect song.

Yes, I'd probably put this on first thing for anyone I wanted to get into death metal, and I've done it before. This album, further, is a perfect reflection of Suffocation's live machine. It tears, uplifts, and smashes through all . . . 16 minutes. Every song on the EP is worth the effort to learn and play. And you'll never be ashamed of it. I don't want to know how many times I've listened to this CD, and every time I see them I scream for one track or another. Grab this, and see them. Really. And if you already have, see them again.

Socialistic Jonny Goblet - Translations of a Seance (K)

2008-10-30T20:36:00.000-07:00

Visuals are important when it comes to music. To the fan as well as to a neutral person they can give a first impression of what to expect and whether they should give the music a try or not. Some fancy fantasy painting is as suggestive as a photography of a horribly mutilated body; the former will hardly offer brutal goregrind, while the latter one would certainly not cover a Britney Spears release. Hence, give these visuals to a person some sort of certainty and might even motivate someone to actually buy a release in case the visuals are of an exceptional quality; such was the case when I ordered the «Darkside» release of «Necrophobic».

«Translations of a seance» does not follow this set of rules. On the cover you see some sort of black metal writing of the short form of the band's name, further are there two inverted crosses, a pentagram, a '666' in the top and also two wings on each side. Judging from this impression, one would easily classify this as a black metal release, one from the underground, one of these 'ultra trve' demos; but all this is far from what the band actually performs.

There is no metal on this release; this is nothing even close to it. Instead something weird is offered. Noise in a various degree and with occasionally fascinating atmospheres can be found on this 3"-CDr. There are moments in which you get the feeling like listening to the music of one of these old-school 'horror' games, when you are locked in a room and have to do some certain steps in order to leave it and to proceed with the story. This monotonous themes in the background, the endless repetition of some motives and ideas and sounds that are simply not right; music that wants to mess around with the brain cells. Slightly nightmarish, dark and haunting, but also annoying is the art of «SJG» and each song is different from the preceding one. «Disforming Scratch Transforming» is a very monotonous one, but progresses through the use of new styles of noises and ideas; the same can be said of «Settling Nature of Obsurdities».

«Spirits of the Dead (E.A.Poe)» is an interpretation of a novel by this American writer; the vocals might not be everyone's taste though. Some neat ideas can be found on this release and even though the package might suggest something different, the content can still be enjoyed. Fifteen minutes is this CD-r long and the listener has to go through a lot of different stages of atmosphere until the end is finally reached. Should be listened to in the dark.

Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (V)

2008-10-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Neutral Milk Hotel is a perfect collaboration of the weird and that which every human heart understands and needs. Simple acoustic chords somehow manage not to become at all stale, probably benefited by clever and memorable melodies and the other elements Neutral Milk Hotel uses throughout. The band has full-time brass people, not session musicians, mixes in strangely filthy electric guitars and bass, driving drums, and random eccentric instrumentations. One song will be quick and to the point, another will be slow and thoughtful. One song will slide past with almost meaningless lyrics and an energetic feel, another (in fact, most) are filled with lyrics that tell all the facets of a story at once - not just the usual "I love you" and "my father died" but all the things that happen at every stage in life, the things large and small that make life meaningful and wondrous.

Perhaps the reason I've delayed hunting down any more of their albums is the fact that I don't feel like I'm missing anything from this album - it continues to please and fulfill. I have no doubt that I will continue to cherish this already ten-year-old record for years and decades to come. Well-suited for crying and singing and romance and hurting and loving. And just living. I don't think I would have understood it 5 years ago, but I don't think I'll ever feel even a temptation to get rid of it.

Moose - Cool Breeze EP (V)

2008-10-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

This is the first Moose release I've picked up, so I can't compare it to previous or later work, but it's slowly growing on me. Overall, the EP strikes me as a loosely cluttered combination of Slowdive's male vocals without the ambience, early jangly My Bloody Valentine, a touch of leftover punk influences, and a quirky approach to sounds and percussion.

The general effect of all this is somewhat mind-scattering and distracting, and the melodies aren't quite of the heart-consuming quality I've found in My Bloody Valentine's hooks, but as I continue to listen to this creation, I'm beginning to develop a fondness for Moose's own strange musical personality. All in all, I'd say check it out, and delve further into Moose: but give it a chance to soak in. This isn't quite the same old shoegaze over again. I find it quite enjoyable when I have the concentration to deal with the confusion imparted most particularly by some nuance of the unusual concentration of snare drum.

I think my appreciation of Moose is more akin to . . . a free jazz take on early shoegaze, a warm but confusing performance rather than the transcendent beauty that creates my main joy in shoegaze. If you like Pale Saints, you'll probably like Moose.

Malory - Not Here, Not Now (Reissue) (V)

2008-10-30T20:32:00.001-07:00

Not Here, Not Now is pretty much a German echo of Souvlaki-era Slowdive, with a slightly greater emphasis on the softer tones and electronics and a song about the Lord of the Rings. It's an untitled bonus track, but . . . There is, sadly, nothing really original here, despite the review on their website that reads "they definitely do not fall into the trap of countless other "ripoff" bands." It's actually nigh-uncanny the degree to which they've emulated Slowdive's sounds. Identical vocal reverb, identical tones, voices emulating the same timbre with just a hint of accent.

Malory is good enough in their emulation that I'd see them if they came around, but their songs don't touch me the same way Slowdive has managed on repeated occasions. Of course, to be fair, the same is true of more than one "classic" shoegaze band, but unless you're curious to hear some Tolkein poetry as a Slowdive song, I'd recommend passing this release up in favor of the people who not only created this sound, but could write entrancing songs within the idiom.

Khanate - Khanate (V)

2008-10-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

Khanate is smashing and loud. Khanate is heavy and slow and torturous. Khanate is filthy and harsh and full of feedback. I'd not miss a Khanate show. Khanate is intense and focused. I really don't know why the Sunn O))) project is more popular. Khanate is so visceral and powerful. Khanate is suicide and murder. Khanate feels more like the intense ripping scenes of brutality (imagine a knife slicing through skin and muscle and hesitating for a moment at the spine before tearing through) in perfect detail. Perfect for headbanging, if only my neck weren't so sore from the Wolves in the Throne Room show the other night.

If I had this sound in person, full volume, afterwards I would collapse a completed and exorcised being. You can't get this guitar/bass sound at anything less than crushing volume; you need instant, piercing feedback to play the riffs right. It screams. The songs are repetitive, but this will never work as background music.

This is not for everyone. In fact, I think I have yet to get anyone else hooked on it. This music, is, however, intense. Or, to quote a certain internet motivational poster entitled "Doom Metal," "that shit sounds like planets colliding."

John Zorn - Spy vs. Spy - The Music of Ornette Coleman (V)

2008-10-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

Spy vs. Spy is quite possibly the ideal introduction to jazz for either a noisehead or a metalhead, speaking as both. It's chaotic. It's wild. It's fast. Zorn and Baron, later of Naked City, and fellows Tim Berne, Mark Dresser, and Michael Vatcher keep the pace just as relentlessly brutal as the most intense death metal. I'm not kidding. Hell, let old favorites like Immolation and Incantation compete with this lineup and these tracks for a pit and headbanging, and the metal kids might have something to worry about.

Zorn's combo here takes the unusual harmonies and group improv sections found throughout Coleman's catalog and play them about as fast as is reasonably acheivable with heavy thrash, crossover and grindcore influences. Napalm Death, Blind Idiot God, Lip Cream, DRI, and The Accused are mentioned in the liner notes. Sax solos throughout bring to mind Slayer's simultaneous leads at the end of "Raining Blood." I'm really not sure why this album hasn't forged a widely-popular style of music. My favorite of my Zorn collection, and of Coleman if you'll take it as such. There are blast beats scattered throughout. This is not grandpa's jazz.

Hanatarash - Hanatarash I (V)

2008-10-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

Hanatarash's first album is delightfully raw. And it has music washing through the noise without itself being the noise. Eye sings and chants and screeches throughout the clashes of harsh churnings, blasts of noise, and shrill feedback. Try not to focus on the consistent use of "cock" in all the song titles. This record is actually a liberating assault on the ears that doesn't so much evoke rage as it suspends other realms of focus in favor of noise immersion. There's definitely variety - from the melodies and roar of Ultra Cocker to standard distorted noise vocals and drumming in Domination In Spunked Cock to the constant percussion of Cock Combat and the distorted electronic march of Cock Victory. This album singularly fails to convey any sort of message outside of hearing loss. Good noise.

Content Nullity - Rotting Walls of Decaying Sound (C)

2008-10-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

Finally, Content Nullity material! After god knows how long of getting teasers, clips, and hearing ideas from the man who nearly got me into noise and industrial, he has finally released Rotting Walls of Decaying Sound through his label, Scrape Tapes (http://www.myspace.com/scrapetapes). This tiny mini-CD contains 20 minutes of dark insanity that starts like a wound, falls in a super-medicated spiral through hell, and then finishes with the death convulsions – displaying them in all their violence and grotesqueries. The real highlights of the album are the middle few tracks, which have a distinct style of layered drone and noise to create a truly chilling effect – worthy of a haunted house in true seasonal style – that turn the album from a great noise album to a true experience. I really cannot recommend this highly enough, I was blown away by it even having heard Content Nullity material before, it just wasn’t what I was quite expecting. Really a grade A album, get it now!

Celestia - Apparitia - Sumptuous Spectre (Remaster) (V)

2008-10-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Celestia seems to be something of a collective of side-members of classic French black metal groups. And while Celestia's music is straight black metal that has nothing of the inventiveness that French black metal is sometimes known for, it's not in the least lacking in melodic creativity or spirit. I would criticise the under-developed and obvious basslines and the overuse of none-too-tight tremolo picking, but the melodies created are effective and at least there's some presence in mid and low frequency ranges.

There's some good ambience here, and that combined with the strong melodies and decent sound (this is the remastered version) make what might otherwise be an exercise in endless black metal actually reasonably enjoyable to listen to. It might not be my first choice, but is certainly not the kind of black metal that makes me want to forget that I've ever listened to the genre. All in all, a more well-developed approach with more variety, complex structures, and more interesting harmony might come off as a respectable record.

Buzzardstein - Live Demo (C)

2008-10-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

Buzzardstein are a band that I had come across a couple times, hearing their name floating across the internet before I really understood what they “meant”. Then, one day the idea of Sludge really clicked for me, and of course I started searching out everything I could find. In a strange twist of fate, I found out that Buzzardstein’s bassist was around some of the same internet haunts that I was – and he had links to copies of Buzzardstein’s “live demo”, their only release so far. The link came with a thousand warnings of terrible audio quality, and being a general waste of time, so I braced myself for a recording that would make Varg Vikernes’s skin crawl. Unsurprisingly, the quality on the live demo is actually not that terrible. It certainly doesn’t sound like Steve Albini had anything to do with it, but it’s listenable, and adds to the sludgy effect overall. The live demo manages to jump from traditional Grief-style sludge to more Noothgrush-esque bluesy sludge that you find yourself unable not to tap your foot to, and somewhere in between in the span of three songs. The vocals are completely unintelligible, but provide amazing atmosphere for the crushing riffs that drive Buzzardstein down, down, down south. Though Buzzardstein may by no means be a big-name band that has the ability to tour often or far, or produce albums at every whim, I feel completely comfortable putting the live demo in my playlist right between Grief and Eyehategod.

Apostle of Solitude - Sincerest Misery (C)

2008-10-30T20:21:00.000-07:00

Apostle of Solitude’s full length is a heavy-as-fuck slab of doom. Featuring the drumming power of The Gates of Slumber on guitar and vocals, Apostle manage to roll out exactly 9 great, memorable doom songs with Sincerest Misery. I, personally, would put this at the top of my 2008 list of Doom Metal albums, and even near my list of 2008 releases period. Every song has a degree of catchiness, a tinge of misery, and great solos. They remain unafraid to throw back to the likes of Candlemass, with distinct touches of Pagan Altar to create wholly unique pieces touched by emotion, but retaining their epic heaviness. Instead of just relying on doomy power chords, Apostle allow for more melodic sections, and trade off between many different styles. This combinations gives the album both a uniquely Doom flavor, as well as the aftertaste of several non-traditional styles such as touches of alternative rock. As a whole, the album fits in well with more classic traditional doom and provides both great contrast and harmony with other classic albums. A must-have for any doom fan, in my opinion.

_Algol_/Cloudy Horizon - Split (K)

2008-10-30T20:16:00.000-07:00

The internet has given us the advantage to communicate with people from around the world and in case they are artists to enjoy their art (theoretically speaking); even though thousands of miles lie between us. Such happens to exist in terms of _Algol_ & Cloudy Horizon: both of them are projects of the same person: Daniel, a guy from Siberia. His idea is to create ambient music in a variety of styles and this split release offers two approaches on how this might sound.

_Algol_
According to the MySpace site as well as the homepage, the term «space ambient» has been used to describe this project and it is very fitting. The music is very minimalist with a slow progressing melody and reverb in the chords. Only few textures appear at a certain time and accordingly it is very easy to follow the music respectively concept. Spoken passages appear but on a very small scale; opening of «The Total Siberian Eclipse», towards the end of «Dark and Light near the Tannhauser Gates». Noise textures are also used, but not on every track they play a dominant role. There is some resemblance to the art of Vinterriket and hence would fans of this band also like what Algol performs on this split release. It should be noted, though, that the Russian band does not use field recordings and this does differentiate this band from the Austrian one.

Cloudy Horizon
In comparison with _Algol_ the music of «Cloudy Horizon» offers a kind of atmosphere the other project if not able to create. This has to do with the use of an acoustic guitar that plays an important role in the concept; not only in terms of the atmosphere. Further is there a drum-computer playing in the background and also samples from the nature had been used; water play and thunder sound. Beyond these conceptual differences, the most obvious one to the listener is the existence of a beat which keeps the song going. Despite the minimalism which does also appear here, it is easier to get the idea. Both songs are well performed and offer some sort of folk ambient. Both songs are very linear and take the listener through different stages of atmospheres as well as arrangements. Yet all is very calm and without anything that would work as a counter-point towards it.

Ambient interpreted in two different ways, this could be used as a description for this release. Music that is easy to follow, never irritating and also somehow catchy. An interesting release.

Pitchfork Music Festival 2008 Chicago (C)

2008-08-31T21:40:00.000-07:00

Friday 7/18 with All Tomorrow’s Parties “Don’t Look Back”

Mission of Burma/Pitchfork Begins
Rolling in from Albany to the lovely town of Chicago on Friday evening, it was somewhat up in the air whether I’d make it, or be up to even going to the official beginning of this year’s Pitchfork Music Fest. I purchased my 3-day pass off eBay for a reduced price from someone who was unable to attend, so the deal I got was pretty much equal to what I was about to pay for two individual one-day passes since two-days were sold out… But as luck would have it I rolled in right on time, showed up about 45 minutes before the gates were to open ready to rock and roll. I was greeted with some pretty welcoming rain that left me wondering why I hadn’t packed an umbrella, or prepared for such things in any way period, but I grabbed my trusty sweatshirt feeling that would leave me covered. As the clock struck 5:00, the rain cleared up serendipitously and the doors opened, and I wandered my way in, not really sure what to expect. The crowd was fairly sparse thus far, so I didn’t feel too rushed to grab my front row spot, which I eventually did get. I hung out about fifteen feet stage right of front and center until Mission of Burma eventually took the stage. I can’t confess to having known much about them, or anyone playing Pitchfork for that matter, beforehand, but from what I heard from the scary 50-something-year-old acne-scarred, white-haired radio DJ who couldn’t help but hit on the horrible scene boy standing behind me, I was getting pretty excited. Finally, after much waiting Mission of Burma took the stage to much cheering and applause and shouts and screams and general fanfare, did a tiny bit of sound checking, and then dove right into their “legendary album” Vs. “WELCOME TO THE BURMA DOME”, or something along those lines rattled over the PA after the announcement of the beginning of “Side 1” and some fake dusty-vinyl-crackle, and I was immediately pleasantly surprised by the barrage of post-punk assaulting me from left field. I couldn’t help but think from Clint Conley’s strange, nasally singing that “This is what the Sex Pistols would sound like if they were ever good?”, and new I was in for a treat when Miller broke not one, but two strings during their second song. Each song left me wanting more and more to listen to Vs., but at the same time not wanting to since listening to it recorded on album couldn’t possibly blow me away like it did live. Every song was power-charged, really really fucking loud, and tinged with humor, and the whole experience couldn’t help but leave you with an idiotic smile on your face, especially when Peter Prescott would let out barbaric jungle-yells in the midst of just about every other song. In the end, they were one of the highlights of the whole Pitchfork experience and really left me feeling great about the things to come.

Sebadoh
I can’t say Sebadoh got off to a great start in my book. I was flocked by about 12 girls, all of whom seemed to be girls my age accompanied by girls who were 28+ and claimed to be “long time Sebadoh fans”, and they blathered on and on about this and that and who was hottest and please shut up you all look and sound like idiots, thanks. Finally our Festival Patrons came on to announce Sebadoh’s start, with their little humorous quips and warnings not to get dehydrated, and reminders to buy this and that, and go to this tent to check out this sponsor etc. I feel bad, though, because the guy who looked a lot like a young Bill Murray had a complete ass made of himself when part of their banter included “Next up is… ‘SABADO’?” “Oh no, dewd, I always sed SEBUHDOHZ!”, which was of course later ridiculed horribly by the band on stage (“Wait, how do you say it? Pitchfuck? Alright, we’re Sebadoh and you will not be seeing us next year!” etc. Much lolz). Sebadoh then took the stage and after a little Mission of Burma worship, they played a few tracks (none of which I knew) before starting Bubble and Scrape (none of which I knew). What impressed me most about Sebadoh was the fact that during about every other song, each member of the band switched instruments so that by the end the band had been all sorts of combinations of so-and-so on such-and-such instrument. They were also really funny, nice guys. Unfortunately, the music didn’t hold me quite as much, and apparently not the guy behind me either who was stoned as fuck and obviously only there because his girlfriend was making him “Dude, they’re boring, can we go?” and then halfway through the set after about 4 switches “Dude the singer is playing bass! when did the singer start playing bass?” It’s almost embarrassing to say that I think the on-stage banter between songs was more entertaining than the music was… Though a few tracks got me into it. All in all, I might find myself inclined to check out Bubble and Scrape just to give some cools guys a second chance.

Public Enemy
Public Enemy started to cut off Sebadoh part way through their last two songs, to which Barlow started to shout “Two more songs! Two more songs! Oh my god there’s no stopping that set!” which I, personally, found to be really funny. After Sebadoh ended, I wasn’t too interested in seeing public enemy, so I took that time to wander the booths and such which I realized weren’t all set up yet for that day, so I missed out on good spots on Public Enemy. When I wandered back over, they were finally starting by showcasing the people who did the scratching, etc. behind them, which was some pretty entertaining stuff, but a little drawn out, and I wanted to see Flavor Flav of course. Finally Public Enemy started with a whole lot of talking about why It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back was groundbreaking and ttly th bst rap albem evr and a pretty cool intro bit with some marching soldiers and rapping and stuff. All and all I enjoyed that more than I thought I would… Then Flavor Flav showed up, and spent 30 minutes talking about why ITaNoMtHUB was the most important album ever, why Public Enemy were the best, and why we should watch his new TV show, which yielded some boos, to which he responded “WHEN YA BOOIN’ FLAV YA BOOIN’ YA OWN STYLE MAN!” Finally they started up again, and I decided it was time to go because I was a bit done with it all. By the time I left, they had done about two more numbers and hadn’t started the album yet.

Pitchfork day one
Music: 8.5/10
People: 1/10

Saturday 7/19

Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar

Day two was begun. I showed up early, got in line, and headed over to my stage of choice for the day, B stage. I had a feeling that the Orkestar, my first prospects for the day, were going to either be really great or kinda shitty. Luckily they were the former. Even when I showed up to claim my spot (roughly the same as the day before, only more centered since it was a smaller stage) the sound check left me impressed by the virtuosity of every player in the Orkestar, and the camaraderie and fun happening on stage. When the set began, I was nothing short of blown away. The dual dueled trumpet solos provided by Boban and Marko, the backing by the Orkestar, and everything was beautiful. The drummer was impressive as well, creating a very jazzy background to the folky craziness of everything else. I felt like dancing right up to the last piece.

A Hawk and a Hacksaw

A Hawk and a Hacksaw were really high on my list of bands that I was looking forward to seeing at Pitchfork and I had high hopes after seeing the Blogotheque “Take away concert” videos on Youtube. What first surprised me was that Barnes was both playing Accordion and also a strange set of hand drums and cymbals set up at his feet to be played with kick pedals. Some sound problems with the intense Bouzouki player and a general lack of the emotion I felt in the music other times I had heard left me a little bit bored and disappointed. It was still great to see them live, though, and they did some pretty cool stuff, not the least of which was Heather Trost taking a single hair from her bow and pulling it across a string to make some eerie sounds. She also used the largest noisemaker I’d ever seen, which was nothing short of beastly impressive.

Icy Demons

I wandered away for part of Icy Demons, but what I saw left me feeling, basically, that although their live sound wasn’t that good (A strange mix of jazz and electronic music?), they seemed as though they’d be quite impressive on CD. Killer bassist.

Fuck Buttons

Fuck Buttons were a band that had been pretty hyped for me by people around the fest, people I know, and just the few things I’d heard from them. Given that someone had described them as “Shoegaze”, I wasn’t really expecting two guys with a collection of pedals, keyboards, and probably circuit bent toys. At first I fell in to really disliking them for trying to make trendier noise (it’s trendy enough- just stop please), but once I got over those gut feelings I realized they were doing something more than that and was quickly pulled in to the music. I don’t know what I’d call it in the end stylistically, but it was a really overwhelming experience given that it was about three times louder than any other set at the B stage that day. The sounds were somewhat melodic, and more soothing than harsh, and occasionally droning and occasionally not. I really don’t know what to say, but they really were show stealers for me. Great, great stuff.

The Ruby Suns

The Ruby Suns were another group I was really looking forward to, again, after seeing the Blogotheque performances. I was pretty surprised when only two people arrived on stage… Rather than the four or five I was expecting. A bass and drums duo performing… Psych folk…? I guess it’s expensive to fly people from New Zealand. I wasn’t sure how it was going to work, but I quickly grasped that the answer was “well”. They used a complex series of samples on two or three samplers between them which, although seeming a bit cop-out-ish, was fine in my book. The result was a very percussion-focused jammy atmosphere that moved you to move. They performed the track I was most looking forward to, Tane Mahuta, which was even better than I could have imagined, featuring lots of really cool rhythmic improvisation that enhanced the singable tune. It was a really clever set from start to finish.

Elf Power
I didn’t intend to watch them. Boring, lame, same-y indie rock. The only advantage is that I ended up sticking around for…

Extra Golden

For some reason or another I didn’t end up finding anything about Extra Golden. What I ended up gathering is that they are African rock, not unlike Ali Farka Toure, which is a style I’ve more or less grown up listening to and hold pretty close to my heart. This was a pretty big surprise for me, and I could not have seen a more fun group of people. As much as I know bands move people to dance, I’ve never actually danced to live music until Extra Golden. They absolutely were my favorites of the day, and possibly would have been for the whole Festival was it not for Sunday. The singer spent most of the time dancing, and instructing people in the crowd to dance, and everybody on stage had great chemistry with the crowd. Unfortunately, The Hold Steady’s sound was too loud and carrying over from another stage which seemed to piss off one of the guitarists… But it didn’t bother anyone else. Everyone had a great time as Extra Golden performed great songs full of solos from just about everyone, and one song dedicated to Barack Obama. When their set ended I was left feeling pretty upset, but fulfilled.

Atlas Sound

Atlas Sound was a project I knew a bit a bout, but not much. I had an idea of what to expect, but not really. When Cox came out with his table of effects and epiphone acoustic guitar, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What he presented was a pretty surprisingly mellow ambient-esque guitar+voice working. Each song was serene and flowing and carried you right through to the end. Another highlight of the day for me, and inevitably left me feeling somewhat at a loss for words.

Animal Collective
I was nearly dying by the time Animal Collective started. My back was shot, my limbs were sore, I was tired and hungry, and needed something to energize me again. Animal Collective were just that. The effect might have been better had I gotten a better spot, but I’m not complaining. I couldn’t see much of what was happening on stage, and the LED screens weren’t really helping me since they kind of sucked. The lights show was wicked awesome though, and the music really kicked my ass. There was a really strange blend of noises, guitar, and percussion I couldn’t put my finger on happening that was magic. What I said about the lights show was true, too. Best lights show ever. Swooping purple beams, intense flashes from lights towers behind the band, and really awesome color usage all added to the whole experience. Unfortunately the music couldn’t quite keep me going so around “Peacebone” I decided to make my way out of the crowd and find someplace to sit. Luckily the next song was the last, so I didn’t miss much. Animal Collective’s live sound seemed in some way oddly detached from their studio sound, and yet eerily similar at the same time.

Pitchfork Day 2
Music – 9/10
People – 0/10*

*Funny story:
I had a horrible girl stalking me the whole time while her dad stared me down from behind her. It was awful. She was 12 or something and insisted we were in love. Plus side is I got her to hold my spot in the front while I got some delicious pulled pork from Wishbone. Delicious.

Sunday 7/20

Times New Viking

I’ll confess, I only watched because I needed front row spots for Boris. I didn’t really have any idea who they were, what they sounded like, or what to expect, but what I got was pretty cool. Times New Viking are a synth/drums/guitar rock trio that really owned the stage, even in spite of Boris’ massive, overwhelming presence behind them. They really drove the energy sky high on a day that was hot and sunny rather than cool and overcast, as the last two days had been. I enjoyed it, but was still a bit checked out in anticipation of…

Boris

Really, the only reason I had gotten tickets in the first place. The 3 day passes were just because I thought it’d be fun, and damn it was. I’ll confess I was worried – I had heard from a lot of people that Boris ranked among the best live shows they’d seen, so I already had high expectations… But on the other hand, I wasn’t a fan of Pink, or (until recently) Smile. I was worried that this moment would be the biggest disappointment of my life… Well, from the get go I knew it couldn’t possibly be. During the entire set-up, Wata’s daughter was running around stage trying to set up Takeshi’s and Wata’s pedals while a surprise guest, whose name was starting to ripple through the crowd, laughingly tried to help her. Somewhere right of me I heard someone say in a pretty comic stage whisper “Dude, is that Michio Kurihara?” Right there I got pretty excited, because it had to be, and who wouldn’t love to hear Rainbow material live? The set up and sound check took ages and I felt like I was going to die in the heat. During the sound check I realized that Atsuo is a complete bad ass, though, since he’s playing a pink drum set and wearing white gloves while he does so. As the band started, there were shouts from the crowd for “Flood!” “Absolutego!” “Rainbow!” And Boris kicked into high gear with Atsuo doing the weird baby-voice intro to Smile through some vocoder, and then the sonic punch-to-the-face riffs. Immediately the crowd came alive. The whole front section was moving in some sort of practical mosh pit… One kid got busted for body-surfing and thrown out. Boris ripped right through several songs from Smile which were amazing live, and a few tracks from Rainbow, and some I’d assume that were from Pink . There was great cheering as Atsuo got ready to play the tremendous gong behind him, and even more when he actually did… I will confess I got horribly pissed when I saw some of that disgusting finger wiggling in the crowd during a couple of the solos.** When the set finally ended, Atsuo of course knocked over his entire drum set, ran to the edge of the stage, and lept into the crowd. He body surfed his way all the way back onto stage, which seemed to vex the security, and I had the distinct pleasure of touching his butt (haha). Boris then left the stage amidst chants of “One more” which then flooded into “Boris! Boris!” for a good five minutes. I eventually left to make sure I could get myself a Boris shirt, which it turns out they weren’t even selling. That night I was left with horrible nightmares that after I left they played two more songs. It was terrible.

The Aftermath
After Boris, I felt like I didn’t need to see any more bands that day – like I had gotten my money’s worth. I had sacrificed any chance of a good spot at any stage, I was tired, hot, dehydrated, and still high from the Boris set. I considered staying for Dinosaur Jr., but that was still 5 or 6 hours away, and I wasn’t sure I’d last that long. I also figure since I’m not far from Northampton, I still have a chance of seeing them… Or Witch, whom I would rather see honestly. So I left as Le Savy Fav were getting underway. I did feel a bit bad to miss their set, which was great. The singer’s webcams being broadcast onto the screens as he jumped into the crowd and made it as far in as his wire would let him go. I didn’t feel cheated though. I felt like I had gotten my $60 worth, and had truly seen a lot of great stuff.

Pitchfork Day 3
Music: 10/10
People: 10/10

Pitchfork overall:
Music: 9/10
People: 2/10

Woe – A Spell for the Death of Man (J)

2008-08-31T21:38:00.000-07:00

The USBM scene has been rather slow this past year – hitting its climactic peak with Wolves in the Throne Room’s “Two Hunters” and stopping while the getting was good (I consider Velnias more doom than anything). A few months ago on MySpace (I know…) a band by the name of Woe added me. Judging by the logo and the title of the then-future release “A Spell for the Death of Man,” I simply passed the band off as either a Darkthrone/Immortal worshipping band, or some sort of hazy bedroom black metal project.

Then, a few weeks ago, Woe main man Xos sent out a notification offering a free promotional digital copy of “Spell” for reviewers, so I decided, what the hell, I might as well give this a try. I needed some more black metal anyway; I’ve been stuck in sort of an indie rock/post-rock/shoegaze rut for the past 2 months or so. Not that that’s a bad thing.

I’m definitely glad I gave Woe a chance – this is by far one of the more crushing and powerful black metal releases I’ve heard.

Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Woe delivers a highly misanthropic, folk-tinged sort of atmospheric raw black metal, ranging from dreamy stand alone wall-of-noise guitars to blasting full-on oppressive black metal.

In this recording, Xos concentrates more on guitar and drum work above everything, with vocals semi-buried into the mix, sounding like a howling wind (which is very nice, by the way). Emotion is key on this album, accentuating the depression and misanthropy of the author. Yes, I said the taboo word in this review: depression, but this isn’t a “depressive” black metal release per se. It is sad, but not the whole recorded-on-a-4-track-recorder-in-my-bedroom-with-wailing-and-whimpering depressive black metal that everyone immediately thinks of. Imagine Drudkh jamming with Wolves in the Throne Room and a crust punk band, and you’re halfway there.

Xos’s drumming on “Spell” is highly technical; full of blast beats, drum rolls, complex beat changes, and the like. The percussion definitely adds that extra “oomph” when it comes to intensity. Perhaps my favorite moment on the CD is a short burst of almost Envy-like post-hardcore/screamo in “Longing is all that Will Remain.”

Definitely a wonderful start for Woe, and I can’t wait to see what Xos cooks up for future releases.

Recommended for fans of: Panopticon, Drudkh, Wolves in the Throne Room, Darkthrone, early Agalloch, Wrath of the Weak, Njiqahdda, and Velnias

To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie - The Patron (V)

2008-08-31T21:36:00.000-07:00

To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie has that sort of . . . electronic, chiptune-sounding post-rock style one might find in the suddenly popular band Fuck Buttons. All sorts of samples and noises working together to create layered blankets of soft beauty. It's defiant and self-confident, not the dreamy feel of My Bloody Valentine or Gregor Samsa's delicacy, but still beautiful. That said, you might need a little tolerance for noise music around the edges to listen to it.

To Kill has a tendency to lend strength to their soft melodies through the crushing, grinding, scraping sounds of industrial noise. Given their unmastered tracks, I'd have no trouble reconstructing a pure noise album a la Masami Akita's work. But despite this, the overall effect seems like a collection of songs that wouldn't be out of place coming from the throat of a busker on the street in some French village, transforming some art movie with an almost eerily beautiful and softly eloquent atmosphere.

Acoustic guitars and atmospherics and soft vocals and noise samples and gritty sines and drum machines all in one place, arranged to perfection. To Kill a Petty Bourgeousie is compelling, entrancing, mind-numbing and consistently interesting. They don't write songs the way everyone does, nor do they play songs the way everyone does. But they're definitely doing something right.

Otila - A Világ Színpadán (K)

2008-08-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

It is a pity that I do not speak Hungarian. Otila is a band that I know for some years now, but due to my lack in language skills, when it comes to this Eastern European one, I am still unable to understand what they sing about. It is a pity, indeed!

It is a pity, because their music is really good. The first release was already able to fascinate me and their latest "demo" - their third one - is certainly able to stand a comparison with music released in larger and more established music scenes than the Hungarian one. Would it not be for the language, not much of a difference could be examined to similar bands from the German "underground" for instance.

Otila play some sort of gothic rock/metal, but rely on a female vocalist only. Luckily, no male grunts ruin the atmosphere in the songs. The compositions have generally a solo part and another characteristic facet: nearly every time the vocals are used, the play of the guitars as well as those of the keyboard turns not only to a simple structure but also in the background; Otila want to give the voice of Mitru Tímea enough room to unfold its potential. Actually she is able to do this in the majority of the songs, with the exception of «Elérhetetlen» in which voice and guitars challenge each other for dominance in some parts. On the issue of the riffs and the solos it can be noted that they are well performed and interesting to listen to. Even though someone might suspect this instrument to have a dominant role in the music, in case of Otila it has to share it with the vocals; the keyboards are often not more than some sound in the background; the drums give the music drive and a basis.

This band from Hungary seems like to have an idea on how to write music and they 'celebrate' this on «A Világ Színpadán» in a neat fashion. All songs are very catchy and really enjoyable, but offer little variation in terms of the song-writing. The sound is not very voluminous, compared with such a lot of successful gothic metal bands use today. Otila try to keep it simple and do not attempt to plaster everything with synthesizer textures of samples or to manipulate the vocals with some kind of reverb. Perhaps this 'simplicity' is what makes their music so enjoyable.

Would this review be posted at the Metal Archives, the rating would be higher than 80/100; and I rarely give such high ones. Perhaps my reluctance to higher scores has to do with the underground black metal I torment myself on a daily basis with or the (often) pointless scores given to albums at the Metal Archives. Nevertheless, is this demo able to entertain me over a longer period of time and I never grow tired of listening to it. I really hope the band will be able to improve even more and arouse attention beyond their native country. With more of these catchy songs a slightly better mix and a better bass drum sound, the band should certainly be able to create a larger fan base.

Note: the last two demos can be downloaded from their homepage.
http://www.myspace.com/otilazenekar
http://otila.atw.hu/

Steve von Till – A Grave is a Grim Horse (J)

2008-08-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

Since 1983, Steve von Till has shaken the earth beneath our feet playing guitar and providing vocals for the legendary Sludge/Post-Hardcore monolith that is Neurosis. Eventually, in 2000, von Till released his first solo album, titled “As the Crow Flies,” bearing a striking, albeit slower, resemblance to classic singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. That being, in 2002 von Till followed up his first release with “If I Should Fall to the Field,” a much more in-depth recording, featuring slide guitars and orchestral backing to contrast his low, somber voice.

Six years pass due to his prior engagements with Neurosis, and his latest release finally arrives.

“A Grave is a Grim Horse” is, personally, von Till’s most powerful release to date. While still containing the usual droning guitars and raspy voice, this album has a much more “desert-sounding” motif. Hell, the first time I listened to the title track, I closed my eyes and vividly pictured myself driving a rusted pickup truck down a desert highway, with the wind in my hair, but then again, that’s my overtly romantic view of music talking.

“Grave” has some of Steve von Till’s most memorable and catchy vocal lines throughout his entire discography. The simple pentatonic (bluesy) crooned chorus of “The Acre” is one of those melodies that sticks in your head for days, but, luckily, isn’t one of those torturous 90s pop sensations that tell you what you “really really want.”

For me, the stand-out track on this release has to be the cover of Nick Drake’s “Clothes of Sand,” but that’s mainly due to my obscene love of Nick Drake’s recordings. Von Till most definitely does Nick Drake justice with this track, which is unfortunately the shortest song of the entire disc.

As stated earlier, a distinct desert/western/cowboy/country motif is very prevalent in “A Grave is a Grim Horse.” Songs such as “Willow Tree” are excellent examples of this, with multiple layers of fiddle (slow fiddle, not cousin-fucking fiddle) and slide guitar to give it that nice down-home southern feeling.

Overall, I find “A Grave is a Grim Horse” to be one of the most powerful and emotionally moving pieces of this year, containing some of the most somber melodies to ever enter my cranial cavity.

For fans of: Nick Drake, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, America, Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Neurosis, and Wolves in the Throne Room (just to throw everyone off).

Skepticism – Aes EP (J)

2008-08-31T21:26:00.000-07:00

The first time I heard Skepticism a long time ago during my melodeath days (don't we all have that phase?), I gave their 2003 release, Farmakon, a listen, and, of course, was bored to tears due to lack of catchy upbeat melodies and vocals that sound like angry kittens. This pretty much set my standard for funeral doom for years to come, until I tried immersing myself in the genre yet again, this time starting with the more logical beginner band (see my review of Shape of Despair’s “Shades Of…” for a more logical starting point) and moving from there.

Later 2007 came, four years later, and I felt it was time to listen to Skepticism again and see what I had been missing, and after seeing such positive reviews on the Aes EP, I thought I'd give the one-track-27-minute-long EP a spin.

To start off, in case you didn't notice from the length, 27 minutes is a LONG time. I suggest that if you want to listen to this, you have to dedicate your time to fully enjoy the atmospheres conveyed in this song. And, of course, since it is funeral doom, it is very SLOW and dirge-like.

The guitars are very powerful and crunchy, yet retain a relaxed feel throughout the song, not really in the forefront, but more of an atmospheric add-on. Very nice arpeggiated work is heard later-on.

The drums are very tribal-like, since the drummer has thrown away his sticks and instead use felt-mallets to give a more subtle and reverberated feel on his instrument. I think he could have splurged and gone out and get a Timpani like his contemporary, Stijn van Cauter of Until Death Overtakes Me (among other things), but that's just me. Still good in my book.

The keyboards are what make Skepticism...Skepticism. The symphonic arrangements displayed throughout the band's entire discography set a unique yet still despondent atmosphere in every song. These keys add a lot of bombast to the song and are able to make some parts more dynamic, adding on to the song and keeping it interesting.

The vocals are slow, LOW, and very mournful. His trademark breathy guttural moans and roars resemble the groans of an ancient giant, lumbering in the frozen dead of night. Very raw, thundering and emotional vocals; they add on atmosphere in spades.

Overall, this EP is nothing short of amazing, though I suggest you really sit down and listen to it all the way through to fully appreciate it for what it is.

Six Organs of Admittance - Days of Blood (C)

2008-08-31T21:23:00.000-07:00

I picked up this album at the Century Plants/Sunburned Hand of the Man show I went to back in February but never really gave it a proper listen until now. I don't know much about Six Organs of admittance, and even less about the album. When I bought it I wasn't really sure what it was, it was a bootleg being sold by a member of Sunburned Hand of the Man who is also a member of Six Organs of Admittance… And that's about it. Well I was inclined to give the album a much-overdue listen after I finally got my turntable set up, and I must say I was quite upset that I waited so long. Now, I was a bit surprised since I was somewhat familiar with them via the split with Om, and knew that they were Psych Folk… But the album starts in a more straight forward acoustic piece which lasts for almost the entirety of the first side, with a brief foray into the world of those familiar psych-folk sonicscapes we're so familiar with. The second side is practically an inversion, with a bit of that acoustic folk giving way to nearly an entire side of psych-folk. The best part about the second side is the closing, however, which is a clear transition into a sort of bouncy unapologetic folk-rock with distinct 6OA flavor. The album really becomes a strange and varied voyage across the sea of psych folk, but not manages to remain a cool and calming voyage.

Just a few notes about the album however… I guess it's a live album, I'm not really sure. There's clapping at the end of the last track, but I didn't really notice anything else anywhere. The album came with a cool little interview booklet thing that alluded to a lot of obscure gigs and such I didn't really understand, but yeah. Definitely worth a check out any time.

Shining – V – Halmstad (J)

2008-08-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hailing from Halmstad, Sweden, Shining delivers a very tasty blend of black metal, doom metal, gothic rock, jazz, progressive rock, and pretty much anything else main man Nicklas Kvarforth, the main songwriter and live vocalist, decides to fit in to his very eclectic style of writing. Looking at the cover, you see a teenage girl biting the muzzle of a gun, and you probably immediately thought “Dammit, this depressive black metal trend is a bunch of bullshit; I probably heard this album when I listened to Xasthur for the first (and last) time.” To be completely honest, I thought the same exact thing. In my mind, the name Shining was too close in similarity to Silencer and the “depressive black metal” tag was all too repulsive. Not to mention Kvarforth’s knack for getting attention; the man faked his own suicide only to reappear as the singer “Ghoul” who was set to be his replacement. These mixed together make a concoction that normally acts in the exact opposite manner of pheromones when it comes to my music taste.

Hoo boy, was I wrong.

Shining’s extraordinarily powerful, Opeth-tinged performance on “Halmstad” is near perfection. Kvarforth takes his debilitating depression and madness and effectively recreates his emotions in the atmosphere of this groundbreaking release. Essentially, Shining takes the “depressive black metal” tag, spits on it, takes it off its Prozac prescription, and turns it into PSYCHOTIC black metal.

“Psychotic black metal?” you ask. Exactly. Between Nicklas’s extraordinary vocal performance, ranging from deep growls, high pitched screams, moaning, howling, yelling, groaning, and some sort of Louis Armstrong-esque singing technique, and rather eerie movie samples from some Swedish indie movie and “Prozac Nation,” starring Christina Ricci, the severe psychosis experienced by the narrator, presumably Kvarforth, is very obvious.

Moving on, the musicianship of “V – Halmstad” is amazing. As stated earlier, the writing of this album is very Opeth-tinged. That means there are very catchy-yet-dirge-like guitar riffs that rumble along beneath an always-apparent lead guitar whilst the bass (which you can actually hear) rumbles along, allowing for a very nice bottom-end. The most impressive song of the release that demonstrates the versatility of the band, in my opinion, is “Laat Oss Ta Allt Fraan Varandra” (Let Us Take Everything From Each Other). The song starts out with a very gothic rock-like, very heavy guitar part which segues into a very choppy black metal riff. This song features an eerie jazz part, a catchy guitar solo, and even a melodic death/doom metal part, a la Daylight Dies. Kvarforth’s vocals are amazing on this release, experimenting with all of the aforementioned vocal tangents. This song also features a very creepy-sounding movie clip from some rather underground Swedish psychological thriller. I hate to hear women cry, don’t you?

“V - Halmstad” is by far Shining’s best release, slightly outdoing their previous release, “IV – the Eerie Cold,” featuring a less matured style of writing than “Halmstad.” September 16th, 2008, marks the release of “VI – Klagospalmer,” and my expectations are set high for this release, not that I foresee any disappointment in Shining’s bright future (oh look, I made a funny).

Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Daylight Dies, Lifelover, Katatonia, Ikuinen Kaamos, Dark Tribe, and anything that sounds psychotic or beautiful.

Njiqahdda – Nji.Njijn.Njiijn (J)

2008-08-31T21:18:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I did a review of Njiqahdda’s (pronounced Nee-Gee-Kaa-Da) astounding 2007 debut, “Njimajikal Arts,” which consisted of black metal flirting with funeral doom metal, shoegaze, ambient, and psychedelic rock. One year and 9 (NINE? HOLY GOD) releases later, we are presented with the highly experimental and crushing full-length release, “Nji.Njiijn.Njiiijn.”

In “Nji.Njiijn.Njiiijn,” we see Njiqahdda distance themselves from the shoegazer elements of previous releases and instead incorporate more drone and noise influences into their songs. To accommodate the new drone-influenced direction, this release features a much thicker, crunchier distortion on the guitars and bass as well as the incorporation of more field recordings and background noise/fuzz. These elements make this CD much more monotonous, but in a good, EARTH kind of way. The riffs drone on and repeat as more and more fuzz enters the background until you have this wonderful melodic noise that ebbs and flows (hey, I used that phrase about the last album, too! Hooray consistency). This is the kind of album you listen to alone whilst spacing out in a dark room (perhaps with candles, too, if you’re into that stuff).

Unfortunately, this album didn’t wow me as much as “Njimajikal Arts,” considering that album set a new threshold of expectance for atmospheric black metal, BUT this album is still great, nonetheless.

Recommended for fans of: Darkspace, Nachtmystium, Drudkh, Agalloch, and all the other bands I mentioned in the other Njiqahdda review.

Low - Drums & Guns (J)

2008-08-31T21:16:00.000-07:00

Low was the band that marked the beginning of the end of my metal days. Never before had I heard such emotional intensity from 3 people, let alone a Mormon family.

Low is married couple Alan Sparhawk, who plays guitar and sings, and Mimi "Mim" Parker, who sings and plays a modest drum kit, comprised of a floor tom and a single cymbal, played exclusively with brushes (not the hair care product) instead of drumsticks, along with the help of bassist Matt Livingston, who left Low in February 2008.

Low is credited with the creation of a style of music called "slowcore." Originally used as an inside joke within the band, slowcore is now considered a legitimate genre. Slowcore is, as defined by Wikipedia, "a subgenre of alternative and indie rock. The music of slowcore artists is generally characterized by downbeat melodies, slower tempos and minimalist arrangements. The term is generally used interchangeably with sadcore." Notable slowcore artists (besides Low) are Dirty Three, Codeine, Galaxie 500, Bon Iver, and Slowdive.

Low's sound is characterized by Parker's consistent-yet-barely audible drumming, Sparhawk's sparse guitar parts, and, of course, the astounding vocal harmonies between the two. Critic Denise Parker stated that Sparhawk and Parker's harmonies are "as chilling as anything Gram [Parsons] and Emmylou [Harris] ever conspired on -- though that's not to say it's country-tinged, just straight from the heart."

Musically, "Drums & Guns" is very different than previous releases, this time the band delves deep into the realm of "minimalist pop," relying more on their voices (note the a Capella "Belarus" and the a Capella intro to "Your Poison") than instruments, which are rarely played. For the most part digital drums and keyboards are used instead of their acoustic counterparts, though electric guitars and acoustic drum loops are used liberally. Though this release hearkens a new, minimalist era for Low, this change is widely accepted and encouraged.

Since they had more time to concentrate on their voices, Alan and Mimi's vocals are nothing short of perfect on "Drums & Guns." Mimi's sense of when to harmonize with Alan (note the irregular harmonic timings in "Violent Past), along with which scale and mode (check out the exotic harmonies in "Sandinista") is pure genius.

"Drums & Guns" is a political album, yet the only time that Low openly shows their political side are the songs "Sandinista," whose song title refers to many a war-protest folk song, and "Pretty People," the droning introduction, where Sparhawk gives a list of everything that is "gonna die," expressing his opinion that the war in Iraq isn't going to end even when the soldiers are all gone. Lyrically, the rest of this album deals with religious devotion ("Murdrer"), sappy love ("Hatchet"), hardship ("Dust on the Window," "In Silence," "Take Your Time"), and Sparhawk's eternal battle with drug addiction ("Dragonfly").

The standout track of the entire release is definitely "Murderer," the penultimate track. As explained by Alan on the Low Documentary (named for the song) "You May Need A Murderer," "Murderer" is an explanation that if God were to tell Sparhawk to give up his possessions, his house, his life, and he had to take his family anywhere to start anew, he'd do it. If God told him to kill someone, he'd do it. This song deals with intense religious devotion in a much more serious manner than, say, Christian rock bands who "Lift the Lord's Name on High." This is real, Moses-like devotion. "Murderer"'s haunting melodies will stick in your head for days, if not weeks. Last.fm (a music networking site) proclaims that on my computer alone I've listened to "Murderer" 19 times, which may not sound like a lot, but I have a tendency to listen to entire albums in one sitting, along with the fact that I have 120 Gigabytes of music.

This album can appeal to almost anyone (even my sister enjoys this, and she listens to the Disney-owned artists. You know, Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, e.t.c.), and, mind you, I was a metal head when I first listened to Low. This was undoubtedly my favorite release of the past year, if not decade.

Recommended for fans of: music in general, but more seriously, Arab Strap, Red House Painters, Coldplay, Slowdive, Yo La Tengo, and Sun Kil Moon.

Light - A Million Dead beneath the Ice (C)

2008-08-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

Now here's an album that came to me by surprise. I was checking my usual blogs, and one of them had a review of this two-piece outfit from Iowa which ticked all the right boxes for me. I decided to give them a check out, and purchase a couple albums since I couldn't pass up on an album for which "All the CD cases are all handmade and numbered, and the CD itself is smeared with menstrual blood..." Well my blind-buy paid off and I managed to score a class album (Not that I was expecting any less). Light manage to put themselves somewhere between Worship and Skepticism on A Million Dead Beneath the Ice, plodding hopelessly towards droning destruction. The organ-tinted funeral doom creates a creepy apocalyptic atmosphere that perfectly fits titles such as "When the Green Midwestern Sky Comes Crashing Down", "When the Flood Waters come Rushing In" and "When Biting Winds Slice Across the Prairies, They Will Carry the Seeds of Death Upon Them". Each track is interspersed with very sparse percussion and vocals that manifest as shrieks, howls, moans, wails, and infernal growling which manage to tell a story of a world speeding steadily towards the end. And it must be said that though this album is choc-full of funeral doom and drone, it also contains slight hints here and there of plenty of other influences that come and go like a stranger's hand gently caressing your neck when you least expect it. This album may not be easy for everyone to digest, but is definitely recommended for fans of funeral doom, drone, and people into the outlook of crust-punk and bands like Sterbend or Silencer (Though certainly not terribly similar music-wise to the latter if you find that to be a turn-off.). This album comes highly recommended, and luckily for everyone it is also available for free on their myspace!

www.myspace.com/greenmidwesternsky

La Monte Young - Poem for Tables, Chairs, Benches etc. (C)

2008-08-31T21:07:00.000-07:00

La Monte Young… Celebrated leader of the minimalist style, and well among the first. He has created a large number of interesting things throughout his rather expansive career. Poems for Tables, Chairs, Benches etc. warms up with a very simple and calming sort of eastern chant with a buzzing drone underneath that creates a completely soothing effect for nearly 40 minutes (Raga for Ravi). As the song progresses, a second voice and some percussion is added, creating a slow change and a personal catharsis. In a sort of sharp contrast, the title pieces "Poem for Tables, Chairs, Benches etc (Parts 1 and 2)" present a sort of early noisescape filled with the shrieks and howls of moving furniture. There's not too much variation and the repetition, again, creates a different sort of trance to engage yourself in as you plummet into the abyss. "Two Sounds" is a more barren collection of strange sounds, perhaps treated, and perhaps not. The asynchronous rhythm leaves the listener feeling lopsided and ill-at-ease, but again enthralled with the strange sounds presented to them. I highly recommend this collection for anyone new to Young' work.

Heat From a DeadStar - The Lighthouse (V)

2008-08-31T21:04:00.001-07:00

The first thing that struck me about Heat From a DeadStar's Lighthouse EP was their simultaneous use of and lack of regard for tonality. Their tastefully bass-heavy grooves in "Elusive Ways" seem to just avoid standard rock approaches and meld themselves into something slightly less straightforward and thus all the more pleasing. Dissonance catches the ear and makes one hesitate somewhere between head-bobbing and thrashing about on the ground.

The source of this dissonant influence becomes more apparent with the second track, "Joan." Acoustic guitars and ambient (synth?) smears blend around distant, reverb-heavy vocals. That's right, we've dropped straight into shoegaze, with DeadStar's dissonant touches brought to a new arena in the uncharacteristically complex and audible bass and heavily effected, warbling guitar leads that further distinguish this appealing track from run-of-the-mill Slowdive imitators. My main complaint is that I barely feel like I've had a chance to enjoy the track after five minutes! I could happily continue drifting through a bit longer if DeadStar chose to support me in the lapping of Joan's seas . . . if they worked back down to the more minimalist sound of the opening and through another verse, I'd be hooked for good. The main sections of the track demonstrate a talent with attractive tonal composition and vocal performance sadly lost in the band's other, less delicate instrumental tracks.

DeadStar drift from the acoustic shoegaze sound of "Joan" before long into something more reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine's noise-guitar in the title track. DeadStar emphasise their love/hate relationship with tonality again in this song as they shift from the awkwardly dissonant, pounding wholetone (!) of the intro through softer but still clashing interludes and more noise and heavy bass that make "The Lighthouse" feel almost like a normal track through the conviction of its denial of natural scales.

I was initially startled by the last track's strong electronic beats until I looked at the title again - Black Swans, Re: Dux Tion extended mix. This track wouldn't feel at all out of place at a dance club, and primarily explores the recurring theme of DeadStar's sonic versatility - I'm beginning to imagine an effects board that resembles the collections of hardware noise artists like Stimbox . . . in a noise-rock, dissonant, occasionally shoegazy context.

I'm considering organising this CD into the metaphorical racks somewhere between My Bloody Valentine, Cherubs, Swans, and Doomsday Postcard's strange industrial work. I don't know how to, or want to, nail this band down, but I know I'm interested and looking forward to the completion of their upcoming album, "Seven Rays of the Sun."

Gregor Samsa - 55:12 (V)

2008-08-31T21:02:00.001-07:00

Gregor Samsa is beautiful, minimalist post-rock. And epic. Beautiful, epic, minimalist post-rock. The . . . seven-member? band brings Sigur Rós to mind with the epic orchestration and beautiful melodies, but with a distinctly softer overall tone and more softly accessible male and female vocals.

Gregor Samsa's music doesn't in the least reflect Die Verwandlung to me - one of the most depressing works I've ever read, as compared to soft, hopeful, tender beauty. But I appreciate the reference. And the music. And members of Kayo Dot? Amazing. I'll admit that the strings bring Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Thee Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra to mind, but I think in terms of delicate beauty, Gregor Samsa has truly overtaken these. And there's no flavour of Jewish music worked in, which, though it's a lovely flavour, detracted for me from the purity of the music as an original work in a modern context.

All of the tracks on 55:12 are amazing. Soft, attractive melodies. Like listening to Slowdive drawn into something slower and more gently thoughtful. Sit with 55:12 for several hours, and you'll feel at once uplifted and longing for something lost.

Freakflag - Experiments in Evolution (K)

2008-08-31T20:59:00.001-07:00

Advertisments are a curiosity. On the one hand, they shall present to a neutral person some impressions on the item, like sound, smell, taste etc., but on the other one must all these facets be distilled into one catchy sentence or phrase. There you have the dilemma. Depending on the point of view of the person who wrote such a short description, one facet will be emphasized, while others are neglected. Some praise the band's musicianship, other the unique interpretation of the ideas and to some the mere existence of a band is great. The larger the band, the more of these phrases can be found... but Freak Flag is a small band ... from the underground. What kind of description might be found on their music?

So, there you are, the feeble person, without any knowledge on what the band performs and by mere chance you are confronted with this short advertisement: «Unbelievable experimental outfit, will likely induce acid flashbacks». Perhaps it may be best to consult a pharmacist before listening to the music or do some Google search on the topic "can music have a negative affect on my brain". You might also consider the option where to listen to the music. Who knows what might happen in the time you are 'affected by this piece of art? What would you tell your insurance company in case of a car crash ... while driving and listening to this album? Consider the effects!

Drugs play also a role on this album, yet not an important one. The dangers of the consumption of marijuana are dealt with on «Trans-con» or to be true, the band used samples in which people are warned about the consumption of it. Indeed it works; the track is really fascinating due to the different kind of samples in it and the weird way of song-writing. Freakflag takes the listener on a trip with this one song and it is a quite representative one for the whole album. The term «experiment» of the song title, gives some impression on what this albums offers to the listener: weird electronics, influences from the metal scene, some folk now and then and much more. All had been thrown together and the outcomes of it are fifteen unique tracks; and what about the quality?

Well, the band's potential is unfolded every time they start to rock and to combine a lot of elements into their songs. A little bit out of place are the electronic tracks, as they do not really fit into the whole concept behind the album, but perhaps this is rather a matter of personal preferences than a general obstacle; luckily these play only a minor role in the oeuvre. Characteristic for the music is impression that it creates in the head of the listener: everything seems to be in a flow. Accordingly is the music rather gentle and 'inoffensive' due to the lack of extreme elements, like breaks, noisy eruptions or the like; exception might be the track «End Suture» as well as the middle part of «Trans-con». It all lures the listener into a deep and (a little bit) depressing atmosphere and the music is quite appropriate to listen to in the background or to relax; perhaps its quality could be better would it be more influenced by the Drone genre and much longer, because this way the repetition in the elements could be brought to a new level and some ideas could be evolved further.

All is very calm on this album and even though there is a lot of complexity in the song, it is not perceived this way; the repetition of motives does its best to cover it up a bit. «Experiments in evolution» wants to be discovered, wants the listener to take the trip and needs some time until its full potential will be unfolded. It nothing that could be listened to when not much time is at hand or that would spin in the CD-player on a daily basis. It is a unique example on musicianship that finds its way onto one's playlist now and then; to remind this person on the beauty beyond the barren fields of commercial music.

Devourment - 1.3.8 (V)

2008-08-31T20:56:00.001-07:00

Devourment's 1.3.8 is something of a classic in the gore and death scene - originally formed in San Antonio in '95 with Chicagoan vocalist Wayne Knupp, Devourment wandered through the next 4 years with lineup changes, releasing a couple of demos and replacing Knupp with Ruben Rosas - as much as possible. Rosas recorded vocals on Devourment's 1999 release, Molesting the Decapitated, before being jailed, during which time Knupp rejoined the band and recorded the track "Babykiller," which saw release on the Southern Uprising compilation, and then the Devourment compilation 1.3.8, featuring that one track, three from the earlier Impaled demo with Wayne Knupp, and 8 with Rosas' vocals from Molesting the Decapitated.

Not confusing at all.

"Babykiller" is a classic track. Don't read the lyrics. Whatever you do, don't read the lyrics. But the track is the perfect slam-dancing beast, and Knupp's vocals are pure raw gurgle. Right down to the 24 or 25-second extension at the end of the track.

The next three tracks, from the Impaled demo, aren't as well-produced. And that's saying something; "Babykiller" is RAW. Incredibly scooped distortion and all. And the Impaled tracks are a few good notches muddier. The songs are great. The messy bits are perfectly messy, and the chugs are clear and heavy. Knupp's gurgling is as gory and indecipherable as ever.

That said, I tend to skip past the Impaled tracks to hear the better-recorded versions of the same songs from Molesting the Decapitated. Rosas' vocals don't have quite the same raw edge, but they're definitely in the right mold to fill the gaps, and the production is comparatively without blemish. The tracks have the traditional gore soundclips about murder and the like, but the whole album is filled with appealing dance grooves. This is happy music. In a gore-dripping, dark, hateful way. Get this stuff and enjoy it . . . unless it's too far below your artsy standards or the focus roils your gut, you will.

And Devourment's writing a new album - and don't forget to check out Butcher the Weak in the meantime.

Current 93 – Black Ships Ate the Sky (J)

2008-08-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

The kingdom of neofolk hails its king, David Tibet, whose groundbreaking solo project, Current 93, has kept a firm grip at the head of the neofolk movement (with good friends Death in June and Sol Invictus). Throughout its 24 year existence, Current 93 has covered vast expanses of music in his consistent, year-by-year releases, experimenting with industrial/post-industrial, classical, medieval, noise, a capella poetic readings, and, of course, folk/singer-songwriter.

At first glance, the CD cover of “Black Ships Ate the Sky,” one is reminded of David Johnston’s work (see my review of Jandek’s “Ready for the House” if you wish to learn about “outsider music.”), silly, childish, and irreverent, thanks to the crude Jesus in the center, most likely drawn in crayon. Released in 2006 Anno Domini, “Black Ships Ate the Sky” is an in-depth journey into the obsessive madness that is David Tibet.

“Black Ships in my eye! Black Ships ate the sky!”
“Black Ships” features many, many guest vocalists, including (in track order) Marc Almond, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy (a personal favorite), Baby Dee, the mysterious Antony, Clodagh Simonds, Cosi Fanni Tutti, and Shirley Collins. Most tracks feature David Tibet’s strange, atonal storytelling voice, but thanks to these guest vocalists, David is able to concentrate more on his songwriting, as well as experiment with different styles within his folk realm, such as Appalachain-tinged blues (note the banjo on the first “Ideumea” with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy) and Nick Drake “cluster (jazz) chords.” Think of this album as an expansion on the “Inmost Light” trilogy (“Where the Long Shadows Fall (Beforetheinmostlight),” “All the Pretty Little Horsies (The Inmost Light),” and “The Starres are Marching Sadly Home (theinmostlightthirdandfinal)”).

Emotion and tone on this album range from, but definitely are not limited to, madness (“Black Ships in the Sky”), resign (“Ideumea” w/ Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy), and thoughts on religion (“The Autistic Imperium is Nihil Reich”). Tibet’s lyrics have been fairly consistent, regardless of delivery: The earlier recordings reflect his preoccupation with death, Christ, mysticism, Aleister Crowley, Tibetan Buddhism, Gnosticism, Weltschmerz, nihilism, Noddy, and a variety of occult notions. The later to present-day period of Current 93’s recordings increasingly reflect Tibet’s interest in Christian mysticism.
Though most had thought David Tibet had reached his pinnacle long beforehand, “Black Ships Ate the Sky” is here to prove us all that Tibet has many, many more albums left in him. Expect a new release later this year or early 2009.

For fans of: Death in June, Sol Invictus, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Nick Drake, Birch Book/In Gowan Ring, Comus, Agalloch, and much, much more. A very accessible release.

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go (J)

2008-08-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

At first thought, with a stage name like "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy" and having the label "Alternative-Country," Will Oldham's music could only spell trouble for the country-despising country that we live in (save Texas). I was expecting some sort of "hootenanny" with some bluegrass banjo, fiddle, perhaps a jug or two playing in the background.

Yet again, I was wrong (it tends to happen to me a lot).

A cousin of mine (who, incidentally, got me into the band Low, whose CD "Drums & Guns" I have reviewed for this month) told me to check out Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, and due to my cousin's supreme musical awesomeness, I could no longer put off my intrigue with Mr. Oldham's strangely-named side project. And I must say, I am eternally grateful to my cousin Suzanne for helping me out.

When it comes to B'P'B, the label "alternative country" confuses me. Yes, there are some rather east-Texas-y vocal harmonies in "Cursed Sleep" and the rather Southern Blues-y-ness of "Cold & Wet" may give Mr. Oldham's release a rather country-like atmosphere, but overall this release is much more performed "an hommage" to singer-songwriter greats Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, and Bert Jansch.

Lyrics on this release are much different than the rest of the Bonnie 'Prince' Billy discography, which deal more with metaphorical sexual images. "The Letting Go" tends to deal with more tender, cute, "lovesy" lyrics; almost like a love poem. A great example of the "sweet" characteristic of the lyrics can be seen in my personal favorite track, "A Strange Form of Life":

"and the softest lips ever
25 years of waiting to kiss them
smiling and waiting
to bend down and kiss twice
the softest lips."

Will's voice for most of the CD is a calm, almost spoken-yet-still-sung crooning voice, reminiscent of Leonard Cohen, though, at times in songs such as "Cursed Sleep" and "The Seedling," he lets his voice soar on its raw emotional power.

Musically, "The Letting Go" is very diverse. Normally, Oldham would release a disc with either the soft, Nick Drake-esque string-accompanied songs, or the more American folk-y songs (ranging from Appalachian folk to Western-tinged folk, reminiscent to that of the aforementioned Steve von Till), yet on this release, Oldham mixes up his writing styles, which is a treat.

On this release, Oldham is joined by Psychedelic Folk artist Faun Fables, also known as Dawn McCarthy, on harmonies. Ms. McCarthy's harmonic sense is amazing, and her voice complements Oldham's voice perfectly. Her range is rather large, ranging from the mid-range/low tones of "Wai" to the shockingly high notes of "Strange Form of Life." Dawn's voice creates a feeling of wholeness - a complement or second half. Considering this release deals more with emotional love as opposed to physical, having a woman alongside Oldham really helps the "love" idea succeed.

Overall, currently "The Letting Go" is one of my favorite albums. I recommend listening to this release and just letting your emotions run wild.

For fans of: Nick Drake, Steve von Till, Agalloch (The White EP), Buffalo Springfield, America, Neil Young, Woven Hand, 16 Horsepower, Iron & Wine, and Low

Barzel - A Shield of Defense and the Word of the Son of Blood (V)

2008-08-31T20:51:00.001-07:00

Barzel is a strange creature. The front of this record is anything but vague: the largest words are the phrase "MILITANT JEWISH INDUSTRIAL." That's certainly a fair warning label - or blessing.

Barzel is essentially a noise project - a strongly rhythmic noise project, harkening to the Futurists' ideals of music made from noise - covered in soundclips of Jewish, Zionist propoganda. In the case of this particular record (I asked David of Barzel), the voice clips are from "an old LP about the birth of Israel," and David gleaned the clips on the new record (which I haven't laid my hands on yet) from a variety of documentaries. He admits that it's hard to find applicable material.

Personally, my favorite aspect of Barzel is the overall sound - David manages to make the industrial noise sound like not only a call to arms in the defense of Israel, but like historical music made for the LP he samples. The distorted, pulsing roar is softened into a vintage vinyl sound that creates something of an amazing atmosphere. Even when Barzel's noise influences come forward in a blast of sound and distorted screaming that would do a live Masonna show proud (as in the track Milchemet Brera/Jewish Steel), it doesn't detract in the least from the historical atmosphere of the overall work.

I'd recommend this record for not only anyone interested in industrial and noise music, particularly older examples, but also for those interested in examples of historical propoganda in the context of race and nationalism. If you can hunt down a copy (try contacting David at myspace.com/barzelx), pick it up.

Arcane Art - Keen Joys of Solitude (V)

2008-08-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

Karsten Hamre is one of those people who enjoys having far too many projects at any given time. Not that I know any of those *cough, cough.* Arcane Art is a project that specialises in keyboard work with spoken word.

Some of the atmosphere of Keen Joys of Solitude reminds me of some of the neofolk that I listen to far too much - an observation borne well by my recent discovery of Karsten's last.fm profile. Artists in common? Death In June, In Gowan Ring . . . it's oddly meditative music for something as . . . not ambient as it is. The melodies are enjoyable in a calm way and the orchestration is creative and works quite well. I'm almost certain the last track quotes American hymn "Lift Every Voice And Sing," which strikes me as quite strange coming from a Czech artist, but I suppose it may well be a coincidence.

Arcane Art seems in some ways a forum to discuss art and a work to relax the artist rather than so much an offering to others. It comes across as personal and heartfelt. Do explore Karsten Hamre's work where you can - I don't know how available this (limited) release is anymore.

Stillbirth's Response, and my comment.

2008-07-04T17:08:00.001-07:00

Hey, Etherised just got a message from Stillbirth:

I just read your review and noticed that you said my lyrics were dealing with genocide and other stereotypical issues. In fact, they had nothing to do with that whatsover. The song was entitled "scared of sex" and deals with impotency and doubting of self worth. They lyrics read as follows:

scared of women
scared of sex
scared of god
scared of death

and while I must note that they are not the most poetic words ever written they pretty much have the exact opposite intent of usual power electronics dealing with genocide and whatever else you said.
The cheesy moaning and rolling around on the floor was meant to seem pathetic, desperate and weak.
It seems you missed the intent of my set entirely.

I feel it's my duty, as the writer of the review, to respond, so here I go...

I don't know if I made it clear enough, but I entered this show from the position of a complete outsider. I found out about it via a myspace message, and decided to see what it entailed. At the time of writing the review I couldn't even find the bulletin in order to figure out the name of the artists I was writing about, so doing a bit of research was a bit hard for me.

At the time of seeing your set, that was literally the first time I'd ever seen, heard, experienced, or even pretty much known of your existence. I don't really recall you introducing the song, and given my hearing disabilities on top of the effects used to treat your voice, it wasn't too hard to mistake "scared of sex" for "tourniquet" - When I brought these words up in a later discussion, no one corrected me either.

With your present explanation, I wouldn't really change what I had to say about your performance, other than my own mistakes about the lyrics, and what that subsequently says about "standard power electronics fair" (And I'll readily admit I was wrong about that). As for the "silly" aspect of your performance? Even as far as what I said as it being "silly", your act still was dead on for what you were trying to portray. The result may not have struck me as it would strike you, or the others in the audience, but I'm a different person and I will react differently. It's just how it is. I agree with you, I did miss the point of your set, mostly over a pretty huge (and literal) misunderstanding but the light you've shed on it has changed that and you still stand as one of my favorite sets of the evening.

-Cam

Mark Solotroff/Stillbirth/Sharpwaist/Silvum/Karlheinz - The Enemy, Chicago, IL, 21/6/2008 (C)

2008-06-30T20:42:00.001-07:00

I found out about this gig kind of on a whim. Updating the TIS (www.myspace.com/thoughtimagesound - CLICK HERE FOR HOT SINGLES IN YOUR AREA NOW) myspace one day I was looking at the bulletins and saw that one of the acts that I was friends with, or maybe the venue, or someone or something had posted a bulletin advertising it, and thought to myself "Well, gee, nothing else is working out while I'm in Chicago, I might as well try this out." I worked out heading down with Carter (and, as it turned out, my dad - a veteran of the old school performance art scene- for transportation's sake) and almost half expected us to be the only folks at the show. I wasn't too much off, other than the 6 people performing, during the first set, I'd say only about five other people were there, and the crowd built up to a strong fifteen to twenty people between sets.

The venue itself was pretty interesting. It was pretty much just a cleared-out space in a beat-up old studio apartment with some old furniture to make a small sitting area, and a pretty full kitchen /dining room. The sitting area/kitchen looked out onto a cold (-looking, it got pretty damn hot) concrete area which had the five set-ups in different areas and provided a great viewing space.

Against the rightmost "wall", which was a curtain covering up some sort of very large storage area, Mark started off the night with, as the flier described, "feedback using a clutch of microphones and his voice". Mark described his set as an Animal Law piece that he was still learning the melody to, but his performance was nothing short of striking. I can't honestly quite say I've ever really experienced anything quite like his set. The way Mark choreographed his every move to effect the shape of the feedback in the space was both sonically engaging and made me think more about the sound, making me take it for more than just its surface value. Every motion as small as creating a wall between two of the upright microphones with his hand created huge changes in the song that were somewhat surprising. I think the nicest part about the set was that from the description I was expecting more power-electronics-esque feedback-punching and screaming as frequently used in the other sets. It was much more enjoyable and interesting than I had thought it would be, and was definitely the most surprising of the night. Mark had the most tremendous presence of the performers that evening, performing with an ease that betrayed hours of practice, and years of performing.

Stillbirth came up next, assuming his spot at a small table near "center stage". His set began with him turning on a small table light, and the other lights in the venue being turned off. He presented what seemed to me to be relatively straightforward and very enjoyable power electronics. The lyrics were a bit clichéd in my mind: "genocide - tourniquet - genocide - killing women", but the effects he used to treat his voice were top notch. The performance aspect of the set were pretty good, the point where he fell on the floor and started moaning was a bit silly, but other than that - pretty good. The set was short and to the point, as it needed to be. In my mind the high point of the set was the image left in my mind of the lighting, and the ampeg cab pulsing with the rhythmic background noise, and so-and so standing eerily behind his effects table.

Sharpwaist seemed to be having some sort of issues that evening, but their piece was still great. It was nice to hear power electronics with a sort of lower droning in the beginning rather than the usual wall of white noise or pulsing stuff. It started off as somewhat generic power electronics, which I wasn't really too excited for and the main man spilled his beer on the floor and the guys from Silvum and Set 2 had to help clean it up while they continued to play. Eventually the second half of the duo kicked in and there was some great back and forth action. For a brief moment the main effects man dropped a distortion pedal into a metal crate along with a contact mic (or something along those lines) and shook the crate for just a few seconds, which created some great noise and spontaneity. This, for me, illustrated what the noisier acts were missing and was pretty cool to see. They also used a great series of back-and-forth screams that sounded awesome. In the end they were probably the best sounding of the noise sets.

Silvum in a way stole the show for me. Coming after two power electronics sets and presenting something wholly new compared to everyone else that had played, Silvum was nothing short of a breath of fresh air both in the context of the show and out of context. I don't recall quite specifically how it began, because I admit getting a bit lost in the experience, but what really matters is eventually Nick seamlessly took a piece of tape, measured it against his arm as if he'd done it a thousand times before, and then taped a microphone to his throat. The whole act was itself was very powerful to watch and was almost ritualistic as my dad described it later. The heartbeat worked perfectly into the music, running through some sort of delay and creating a kind of a train-sounding rhythm, and really brought the music forward on a lot of levels. The drone set proceeded with thought and created soundscapes that couldn't help but draw you in. The set wound down with the addition of… Breathing or vocals? I don't remember or couldn't tell. Either way, it sounded great. For the entirety of his set, except when using the mic, Nick stood almost completely still at his mixing console with a tremendous presence and sense of calm (though I might say his pulse might showed something else) which only enhanced the mood. Given my inclinations towards more minimal sorts of things, it's not surprising that this was, alongside the first, my favorite set of the evening. I talked to Nick afterwards and he was a very humble and nice guy, and seemed surprised when I asked to buy an album from him. Well the album was amazing as well, and is reviewed in this months Etherised, check it out.

Karlheinz finished up the night. Musically and performance-wise he was most forgettable. He had been the on-going "sound guy" for the night, and I didn't realize he would be performing so I was kind of excited. He performed three songs during his set, all of which were very much similar, and kind of generic. He screamed about some sort of angry things for two of them, and pointed at people in the crowd and ran around like you would expect him to, then performed an "instrumental" piece at the end which was referred to as the "Karlheinz Drone Set", which at first I took as a joke, then I kind of thought that was what he was doing… Then I just couldn't tell. I kind of felt bad when he raised his arms up above his head intending to swoop down and hit as many pedals as he could and unleash another huge wall of noise, but only managed to reduce the decibel level a bit and knock his pedals all over the place. I enjoyed his set anyway, and he seemed like an entertaining guy. Maybe if he hadn't looked so much like someone I knew, or worn that silly cop hat with the flashlight it would have been better. Oh well.

Over all, the show was great fun. I don't know that I would have picked a different venue to see this group of people, and the intimacy was very welcomed. Each performer brought something slightly different and they were each enjoyable in their own respects. The highlights of the night were definitely Mark, Silvum, and Act 2, all of whom made me think and were enjoyable to listen to.

Vanessa van Basten - La Stanza di Swedenborg (J)

2008-06-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

Post-Rock - Wikipedia defines this as "simply rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes." Of course, nowadays lots of bands comprised of people who have only heard Explosions in the Sky (snicker) only once, if even that, decide that their music is also post-rock. This sends the genre into a downward spiral of tremolo picked, delayed leads over whatever the hell they want. In fact, it seems that the only defining trait of what most people know as "post-rock" seems to be that bullshit airy lead. Vanessa van Basten knows this, and they hate it.

Hailing from Italy, Vanessa van Basten takes influence from not only the classic shoegazers, but also modern classical visionaries such as Morricone and Steve Reich, and even heavy industrial like Godflesh. All of this melded together with a love for obscure Italian movies comprises "La Stanza di Swedenborg."
This full-length, released in 2006, ranges from lush, thick soundscapes, as in the title track, to droning melodic feedback (Vanja), and even American-Western slide guitar (Giornata de Oro). Melodies found on this release are unpredictable, at times, such as the track "Dole," which follows a very jesu-like, dreamy path, but this is abruptly interrupted by an almost black metal-like minor-chord-which-is-then-moved-down-a-half-step. Hell, in "Giornata de Oro," a slide guitar with enough reverb on it to make it sound like a dying rodent comes out of nowhere; it is almost frightening. Tonality on "La Stanza" is very fickle, ranging in emotion from happy-go-lucky, paranoia, loss, anger, and so on. With such a vast array of feelings, this record never fails to surprise every listen (which there have been a lot of).

Recommended for fans of Slowdive (or any classic shoegaze band for that matter), jesu (or any post-metal band), Ennio Morricone, Godflesh, nadja, and so on.

Thought.Image.Sound - Spread Against the Sky (V)

2008-06-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

This is certainly the beginning of a new chapter for TIS. Spread Against the Sky effectively transitions from the glitchy, feedback-soaked noise of past work and collaborations with NTRLWRM to a sort of minimalist, meditative expression of echoing guitar and bass work. The first two tracks, "A Thousand Shades of Night" and "Rabbit Fence," are mostly improvised and center on the use of effects and effects loops and twisted, smashed guitar sounds. Each is a slowly building experimental work, layering interspersed chaotic strumming and ambient drone. "Rabbit Fence" eventually crashes its way from glitchy distorted chaos to softer chaos that brings the word "ambiance" and even "melody" directly to mind.

My favorite track while the record was still in progress, "A Touch of Frost" sounds like pure decanted atmosphere. You can hear the melancholy chords drifting out across the mountains. You can feel TIS sitting and staring into the melancholy of the abyss. Slowly, the guitar and bass build and drop and flow into the delay-harmonised melody of "An Aging Statue." This statue is lonely. Introspective. Quiet. Then the modulated fingerpicking of "Drifting Away" builds tension, rather than releasing it and ending this album's chapter. I'm waiting for the next TIS release, so I can see where this is going. Get this.

The Tallest Man on Earth - Shallow Grave (C)

2008-06-30T20:31:00.000-07:00

Well, let me preface this review with a story. I started listening to The Tallest Man on Earth in just about the last week of school or so. On a whim, a couple days after I moved back home from school I decided to look on The Tallest Man on Earth's myspace to see if he had any show dates. So I was cruisin' and lookin' and the second date or so on their tour space, which was a convenient very small US tour sponsored by friends of the artist, said "ALBANY, NEW YORK - LOSBSTERPALOOZA - WASHINGTON PARK 3:00pm". Immediately my mind shot to flashbacks of three days before at Baccalaureate, the night before moving out day, when my parents were joking around and telling everyone that we had to "Hurry home tomorrow because it's Lobsterpalooza across the street!". The next day I was all cranky and tired and didn't want to go to stupid-ass Lobsterpalooza, of course, because who in god's name that matters goes to Lobsterpalooza? Well, two days after Lobsterpalooza boy was I regretting that decision. "FUCK FUCK FUCK I COULD HAVE SEEN THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH ACROSS THE STREET FUCK I MISSED A ONCE IN A LIFE TIME CHANCE SHIT" was how I pissed and moaned for days after that. But, since I came home around 3:00 and I did hear some music playing, I tell people that I once heard about 2 minutes of a Tallest Man on Earth show, which is more than they'll ever hear.

The moral of the story? Always go to Lobsterpalooza.

Anyway, Shallow Graves is the debut album by Finland's The Tallest Man on Earth. The Tallest Man on Earth presents solo bluegrass that you wouldn't believe comes from outside of Kentucky, let alone outside of the country. It's also hard to believe that is the one making the music, with his tattoos and gauged piercings in his ears. On the other side of things, thought he also looks young, he comes across as both very aged and world-weary in a way that fits the gravel and emotiveness of his voice. His voice becomes in ways, dare I say it, Dylan-esque, and he masterfully takes on the bluegrass twang in a way that is both subtle and genuine. The lyrics put forth on the album are touching and poetic, often dealing with life and love as you would expect a country/bluegrass album to. 's mastery of the language is superb and I probably would not have guessed that English was not his first language. The lyrics often use bird imagery which sometimes gets a bit repetitive, but is still refreshing and used more craftfully than most lyricists could. Each song reflects the perfect campfire atmosphere, and invokes a richness and a warmth unparalleled by many recordings. Though the production quality changes several times throughout the album, it doesn't affect the experience at all, and enhances each song on an individual level. Highlights on the album include Where do My Bluebird Fly (a personal favorite), I won't be Found, Pistol Dreams, and The Sparrow and the Medicine. I also highly recommend looking up the video to "It Will Follow the Rain", a track which is not on the album but is easily one of his best.

Silvum - Fading Signals (C)

2008-06-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

"Fading Signals" is a best-of album from Virginia's Silvum, AKA Nick Henry. Fading Signals presents a sort of ambient drone almost reminiscent of Stars of the Lid - only instead of the pristine crystallized beauty, it ranges a spectrum of beauty and the stuff of horror movies. Nick lovingly crafts pulsing soundscapes throughout the album that seep into your bones and grip you. Each track seems to come from a new direction, pulling you into an otherworldly collage of sounds. I can't begin to imagine how some of the great sounds have been created, since the piano credited on track four sounds very ethereal and unnatural. The album as a whole doesn't sound like a "best of", and flows naturally as though it were created to stand alone as an album. I highly recommend this for anyone looking into Silvum.

Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come (V)

2008-06-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

Coleman's 1959 Shape of Jazz to Come is indisputably a classic jazz album. The album features his group's usual almost-sloppy performance of harmonised, almost contrapuntal melodies and melodic to twisted solo sections. The songs are better-written and more organised and accessible than the classic monolith of the Free Jazz album, and really do a much better job of showcasing the talents of the performers and Coleman's writing. "Lonely Woman" is covered on Naked City's eponymous debut album, and certainly the entire album fits with Naked City's mangled and bizarre approach to jazz, from flailing screeching solos to thoughtful, slow movement and tasty grooves. And despite being pure jazz (in its own voice and style), The Shape of Jazz to Come locks into aesthetic appeal from a variety of music - the organised harmony of western classical music, the sections and solos of jazz, the wildness of fast improvised music, and even the almost artistic sloppiness of some rawer black metal.

This album works for a variety of musical situations. It would most likely to appeal to almost any crowd of pretentious artistic types, or normal people, or music fans from a variety of backgrounds . . . you name it. I certainly recommend the album for at least a listen or two for everyone. It remains an artistic challenge despite being almost entirely unoffensive, and never gets bland or boring. Good stuff.

Opeth - Watershed (J)

2008-06-30T20:26:00.000-07:00

The past few years have been very rocky for Opeth: they lost two members, one an original member who was a necessity as far as songwriting goes. This was probably one of the most anticipated and simultaneously dreaded releases in the metal community this year. What with Martin Lopez being replaced by prolific death/thrash metal drummer Martin Axenrot and Peter Lindgren being replaced by Krux and ex-Arch Enemy shredder Frederik Akesson. According to speculation, this was going to be the disaster that would spell the end for Opeth.

Everyone was proved wrong. This is one of the strongest Opeth releases yet, rivaling such masterworks as "My Arms, Your Hearse" and even "Still Life." The musicianship is at its tightest in years and now Per Wiberg's keyboard presence isn't overbearing as it was on "Ghost Reveries." Since there is just so much going on in this release, I will be doing a *gasp* track by track review.

The disc starts off with "Coil" - a folk song. This song is driven by a jangly 12-string guitar and goes in immediately; there is no intro. The track's highlight is by far the female vocals, contributed by Swedish folk singer Nathalie Lorichs, who is, coincidentally, Martin Axenrot's fiancee. The first track then drones and slightly builds up to the monolithic dissonant chords that begin the epic "Heir Apparent," which is, by far, the most bizzarre song on the entire disc. This song is the most technical song Opeth has ever done, with fret-dancing riffs and even a tastefully done shreddy guitar solo, if that is indeed possible. Also, this song contains the fastest Opeth riff yet, a blistering death/thrash metal riff, more than likely written for or by Axenrot. Right when you think the song is over, there is a volume swell which segues into the traditional "Opeth part," slow, dirge-like guitars and drums with some sort of minimalistic guitar lead over the top, making a very epic atmosphere. Great song, this one is.

"The Lotus Eaters," when released as a single about a month before "Watershed" was released, confused a lot of people. Why? Two words: blast beats. Opeth has never ventured into this sort of progressiveness (or as an elitist would say: PHILISTINE BULLSHIT) before. And ontop of the bast beats, what do we have? None other than Mikael Akerfeldt's clean vocals, returning from their absence in "Heir Apparent." This song also brings back the traditional "Opeth beat," a 6/8 groove with the drums doing something like "do doDAdo do doDAdo." Essentially, this is a beefed up Still Life song. The high point of this song is definitely the blast beats, which are sure to catch listeners off guard.

Next comes "Burden." I like to think that the reason Opeth wrote this was because they went on a week-long Whitesnake bender and needed to write something extraordinarily cheesy. This is a ballad. A cheesy-clean-vocal-extended-keyboard-solo power ballad. Not that this is a bad thing, though, for this is Opeth's take on the traditional metal ballad. A solid, yet unexpected, song. "Porcelain Heart" follows suit. I find this to be the weakest song on the release. It sounds like it was written right after, if not during the "Ghost Reveries" sessions. Yet again, no growling from Mikael in this song. Not really much to say about this song. Track highlight: the baroque-sounding classical guitar part.

Now comes the 11-minute epic, "Hessian Peel." This song starts off with a rather old-school Opeth part, with an acoustic guitar underneath a rather melodic lead. This moves on for a while, venturing into some 70s progressive rock, when suddenly death metal rips through the song and punches you in the face. Yet again the guitarwork shines as Frederik's fingers dance around the fretboard in another finger-shredding guitar solo - normally I hate those, but there's something about Frederik's phrasing that is great. Probably the strongest and catchiest track on the release.

Now, finally, the end. "Hex Omega" immediately barges in with a "Blackwater Park" type riff which drops out leaving Mikael singing and keyboards. Suddenly everything gets rather Egyptian sounding and then returns to the "heavy" sound, if you would call it that. This is almost like if Opeth took a Damnation song and made it metal. Pretty cool, if you ask me. Yet again another guitar solo, though not as flashy. This track features some very cool mellotron work from Per Wiberg. The song has a very long outro, akin to the ending of "A Fair Judgment," though much more interesting as a result of the use of dual guitar harmonies and tribal drum work.

Overall, "Watershed" is a triumph from the Opeth camp; redemption from the slight disappointment that is "Ghost Reveries." The venturing into other genres help Opeth rebuild their trademark sound to escape the doom that is monotony.

October Falls/Varghkoghargasmal - Split (J)

2008-06-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

This release confused me; I am a HUGE October Falls fan (note the review of Sarastus 2 months ago), but Varghkoghargasmal (quite a name they have there) has failed to impress me in the past. V's previous releases have pretty much cursed my ears with out of tune guitars and off-beat drums. But I'll get to them later.

October Falls's song "Polku" is yet another folky journey through the deepest of Finland's forests. A bit stronger than Sarastus, this piece is a harkening back to the olden days of Marras and Tuoni, with long, drawn out, dirge-like acoustic folk songs. Of course, this is more of the same, which may pose a great boredom for those who wish to hear something different, but I, as stated earlier, am a fan of whatever Mikko Lehto does, and if it means more of the same, I welcome it with open arms. Of course, there is an addition to the overall equation of October Falls's songs, for now Mikko adds in whispered vocals to add a little extra something to the mystical sound. A great effort from the October Falls front, in my opinion, and I cannot wait to hear how "The Womb of Primordial Nature" turns out.

Back to Varghkoghargasmal, this addition to his discography is interesting, if not an improvement on the older songs. As if he learned the ropes of music theory and timing, Varghkoghargasmal has risen from the grave and written a half-decent song. "Frame of Stones" features not only in-tune guitars, but also on-time drums, which is astounding considering how god-awful his previous efforts were. In addition to the guitar and drums, a xylophone has been added to the mix, which sounds a little ridiculous and almost silly at first listen, but it grows on you. What IS silly about this song is that Varghkoghargasmal still thinks he makes pagan metal, even though this is more folky than anything, and throws in a bluesy guitar solo just to confuse everyone.

Overall this is a solid release. October Falls fans will rejoice over the rebirth of the old sound and people will finally hear a halfway decent song from Varghkoghargasmal.

NTRLWRM - Intestinal Decay (C)

2008-06-30T20:21:00.000-07:00

This is my third NTRLWRM release and this one, in my mind, stands out. It begins with the usual clipped and dirty digital noise, but slowly it works into what it eventually becomes - an assault of high frequency tones. Now, I might not be the best person to review this album since I have a significant degree of hearing loss in high frequency and low frequency ranges, but I'm sure I hear just enough of it to be fine. This isn't quite like anything I've necessarily heard before, but god damn does it give me a headache. The way that Ascaris has arranged the album, it almost feels like if you ripped some beats from Venetian Snares, and layered them over the album… They'd fit perfectly. Each track features a central barrage of unintelligible shit and noise, with faint whisperings of tones barely within the range of human hearing occasionally running overtop. Every now and then, Ascaris nudges things down back into the lower range to great effect, making tracks like Intestinal Decay Philtre the most effect of the group. In the end, the album effectively channels the anger which Ascaris has originally channeled into it, and the headache is really quite worth it.

NON - God and Beast (V)

2008-06-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

Boyd Rice's masterwork God and Beast is, unsurprisingly, a bit controversial. I've heard the track "Total War" described as a "Nazi anthem," though I'd unhesitatingly describe the whole thing as a ritualistic, noisy tribute to the ideals set forth by Rice's good friend Anton LaVey.

That's really not important, though. NON's God and Beast stands on its own feet as a classic, musically. The nine tracks keep a flowing, changing, ritual going throughout the 66 minutes - even through the silences in "Total War." Each track has recongnisable and even, surprisingly, memorable shreds of looping industrial noise and defiant, self-assured rants. I've yet to hear another album commonly labelled as "noise" that even approaches God and Beast's accessibility and . . . hooks. God and Beast delivers slow, hypnotic rhythms, swirling ambience, and a collection of what are, undeniably, anthems - of whatever ideology.

This record is also a great introduction to noise. Do you want total war? Yes, you want total war. Pick it up. And it's worth paying every cent, and more. This is one of the few instances in which I would consider buying a fancy version with a DVD and some other "bonus" stuff to jack up the price. And I hate that stuff. Because I'm poor.

Mythology - An Infernal Grave (T)

2008-06-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

Hailing from the northernmost corners of New York in a small and desolate city known as Plattsburgh where metal is nothing more than scene kids trotting around in As I Lay dying or Trivium shirts, blackened death metal quartet Mythology represents a rising force of darkness, despair, and brutality. Closely resembling early black metal acts such as Mayhem, Emperor, Immortal, and Darkthrone as well as modern death metal like Nile, Deicide, and Vital Remains, Mythology has quickly risen to the top of the music scene and have become one of the most popular metal acts of the area.

With the release of the “An Infernal Grave EP” through local label Morgue House Records, Mythology entered the studio with their original drummer Narroth. The EP was released to celebrate their acceptance of playing alongside legendary death metallers, Vital Remains. Despite the fact that the EP only consisted of 4 tracks, it was an epic metal masterpiece nonetheless. Mythology entered the studio in hopes to improve the already amazing tracks that all appeared on the very first mythology album, “It Begins” and in my opinion succeeded. With the drumming abilities of Narroth and the ever improving guitar work of Gallows, and Skinny, and the pulsating rhythms produced by Lord Benicide DCLXVI as well as the hellish cries from Gallows' vocal chords, it’s no wonder Mythology has become so popular amongst the fans of metal in Plattsburgh and the surrounding area, including parts of Canada.

The EP opens with the title track, An Infernal Grave, which truthfully makes you feel like you are in hell being tortured by every demon in the wretched place. The riffs are fast and dark and the vocals on the chorus remind me of a banshee. The drums on this particular track are phenomenal. Narroth shows off his phenomenal talent on this track in particular though his abilities do not falter throughout the album. The following track is a local favorite known as Serpent Slayer which has many powerful riffs and a more death metal essence than the other tracks of the album. Shortly after comes The Fallen Have Risen. This track is a relatively simple yet epic tune that shows off Mythology’s talent as songwriters. The Final track is one of my favorite Mythology tunes known as In Dismay. This song has a powerful despairing atmosphere fueled by Gallows’ extreme misanthropy and cynicism towards humanity. The album is worth viewing by anyone interested in Metal of any sorts, except that kind that believes only in clean singing considering the vocals are completely black metal vocals.

Being a personal friend of the band, I wish Mythology the best of luck in their endeavors as musicians. For anyone interested in checking them out, Mythology can be found on Myspace at www.myspace.com/mythology where the EP can be listened to in full upon their music playlist. Until next time, Infernal hails!

Merzbow - Music for Bondage Performance (V)

2008-06-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

Of all the Merzbow I've heard so far, Music for Bondage Performance is definitely my favorite. Rather than the harsh, crackling, grinding electronics that dominate so much of noise and even Merzbow's work, Music for Bondage Performance blends noise with softer ambiance and percussion.

"Hara-Kiri Video" features layers of pulsing interacting polyrhythmically with a slow, steady bass drum and swells and clicks and aching ambiance. "Seishi Seppuku Kei" extends the acoustic side of the performance with clashing, echoing percussive crashes vibrations, and scrapes mingling bizarrely over a distant constant tone and arrhythmic heartbeat-like pulses that build and shift and change their context. Over its ten-minute span, it abandons the emphasis on experimental percussion in favor of more shifting, swelling, almost-tones and sustained noises. "Ropes in Tears" builds on tone clusters of tuned percussion and again slowly falls apart into ambience and almost subliminal scrapes and creaks. "Aimei Nawa" builds noise around its ambiance with tone loops, more strange percussive loops, and eventually fearful scraping of a bow on strings that brings to mind one of the poems, "Serenade," from Giraud's Pierrot Lunaire: "With a giant bow grotesquely/Scrapes Pierrot on his viola . . . " in its harsh strains. "Lost Paradise" is a brief venture into chaotically jangling bells that somehow doesn't seem out of place transitioning to the 26-minute "Bondage Performances," a soundscape of not only the shifting tones that dominate this album, but almost noisy, reverberating drums. This track wanders everywhere, combining field recordings of knocking and barking dogs and distant voices and brass instruments and strange loops and crashing blasts of noise and little melodies. Even through broken-sounding keyboard glurps and bleeps and frenetic drumming and mad grinding.

Music for Bondage Performance is much more artistic and advanced than the average noise release, softer, more ambient, but yet just as tense and wild and random. If you want to look into a strange mindscape, look no further. If you want an expansion of what noise is, look here. If you want noise spirit without harsh ear abuse, this is the album to put on.

Jandek - Ready for the House (J)

2008-06-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

There are two opinions you can have when you listen to Jandek: it's dissonant, juvenile, movementless music, OR it is the most emotionally deep sound you have ever heard.

Jandek's disturbing yet close-to-home tunes fall into the genre of "outsider music," otherwise known as music that doesn't fall into a conventional norm or music made by those with mental disabilities or issues. Notable outsider artists include Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd fame, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and Daniel Johnston.

No one really knows exactly who this "Jandek" character really is. Due to his consistent releases (bordering 50 since his debut in 1978), some speculate that Jandek is rich stockbroker Sterling Smith, reclusive head of Corwood Records, Jandek's hosting label. Others believe that the project is a joke, and some think that these are the recordings of a millionaire's retarded son. Jandek has been a part of 2 interviews in his quarter-century music career, and made his first live appearance in 2004, unnanounced. Since then he has played just a handful of concerts, varying greatly in performance.

Jandek's sound on "Ready for the House," his 1978 debut, is characterized by a guitar tuned to an unconventional open tuning strumming awkward one-note-at-a-time "riffs," I guess they would be called that, beneath a mournful (and very amateur) voice, normally singing in some sort of blues or folk fashion. Electric guitars appear in songs, as well as very awkwardly played drums played by a neighbor, Josh. Occasionally a female vocalist, presumably named Nancy due to her debut song, "Nancy Sings," will appear, singing some sort of haunting melody.

Lyrics on this disc are rather abstract, ranging from old hymns (Show Me the Way, O Lord) to the extraordinarily bizarre (Naked in the Afternoon). One thing is certain, however: Jandek has a strange and extraordinarily dark view of the world. Though his music sounds rather unappealing and harsh on the ears at first, Jandek's sound really grows on you, for some strange reason. I recommend trying to listen to an album in its entirety in one sitting; I attempted it once and had to pause the music 4 songs in just to regain my composure. I was shaken, to say the least.

Jandek's fan base is extremely small, but therein lies important musical figures including, but not limited to David Tibet (Current 93), Alan Sparhawk & Mimi Parker (Low), Kurt Cobain (Nirvana, Earth), and Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes).

In order to obtain Jandek's albums, write a letter to Corwood Industries, P.O. Box 15375, Houston, TX 77220. One disc is $8, but you can get 20 for $80, which is quite a deal. And who knows, Jandek might write you back in his mangled writing. At one point in everyone's life, their ears scream for Jandek's music.

Guaranteed Katch - In A Sumptuous Brown Gravy (K)

2008-06-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

Purists would say, music has to follow a certain path, has to apply to some kind of hidden codex. Accordingly are bands, who dare to ignore this unwritten set of rules, labelled as traitors and the co-called elite will express their voice in reviews in magazines respectively in the internet.

In terms of Guaranteed Katch it is hard to find some "kind of line" at all, as their concept on "In A Sumptuous Brown Gravy" is such a weird collection of music that to classify it becomes a tricky thing. There are some metalcore influences, some from the folk scene, some thrash metal now and then etc. Sometimes slow and calm, soon fast and aggressive or something in between, yes indeed, the variety of approaches to write music is immense on this record. Yet there is one constant factor: a glimpse of insanity. In the process of writing the album, at least some amount of drugs must have played a role, otherwise is the weirdness and the slight Monty Pythonian humour not explainable; see the track Trash Knight for instance; quote: My good man, I demand that you unhand that can; unhand that can my good man! (with a voice that reminds me on those of Graham Chapman). Really hilarious when you are actually listening to it!

Why does this band not receive broader attention? The album is well produced, the performance also on a good level and each track is certainly unique or better said different from any other on the album... in every aspect. So if you are ever in a sad mood or want to listen to something out of the ordinary, then put in this CD and the highly entertaining art of Guaranteed Katch will certainly cheer you up.

Apparitia/Gog - Apparitia/Gog (V)

2008-06-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

Apparitia dishes out some fairly typical raw, only semi-tonal black metal. Poorly recorded distorted guitars shifting chords chromatically sit over medium-paced machine-sounding blast beats with regular fills. The vocalist fills the musical "air" with swirling, distorted chaos. But between blasts of stereotypical black metal (which somehow has a bewildering feel that's much more appealing than most of the black metal I've heard), there are odd breaks of clean arpeggios. And the insane drums never get boring. Sometimes, there are even pulsing soft, ambient section. There are regular changes of tempo and dynamic. The whole thing is a complete mess. I love it.

Gog is some incarnation of soft, ambient doom. Hammered strings float over a backdrop of dark, clean chords and soft ambiance. Slowly, it builds into hanging, distorted doom. Not a thing to complain about. There aren't any vocals, aside from a spoken word piece at the end of the second track, which really improves the experience in this situation. There's always a wall of drifting sound and feedback hanging from existing chords, but the front edge of the musical movement is always heavy and clearly audible. Definitely a must for anyone who likes Nadja and wants something heavier and darker.

Both sides of this split are quite desirable, in wildly different ways, for fans of ambient, dark, noisy metal. Give it a listen.

Aghiatrias - Ethos (V)

2008-06-30T19:54:00.000-07:00

अम्बिंस, complex, compelling, sampled from some live percussion and various sound sources, deep, mystical, ritualistic, subliminal, dark chants and mumbled warnings and imprecations. clashing, dark, piano tone clusters, piano as percussion, charles ives, twisted electronics, drum like a cracking whip. lasers, mallets, humming layered sines, prophecies of doom. pounding tribal rhythms, more hissing, cracking electronics. agressive ambient music. industrial. semirhythmic thrashing and pounding.

Venetian Snares - Winnipeg is a Frozen Shithole (C)

2008-05-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Listen to the sounds of Winnipeg… Intense glitchin'sanity. I've never listened to more than the first track of this album before because the first track is so amazing. That's all I have to say for you to realize that you need to hear this, but if it's not then here you go. The first track (titled for the album) is basically literal insanity with a bass that makes you want to dance in traffic. But don't dance to it - because it's impossible. You'll probably actually die. It's one of the most intense songs that I've heard- only beating noise in intensity for the fact that it has the musical and beat-driven element that noise lacks. This is music to kick faces into. If you can listen to the first track, and not spend the whole time doing some sort of intense head-bob-bang-thing to it, then you're literally more insane than Aaron Funk. This track doesn't use breakbeats, it uses bullet beats. There's nothing faster. Nothing more filled with hatred for a place. Nothing more horrifyingly malicious.

Okay, now that I'm over that hump, the rest of the album keeps up the intensity. You can tell that Aaron Funk does NOT like Winni-glitch-Peg. This album is extremely clever, and extremely catchy. Each track reveals some new little trick of Funk's, as well as some new level of hatred he holds for his hometown. Some people shoot up schools; Aaron Funk lays down sickening beats. Winnipeg is a Frozen Shithole, and Vsnares in general is not for everyone, but if you're sad and like beer then this album is your lady.

Overall, I recommend that everyone at least check out both of these albums.

Venetian Snares - Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett (C)

2008-05-31T13:36:00.000-07:00

This album by Vsnares happens to be one of my favorites. The album combines some classical-ambiance; some sampled Hungarian, Russian, and English classical; as well as those sick beats Vsnares is known for. Compared to Aaron Funk's other releases under the Venetian Snares name, this album certainly lacks the overall intensity of Winnipeg is a Frozen Shithole etc., but in no way lacking in intensity. Starting with a delightful piano piece (color tones? Atonal? Open Key? Too much heroin?), then shifting to a somewhat tense orchestral build up into some standard breakbeat-age, it all eventually gives way into a sort of drumsolo-madness. One of the highlights of the whole album is track 3, Öngyilkos Vasárnap (Literally "Gloomy Sunday"… Sound familiar?), a rather awe-inspiring remix/cover of Billie Holiday singing Gloomy Sunday, a song that on its own is one of my favorites, but as it is tactfully played with by Vsnares it becomes something more. The main beat of the song is simple in a way that fits the song well, but easily works into more drumorgasms throughout it. Almost giving you time to contemplate it is followed by another brief classical-esque piece, and then a very tense and chaotic piece more about the piano and the instruments than the beats, featuring a very sparse jazz-esque beat. The whole song is quite jazzy, featuring several "solos", most prominently for piano. Soon the beats take precedence again, and take the intensity to a new level. It all sets up the next few pieces (all very intense) very well, but before the storm begins, a brief calm sweeps through the album. The one thing that has always puzzled me was the choice of samples. The best track of the album begins with a somewhat odd sample regarding the concept of the album, the idea of being a pigeon at the Királyi Palota. The sample, practically bare except for some more pulsing strings, says "It's just a pigeon... Looking for its nest. It doesn't know that it's white. It doesn't know that it scares me. Why am I frightened so easily? Pigeon, why can you scare me? Am I not part of your life anymore? Am I not welcome anymore?" Almost immediately the chaos begins, starting as some simple fast-paced breakbeats, and slowly devolving into glitching insanity. Easily the next best track of the album, Masodik Galamb never ceases to amaze me with its strange choruses of pieces of the opening sample. This leads into the very glitch-heavy end of the album which is saturated with buzzing bass and some pretty high BPMs. Eventually it all winds down to a vaguely music-box ending.

Stars of the Lid - Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid (C)

2008-05-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

Stars of the Lid. Where do I start? For one, this is how drone SHOULD be done. Stars of the Lid create ambient droning soundscapes that sound like nothing. They literally sound like nothing. The main bits certainly don't sound like the guitars they are, they're so effects-treated, and the few string and brass and piano parts are the only distinguishable parts of the music. Stars of the Lid are beauty. Pure, distilled beauty. Their music embodies aesthetic perfection in all its form. Simply stated, if you have not heard Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid, then you ought not to ever use the word "happiness." The soundscapes of Tired Sounds… are unencumbered by the drums and vocals so often added by other drone supergroups. This album is lying in the grass on a fair spring day, watching clouds passing overhead. It's the feeling of the sun on your face while you sit at the beach. It's lying cozily in your bed next to someone you care about on a cold winter night. Stars of the Lid have managed to concentrate emotion, add it to powdered landscape, and coat it over a perfect batch of chocolate chip fuzzy feelings. Sometimes I listen to this album and feel like I might cry (Which is okay, guys. Just let those tears out), and sometimes it makes me feel lonely and isolated, and other times it makes me feel warm and happy to be around so many wonderful people.

Stars of the Lid are a perfect dreamtime experiment. Spin Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid and get ready to start spinning.

Smohalla - Nova Persei (V)

2008-05-31T13:32:00.000-07:00

Smohalla is really a fine example of the sort of progressive, atmospheric movement of what one might call post-black metal. Slo and company build up entrancing layers of keys, synthesized strings, acoustic guitars, heavy guitars, clean vocals, and more raspy vocals into a truly epic and glorious blend. While the complex layering of the music would tend to create something more noisy and harsh, this release fits into itself wonderfully. Even shifts to discordant riffs and blast beats just lend another taste to the atmospheric bewilderment of Nova Persei's tribute to the dreamworld.

Without ever abandoning the atmospheric layers, Smohalla freely shifts between well-written piano interludes and triumphant choruses, dark riffs that seem almost like black metal, thrash, and even doom. Everything remains, through effective transitions, consistent tempo, and distinctive Smohalla guitar sounds and ambience, part of the same story. The songs are distinctive and beautiful, and everything is well done. Recommended for fans of any of the artistic elites of black metal. Smohalla has earned its place long before the twenty minutes of Nova Persei have passed.

I understand that this is the last copy of Nova Persei, but the project isn't abandoned. I recommend following Smohalla's progress and snapping up anything you can lay your hands on.

Nordlicht - Nebelmeer (A)

2008-05-31T13:29:00.000-07:00

Alright, a sentence might suffice, that being if you're a fan of Paysage D'hiver you will NEED this. Not to say this is a clone but there are some definite similiarities. Might also help to know that Nimosh, the man behind Nordlicht runs Kunsthall Productions with none other than Wintherr (Paysage D'hiver). Now, this being the only material put forth by Nordlicht (except for a song on the "Schneesturm" compilation) I'd say this is one of the best debuts (black metal or otherwhise) i've heard in awhile. A curious thing though, apparently the band was started in 1996 but "Nebelmeer" wasn't released until 2002. So perhaps this was a long in the works endeavor, even with the length not reaching a half hour. Anyways, onto the black and beautiful sonic mysteries that lurk within. Comprised of nine tracks, four being actual songs. The other five are murky, watery drone interludes underpinned by constant static. Transitioning from one piece to the next, they help to create a cohesive, almost one-long-song feel to the album. The songs themselves are walls of sound, thick tremolo picked guitars tangling up within each other making it hard to distinguish individual notes, smeared into a dense, blackened epic noise. All sorts of ambiences lurk beneath the surface, occasionally fully revealing themselves when the distorted guitars die down and offer some respite. Sometimes if listened closely enough to, you might hear, or think you're hearing the same murky drone that serves as interludes between the main songs constantly in the background. The guitars even slip into a downtuned chug every once in a while, reminding one of Darkspace. So again, completely recommended for those already under the wintry spell of Paysage D'hiver. It definetely creates the same image in the minds eye of snow blanketed forests, a shadowy figure hiding 'neath the branches ...

Released through Kunsthall Produktionen.

Navicon Torture Technologies - I Fucking Hate You All and I Hope You All Fucking Die (C)

2008-05-31T13:27:00.000-07:00

Navicon Torture Technologies is the dark ambient brainchild of Lee M. Batow, now on its way to a polite and quiet grave. I Fucking Hate You All and I Hope You All Fucking Die is a NTT masterpiece, bested possibly only by Dripping with the Power of Her Flesh. It starts out with a haunting repetitive keyboard line, and then dives straight into the refined cesspool of gritty noise backing a series of effected vocals (repeating the phrase "I want to hang myself, I want to die." and noisy swoops. The album itself is noisy, but not loud. It's truly "dark ambient" in its unique style of unobtrusive, yet compellingly haunting noisescapes.

After a couple similar gritty noise tracks, NTT eases into a very minimal, pulsing noise line, which is soon overtaken by a clean sample of a distraught-sounding girl saying over and over again "I love you, and I'm so sorry that I'm so awful to you. And I don't know, I don't know what to do or what to say. I hate this, and I hate myself…" Over the pulsing underline, a more traditional ambient cloud slowly fades in, adding to the morbid beauty, and striking one-two punch of the track. After Personal Apocalypse, there are a series of more non-noisy, psychedelic-esque sample tracks featuring tribal beats, and more traditional ambient elements, as well as a series of more in-your-face noisy tracks.

The real highlight of the album, however, is Personal Apocalypse II, featuring another sample of the same girl, with a similar backdrop. All in all, this album is one that can only be expelled from an extremely dark and disturbed psyche, and received well by a comparable one. I do not recommend it if you are depressed, alone, or breastfeeding.

Nature and Organisation - Beauty Reaps the Blood of Solitude (V)

2008-05-31T13:24:00.000-07:00

The lineup: NAO itself is the child of longtime Current 93 member Michael Cashmore, and this album features guestwork from David Tibet, Douglas Pearce, Rose McDowall, and Steven Stapleton. Beauty Reaps the Blood of Solitude features all the usual elements: soft acoustic guitar, mixed percussion, keyboards, strings, woodwinds, industrial noise . . . really, all the elements. And they're all well-done. And all the songs are excellent. And there's incredible variety. "Beauty Destroyed" would almost fit in on a more harsh Nadja record - but there's enough Nadja in this issue. "Obsession Flowers as Torture" starts off with classical guitar and moves into incredible heavy martial industrial sounds.

Since this is Michael Cashmore's project, not a vocalist's project, there's a LOT more going on instrumentally here than with most neofolk albums. In Gowan Ring comes to mind much of the time, particularly with the well-developed interaction of strings and guitar. Tibet's lyrics are as bizarre as ever. The melodies are beautiful and thoughtful. The rendition of Paul Giovanni's "Willow's Song" is beautiful. "My Black Diary," notwithstanding the heavy ambient music at the beginning, would fit wonderfully on a Death In June album. The record as a whole flows beautifully, with connected themes and lyrics throughout. Definitely recommended, for anyone.

Nasheim - Evighet/Untergang (J)

2008-05-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

Long have I been a Noltem fan, and even after knowing that Erik did session vocals for the "Hymn of the Wood" demo, it took me the two years

I have been a fan of Noltem to check this out.

I'm glad I did.

This compilation of the two demos, Evighet and Undergang, is nothing short of amazing. After months of trying to find deep and meaningful black metal outside of the realm of bands I listen to, I found myself listening to Nasheim, and these guys really know how to bring empowerment back to black metal.

Seeing as the trend of "Depressive/Suicidal Black Metal" is really taking root now, people tend to overlook bands that empower the listener, as black metal was originally supposed to do, it is great to see bands that "bring the epic" like Nasheim that are still making music.

Onto the music, the fuzzy guitars add a lot of personality to the cd, like I am wandering in a deep and dark Northern Swedish forest with a ram's horn of mead and a fresh kill slung over my shoulder.

Even the bass is noticeable in this, with little doodles here and there, adding even more variability to Nasheim's style.

The drums are your standard black metal fare with alternating blasts and ambient cymbal work along with the standard slow beat with lots and lots of ride and crash cymbals. This does not add on anything really to the album, but it does not detract either.

The shining and standout quality of Nasheim have to be Erik's vocals, though very high in the mix, his vocals are powerful and mournful. I cannot say that Erik's vocals sound like any other I have heard yet; they are highly original black metal rasps (thought you'd never hear someone say that, did you?).

There is even an amazing cover of Bathory's anthem "Blood Fire Death" included in this compilation that takes my breath away. Quorthon would be very happy with this cover out of the many there are.

My one complaint with the demo is the quality of the song "Evighet." Though it is a great song and the dual vocal work is interesting, the all-treble sound quality of black metal is hard on my ears and is rough enough to have me take off a touch from a perfect score.

For fans of: Ulver, Wolves in the Throne Room, Angantyr, Agalloch, Noltem, Wind Through the Trees, Dornenreich, Herbst...

Nadja - Thaumogenesis (V)

2008-05-31T13:16:00.000-07:00

Thaumogenesis is clearly an epic piece of work, apparent even when the CD first goes into the machine. The album's sole track - Thaumogenesis - comes in at 61:43, over an hour of Nadja's trademark all-consuming atmosphere of sound. Seldon Hunt's art reflects the nature of the music fairly well, or would if the CD folder took up all four walls of a large room. Both art and music combines a complex of familiar elements

within a framework of controlled, slowly building and dissolving chaos that makes even the familiar into a new layer of something simultaneously instinctive and otherworldly.

The variety of timbres and musical aesthetics throughout Thaumogenesis is breathtaking, especially in a piece so singularly coherent and beautiful. Leah Buckareff successfully combines extended, meditative moments of soft, clean motifs and collosal doom riffs - and strikingly "other" segments - within Aidan Baker's atmospheric layers. It is truly a peaceful and inspiring experience to watch the pair combine their work into such a powerful greater whole. The independant layers do not give an impression of chaotically combined concepts, but rather a distinctive and beautiful form of larger orchestration.

Thaumogenesis is really very good. If you like Nadja, I recommend Thaumogenesis - an example of Nadja turning from mere 13-or-so minute songs to a proper hour-long epic. Unless you'd prefer their more quick, in-your-face material . . .

Nadja - Long Dark Twenties (J)

2008-05-31T13:14:00.000-07:00

Well, today I decided I was going to get back into Nadja, and it's a good thing I did. I must have grabbed about one and a half gigabytes of releases (I'm almost done!) and by far this EP has stuck out as one of Aidan Baker's most beautiful works.

This song is has its similarities and differences from the rest of the nadja discography. The standard thick-and-slow-as-chilled-molasses rhythm riff over an industrial drum machine is still apparent, but this release has more similarities to shoegaze mainstays such as Slowdive or My Bloody Valentine.

Aidan's light vocals are mixed much higher above the music than before, but this isn't a bad thing. One can definitely make ties to Justin Broadrick's work in Jesu just by hearing the vocal work.

Wonderful ephemeral guitars flutter in the background and mingle with keyboards and flutes, giving this piece a very light and airy feel, contrasting the heavy sludge riffing beneath.

Overall, this EP is beautiful, one of Aidan's best, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of doom metal, shoegaze, or even ambient music.

Nadja - Desire in Uneasiness (A)

2008-05-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

Nine albums. Nine fucking albums. That's how many releases Nadja has already put out THIS YEAR (and we're only at the half-way point!). Most artists/band never release that amount in their existence. Saying it's prolific is an understatement. But suprisingly all the material released by duo (husband and wife too) Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff is quality stuff. Ok, some might not completely agree with that previous statement, saying some of the material can be too samey, but fuck it, I love everything they've put out, granted ever since hearing "Truth Becomes Death" some odd years ago i've been a HUGE fan. Just couldn't resist some kind of dreamy drone/doom/dirge/ambient/post-rock/shoegaze hybrid! It manages to be totally blissed out AND crushing at the same time. So with that said, onto one of the latest of Nadja's releases.

First off, something for those already familiar with Nadja that will certainly raise an eyebrow or two is the art, which certainly gets one ready to expect something different from the music. Cartoonish drawings of chickens, half-filled bottles and chairs with trees growing through a hole in the middle of them adorn the cover and insides of the album. Another quick glance will most likely elicit even more eyebrow raising as in, this album has a real drummer on it! This being the first album to date without programmed drums. And to date, this is probably the most organic sounding of Nadja's releases. Guitar takes to the back burner, smeared into more of an ambient blur than usual, present but never overpowering the other instruments although it menacingly rears its head from time to time. The focal point of "Desire in Uneasiness" is the bass and drums, which usually end up locking into a kind of laidback groove at some point in every song, wanting to stay that way and drift forever. A lack of vocals can be noticed too, which is also a tad unusual for Nadja. Though, it works quite well as I don't see how Aidan's vocals would fit over the "jams" provided. "Desire in Uneasiness" is a definite step forward for noticeable change, one that works rather well and see's a band able to have a recognizable sound and yet move forward in their approach.Something not just for obsessives (like me) and completists. Something that could work to win over new fans. Something to show the skeptics Nadja still has a few tricks up its sleeve.

Released through Crucial Blast.

My Bloody Valentine - Isn't Anything (V)

2008-05-31T13:09:00.000-07:00

I picked up Isn't Anything sitting, unwanted, on a record store shelf for 10 USD. Would have been a deal at twice the cost. Isn't Anything is pure optimism, regret, pain, and hope wrapped in a little pinkish package. The album has drifting feedback, soft chords, oddly burnt-out rhythms and vocals. When I first heard My Bloody Valentine, Kevin Shields' vocals took some time to get used to. The strangely muddy guitar dragged me in and wrapped me in Bilinda's singing, propelled strangely by Colm and Debbie's slightly off-kilter rhythm section. This is an incredibly inventive album, and beyond that, full of beautiful songs. It's a little rough around the edges, but sweeps the listener up in some sort of pure, childish honesty.

"Soft As Snow (But Warm Inside)" is a very rock-powered but light and happy sex song. By the time we get to "No More Sorry," My Bloody Valentine has switched to painful, dark, ambient music centering on child abuse and possibly incestual rape. The single, "Feed Me With Your Kiss," is oddly heavy rock with mathematical rhythmic variation. The album drops straight from there to "Sueisfine" or, as live versions would have it, "Suicide."

Isn't Anything is a slab of excellent songs. My Bloody Valentine isn't really like anyone else - warm, sliding guitar and ample atmosphere with a tendency towards driving rock beats and fast blasts of snare. Soft, ambient vocals, pure, sweet melodies. Strange musically ordered chaos of fragmented words and fuzzy, unclear distortion. If there's anything left in you that isn't purely cynical, take this album. Spend time with it. Open up to it. It's worth it.

Oh, and if you're in Europe or Japan, go see them soon. Just for me. They're playing Roskilde if you'll be in Denmark. Hopefully they'll come visit the new world within a couple years . . .

Coil - Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil (V)

2008-05-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil is a patchwork of glitchy electronics, marimba, experimental percussion, and twisted, ritualistic vocals from the late John Balance. This record could easily be a gateway record into noise, or an almost musical addition to a noisehead's collection.

Coil's work in this context is less connected to beats and straightforward songs than on a typical Coil album - and that's saying something, given Coil's twisted approach to songwriting. There's something glitchily attractive about the tone of Constant Shallowness' swirling, droning, rumbling electronics that has nothing to do with harshness or chaos. Coil's semi-noise has a stronger connection to tones, pitches, and chords than the all-frequency chaos of the average noisework. That said, the music is swirling, drifting, grinding, teeth of giant gears working together, without the piston-pulse of industrial drum machines lowering Constant Shallowness to a glitchy electronic pop piece.

The marimba and assorted percussion connects further to the musical spectrum than the electronic glitches that pervade Tunnel of Goats, but in an atonal-sounding semi-mechanical loop that pulls Balance's effected, groaning ritual mutterings - "I am the Green Child" - into a mystical, drug-hazy trance. Not often can one find razor-edged sounds that create such a numb, mind-drenching atmosphere. This is not a typical Coil record. Pick it up, whether you like Coil or not. You'll not regret it.

Bloodrain - III: Nomen Nostrum Legio (A)

2008-05-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

My neck sure is sore after a listen to the latest offering from Russia's Bloodrain. From a quick trip to Metal Archives you might come to believe this is just another satanic black metal band in a sea of satanic black metal bands. But if you give 'em a listen you'll find they're more of a blackened technical thrash, super tight and super catchy. Catchy? Uh-oh, that seems to be a dirty word in the world of metal (especially black metal), but i'll be damned if you won't have these songs stuck fast in your bangin' head. And a bangin' your noggin shall be as you're lead through a whirlwind of furious, convuluted thrashing structures with the occasional fast-as-fuck blastbeat. Guitar solo's abound throughout the album, and not some shitty play-as-fast-as-I-can Kerry King solo, no sir, thought out, super melodic and catchy (there's that word again). The production on the album is pretty fantastic as well, ALL the instruments coming through loud and clear (there's even some awesome bass lines here and there!). I especially like the sound on the drums, really powerful and punchy. Helps too that the drummer rules, throwing in some odd time signatures and killer cymbal accents to the precise blast n' thrash. But yeah, production wise something you might not expect coming from a Russian black metal band, especially one who's had releases on Stellar Winter (Blazebirth Hall anyone?). This also seems to be one of those rare thrash albums that can be gone over and over and again without being monotonous, which with my past experiences of thrashier bands is quite a feat ! But i'm fairly jaded, my thrash intake nowadays mostly limited to such bands as Morbid Saint, Destruction, Toxic Holocaust, etc. And just to reiterate, ALL the songs manage to kick huge amounts of ass whilst containing memorable parts galore. So if into black and/or thrash metal, this is surely a band you will want to check out. If you don't mind wearing a neck brace might help too ...

Released through Hexenhammer Records.

Aluk Todolo - Untitled (C)

2008-05-31T12:59:00.001-07:00

Aluk Todolo are one of my favorite discoveries of late. Hailing from the happening French BM scene, Aluk Todolo bring black metal sensibilities and dark ambient seasonings to the world of Psychedelia. Sure, they have a full length, but truth be told all you really need to hear to fall in love is their debut 7", which is nameless and just referred to as "the 7 EP." The 7 EP starts out with a quiet, pulsing rhythm, then a thick and sloppily precise bass line kicks in, building up a sort of circular tension. The first few bits are only the "You must be this tall…" sign for the upcoming rollercoaster of absolutely freak out zap your mind. The repetitive Jaws-half-step bass line is topped by some building sparse guitar. The track swings into its funk before you even know what's hit you, eventually coming to a sort of figure-eight-ish transition into complete free-form delay jams, but still maintaining the haunting feeling of circularity. The track eventually digresses into a genuine chanting temple-like ambience, topped by the oh-so-soothing voice of Aleister Crowley. Then the fun begins. Side A ends on a quiet note, only to be overtaken by the pulsing Sunburned Hand of the Man-esque Side B psychedelic rock. Side B retains the pulsing of Side A, but what was once a circular wandering turns into a foreword-driven march. The track subsides briefly in the middle, but jumps back into its demoniac acid-possession with an even increased fervor. The rhythm section builds the perfect atmosphere for the out-of-this-world sounds of the guitar as its solo burns up like a forest fire glutted on fuel. Side B is a track you almost want to dance to, were it not so bizarre that you need to stop and listen to every new instant of sound. The energy of this album is the kind that has you tense and on the edge of your seat every second, and exhausted the second its over. And the energy just keeps coming, until the track ends with a dead-stop, leaving you like a heroin addict without a fix. All in all, The 7 EP earns a 100/10 for me. 18 minutes of ecstatic auditory, emotional, and physical sensationalism.

Winters In Osaka - Red Tooth, Red Claw (V)

2008-04-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

Red Tooth, Red Claw is a well-executed piece of noisework that drags up some bigger names in the noise circuit. The first track, Satyr's Birth, is intense and varied, and contains guest work from respected Japanese cyberpunk author/electronic musician Kenji Siratori as well as widely-respected Norwegian black noise artist Zweizz. This track is trully a blasting and varied work of pure harsh noise, completely delightful to the tongue and ears.

The second track, In the Form of a Siren and Foetus, is a collaboration with fellow Illinois noisician Mykel Boyd, and sticks to the low, consuming, ambient side of noise. Though less exciting, this 13-minute track is an excellently surrounding piece of ambience - like noise reaching out and holding you in its . . . tentacles?

Though sadly only a 23-minute EP, this Winters In Osaka release is very well-executed and I'm certainly considering using it in the future as part of an introduction to noise for a curious music fan. Check out Winters In Osaka and their collaborators when you get a chance - if you like noise, you won't regret it.

Vargr - The Twice High Holy Secret of Constant Generation (A)

2008-04-29T22:00:00.000-07:00

With what sounds like a bugle the demo begins only to explode in a fury of buzzing guitars, sounding as if they were run through some sort of broken glass filter, sounding sharp enough to tear right through any unwary listeners eardrums. Everything is awash with noise, even the pounding, stumbling drums seem to have been recorded white hot. And the vocals, when they appear, threaten to overpower everything in a blanket of fuzz. Sometimes the discerning ear can even pick out tremolo picked melodies, but only at a very close listen. Yes, this is truly some harsh and noisy raw black metal. A tad odd too, like the bugle that starts this noisy affair, the rest of the songs are filled with old time miltary snippets. The fourth track rife with them, amidst menacing low end rumble. During this track the mind takes you to a bomb gutted city, a parade of ghostly marching bands leading you through the deserted streets. It makes more sense when you find out the man responsible for this disturbing racket is none other than drone master Henrik Nordvargr Bjorkk (Nordvargr, Toroidh, MZ .412, Folkstorm, etc). This being his third album with Vargr, and marking his third foray into the world of black metal. Here's to hoping for many more releases of "True Black Nekronoise Metal"!

Self-released.

Urfaust - Geist ist Teufel (A)

2008-04-29T21:57:00.000-07:00

What to make of an album that features the following in the cd booklet, a black and white picture of a shirtless man holding a torch with the captions "Black Metal Occultists Fire Walt With Us". Not to mention the cryptic black and white pictures within, one being some painting of monk like men praying in fire with a naked devil like figure with a very cartoonish looking face (complete with bulging eyes and exaggerated mouth expression). And they're called Urfaust, named after Goethe's earliest forms of work for his famous play Faust. Well as it turns out the music is even stranger then you could probably imagine, even with all the previous hints. It starts out with a kind of lo-fi orchestral throb with super dramatic, crooning, evil sounding vocals over it. Next is an almost traditional, raw midpaced black metal track, except for the vocals, which transform it into something so much more. Almost over the top, equal parts croon, howl and drunken operatics (!) instantly recognizable once you've heard it. The third track starts with one of THOSE guitar riffs that get stuck in your head, constantly humming along to it, wondering why you aren't listening to it at that exact moment. The vocals follow suit and basically goes along with the riff which is repeated over and over throughout the song, offering only a few changes throughout. Normally that kind of repetition might be a bad thing but here it works wonderfully, plus it's one of those things you don't mind hearing over and over and over. The song could be described as some kind of drunken, loping vikinglike jig played to raw black metal, probably the most "festive" track on the album and perhaps my favorite. Next we have another dirgelike track of raw black metal and of course those over the top vocals making it that much more amazing. Then the albums closing tracks veer more into ambient territory, which as it turns out the band originally formed to create ambient music. The second to last track is a more orchestral based ambience with those unmistakable vocals over it. And the closing track is all ambient swooosh and swiiiish, totally trance inducing, totally blissed out, sounding like it could be a long lost Tangerine Dream song that's collected a bit of dust over the years. Some kind of lo-fi orchestral ambient wierdo raw black metal masterpiece.

Released through GoatowaRex.

Shape of Despair - Shades Of... (J)

2008-04-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

Safe to say, this is my favorite release out of the entire funeral doom genre. Such power and emotion conveyed throughout the duration of the disc is unmatched in the metal world.

Slow, plodding riffs with REAL instruments (along with keyboard arrangements) dominate this album. Songs such as opener "...In the Mist" have waltzy feels with 6/8 rhythms, though I don't believe anyone will be waltzing to this.

The male vocals on the album are very powerful, a more voiced version of fellow countrymen Skepticism with a slight nasal quality, shared with very gentle, soaring female vocals. The lyrics written for "Shades Of..." are profoundly sad, telling of a traveler who is banished from his town and is doomed to walk the Earth for eternity, unable to die. Speak of "[his] frozen feet" add on much to the rich, despondent atmosphere displayed through the cold folky-orchestral arrangements and wall-of-noise guitars and slow, plodding drums in the backgrounds.

Rhythm does not vary from song to song, which might turn many away, but I view this 5-song masterpiece as one piece of music divided into 5 movements, like, say, a Dream Theater CD (though I would never even think of comparing the two).

This is a very good introductory album for someone who wishes to get into funeral doom metal. The many melodies that occur simultaneously, though slow, are very catchy and clutch you in their icy grip, not letting go until the cd is over, and you still want to hear more.

Favorites (though each song is amazing):
...In the Mist
Woundheir
Sylvan-Night

Scott Tuma - Not for Nobody (A)

2008-04-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

Gorgeously deconstructed folk/country, all guitar twang, creaks and chimes, haunting off in the distant piano, tape pop and hiss, beautiful drones, childlike female vocals and various sound samples. Kind of like returning to some deserted homestead on the western plains to find everything all dilapidated and run down, everything nostalgic, evoking long gone memories, the sun shining through the cracks in the ceiling, lighting the dust kicked up by your feet. Yeah, kind of like that. Only just imagine that put to music and you just about have Scott Tumas "Not for Nobody". There are some suprises for those who have heard Tumas other two albums. The first track "Nobody (river of tin)" for example (and the last track) features vocals which sound like they had been sped up, resulting in that "chipmunk" voice, not to imply that they were actually sped up only that it has that same sound. Suprisingly it works quite well and is actually rather moving. Those of course being draped over that finger picked lilting, creaking, chiming loveliness with some sounds of a car being started up and driving off in the background. And as for other suprises, you might just recognize the melody to the fourth track "Tiktaalik", which is essentially a cover of that song you've probably heard sung around a campfire, that instantly memorable "ol doo da day". My memory fails me as to what the exact name of the song is. The rest of the record follows suit with the same kind of loveliness put forth by the first few tracks. Already one of my favorites of 2008 and i'm sure it'll be the only one to evoke sun dappled evenings of abandoned prairie house wandering!

Also of note, Tuma used to play in the brilliant Souled American, check them out too !

Available through Digitalis Industries.

Njiqahdda - Njimajikal Arts (J)

2008-04-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

Njiqahdda really came out of nowhere this year, and I still can't find out who this guy is. Rumor has it that he's the guy from Light Shall Prevail, the unblack metal band from Illinois, but there is no concrete evidence. All we know is that this elusive character has just been producing music in spades this year, and great music at that.

On this release, Njiqahdda takes the standard atmospheric black metal formula, lets it ferment for a few years, and serves it chilled as the fine wine it is. Not only is this atmospheric black metal, it's also funeral doom, psychedelic noise, dark ambient, and even shoegaze in the last song of the first cd. Njiahdda has obvious influence from bands such as Nachtmystium, Vinterriket, Agalloch, and Shape of Despair, along with ambient projects Maeror Tri, Troum, and even middle-era Ulver.

The first disc is comprised of three lengthy metal songs, ranging from 9 minutes to almost the 30 minute mark. These pieces ebb and flow like the tide and enshroud the listener in lush soundscapes.

The second disc is two very long, minimalist ambient pieces around 22 minutes in length apiece. Normally built of of a small melody (around three notes), that melody remains constant and is then accompanied by drones or field recordings (one sounds like windchimes). Very relaxing and has almost qualuude-like effects.

Amazing release, one of the best of 2007. Keep an eye out for these guys, the releases are very limited and cost a lot of money ($25 USD), but he just keeps cranking them out, so if you miss one, get another!

October Falls - Sarastus (J)

2008-04-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

After months of searching, today I finally got my hands on Sarastus, the lesser-known of the 2 EPs released last year by October Falls's mastermind Mikko Lehto.

Unlike the other release, "The Streams of the End," "Sarastus" is a pure acoustic guitar, flute, and piano release, much like previous releases "Marras" and "Tuoni."

These songs convey similar atmospheres to aforementioned releases, though these songs tend to lean more towards the complex side with many guitar tracks and harmonies galore, unfortunately sacrificing length for complexity, much like Opeth's "My Arms, Your Hearse."

On this release, the guitar tone takes more of a later-Empyrium-like sound, rounded and soft, as opposed to the slightly-sharper acoustic sound of other releases.

A real surprise is track 7, an acoustic rendition of "White Northern Soils," the second track off of the "Streams of the End" EP, one of the more powerful songs off of the 4 song EP.

Overall, this EP is nothing short of wonderful, though I will take off 2 points due to the shortness of this release.

iLiKETRAiNS - Elegies to Lessons Learnt (J)

2008-04-29T21:36:00.000-07:00

iLiKETRAiNS...the name looks pretentious and artsy, right? Well, it is, but these guys sure make some great music. Blending post-rock with classic shoegaze and "slowcore," a genre that includes the likes of Low, Spokane, and Dirty Three. The atmospheres on this cd are unmatched, solid, and mournful. The vocals compliment the atmosphere very nicely, the singer having very Jim Morrison-esque qualities (baritone). One can notice instruments such as violin, cello, and brass instruments adding depth to songs during the steriotypical, albeit powerful, post-rock buildups.

These songs have a very personal feel to them, with layer upon layer of folksy melodies and harmonies with simple percussion
keeping a steady beat. As mentioned earlier, iLiKETRAiNS is associated with the "slowcore" movement, so don't expect any fast or upbeat songs on this release.

I expect good things to come from this band in the future, and they already have a few EPs and LPs under their belts to solidify that claim, though I think that this cd could use a little variance to keep it from being lost in a sea of similar sounding post-rock.
Songs to check out:

We All Fall Down
Death of an Idealist
Spencer Perceval

Havohej - Tungkat Blood Wand EP (A)

2008-04-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

The first offering from Havohej in seven years, clocking in at a mere 16 minutes, proves quality prevails over quantity. Taking elements of drone / noise and combining it with Paul Ledney's (of Profanatica and ex-Incantation fame) already fucked take on black metal proves to work in all the worst ways. Any guitars you hear, if any, are rendered beyond recognition, whether it be speaker crumbling, blackened droning feedback or wierd little looped "melodies". Over these disturbed ambiences are placed tribally simplistic and pounding drums, reminding one of such industrial (I use this term lightly) type bands as Swans or Godflesh albeit more primitive. Even an occasional militaristic snare roll pops up now and then or even that "doo dat dat" carnie beat. And the vocals, demonic roars that could only of come from the deepest bowels of Hell. All these elements come together in such a way as to paint some abstract (trance-induced) vision of the underworld, all (hellishly) droned out in its demonic glory. So if you're looking for something different than the black metal norm, something more on the noisy and droning side, or for you who just love their (black) metal fucked up then this EP is wholeheartedly recommended.

Available through Hell's Headbangers Records on 10" vinyl.

Herbst - I: Prolog (J)

2008-04-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

I came across this band a few weeks ago on M-A and I pretty much searched day in and day out until I finally got my hands on a copy of I: Prolog today. Needless to say, this cd is absolutely wonderful and original.

The cd is pretty much comprised of neo-folk and black metal, leaning more towards neo-folk, hence the genrefication on the main page: "Neo-folk Black Metal." For once, along with the band Dormant, I fully agree with said statement. The first two tracks, Aufbruch & Reise, both rather short, are gentle acoustic guitar driven neo-folk songs with vocals ranging from the almost operatic to even black metal rasps for variation. The third track, Endzeit, then precedes to kick you in the face with blasting, nostalgic, sad black metal. His vocals are almost a howl; very powerful and fucking LOUD, a real plus. The drum programming can be a little tedious at times, it's the same thing throughout the song, but the songwriting and the vocals make up for the lacking in the percussion department.

Der Weg brings us back to neofolk with a new twist, he plays piano! The piano adds on a lot of atmosphere and is almost reminiscent of Tenhi with the jazz-like drumming in the background. Nice and calm; a break from the last track. Almost making the cd a dream with recurring nightmares that are then overcome by the dream yet again.

Am Bachlein is yet again another neofolk song, but more drawn out. There are some dissonant parts in here that build up into an almost, I want to say, epic neofolk song, which is awesome. The other folk songs on this disc should be as drawn out and built up as this one.

The last song, which does not have a title, is a midpaced depressive black metal piece. When I say depressive black metal, I don't mean that monotonous shit like Xasthur and Leviathan, I mean it is just profoundly sad. The longest track on the cd, Untitled has a chance to build into it's full form, which is absolutely wonderful. I won't go too much into detail, because I want people to experience this firsthand and not expect what is going to happen.

Overall, this is a very good cd, though I think it lacks an identity. Yes, it is neofolk, and yes, it is black metal, but there isn't really much of a mix of the two.

Recommended for fans of: Dormant, Dornenreich, Agalloch, Velnias, Bergtagen, Noltem, Ulver, Neun Welten...

Four Burials - Otesanek/Loss/Orthodox/Mournful Congregation (A)

2008-04-29T21:22:00.000-07:00

DOOM ALBUM OF THE YEAR. Ok, so that may be a bit premature but fuck if this won't be a contender. I mean, a pairing of four doom behemoths, all with different takes and tweaks on the genre, how can it not be amazing ? ! Up first, the plodding sludge/drone/funeral doom of Pennsylvania's Otesanek. Admittedly I had not heard these guys before, but was made a fan upon first listen. Think Khanate, Bunker and that sort of ilk, slooooow, sick doom. Riffs ring out and crumble back into themselves only to be ressurected later in the song, agonized gutturals and screams cry out, drums plod to a funeral tempo. The only respite being near the end when the distorted guitars fade out and clean strumming takes their place, only lasting a minute if that before everything lurches back into full on crush mode to finish the song out.

Next is the depressive doom of Loss, coming from the most unlikely of places, Nashville. It starts with an almost industrial march, soon follows a sound clip of a man speaking "When I become death, death is the seed in which I grow". Bass chimes in with a bell toll like slowness, guitar strings creak as they're stretched. A guitar melody seeps in, almost pretty and oh so sorrowful, kind of old Katatonia-esque. The prettiness transforms into more chugging doom riffage, still plenty sorrowful of course. The song (death)marches on, as heavy as it is pretty, loooow vocals gurgling beneath. Don't be suprised if a tear wells up in your eye as you continue your stuck-in-molasses headbanging. It ends with that same sound clip previously stated, perfectly complimenting the music. I must say this track is worth getting the album alone, amazing, I do hope they come out with another full length soon ...

Onto Orthodox's track which is, anything but orthodox (I had to). I'm not really sure I would label this as doom actually, more like stretched out improvisational, ethnically tinged experimental rock. Something along those lines, whatever it is, it rules. Drums and bass move to "the doom pace", guitars strumming clean jazzy melodies. Vocals wail overhead, having an effect on them which makes 'em have that sound like when you put your hand over your mouth and move it extremely fast away and back again whilst talking. Yeah. They also get the most loud and emotionally intense out of all the instruments. The piece is accompanied by what I believe is a cello for it's last minute (out of 18!).

Lastly comes in the legendary Mournful Congregation to present a perfect slab of majestic funeral doom ! Like walking through some huge, old European cathedral, mouth agape in awe at the beauty that surrounds you, sun rays occasionally making thir way through the windows, causing everything to glow with a golden radiance. Meanwhile, the majestic doom of Mournful Congregation echoes cavernously off the walls, filling your ears to the brim with its power. Near the middle of the song choir like vocals come in, giving the music an ethereal, almost angelic like quality. And thusly the album marches on, all the way to glorious death!

So if you can't tell already, this is ESSENTIAL for all those eternally doomed ! Let's see if the forthcoming Esoteric 2-disc holds up to this ...

Available through Battle Kommand Records.

Caina - Mourner (V)

2008-04-29T21:21:00.001-07:00

Mourner is a really excellent journey through varied sounds and places. Waves Engulf a Pier starts the album off like an intellectual decompression chamber - extended dissonance and blasts of noise slowly build and relax after some analog glitches into soft piano that would fit beautifully into one of Eno's ambient records. Hideous Gnosis pulls the listener down into Caina's aching, immersive post-black metal strains, mixing soft vocals, layered keys, acoustic guitar and drums that, hit heavier, would fit into a heavy doom riff. And soon they do - Andy hasn't entirely abandoned metal sounds with this release, despite the fact that the whole album is much more strongly rooted in other approaches, distortion and growls build into an undeniable climax. A noisy fade leads straight into the oddly lighter chords of The Sleep of Reason, which remains one of the more metal-textured tracks thus far on the album, but least metal in spirit. The Sleep of Reason is an excellent lullaby - in a good way.

Constantine the Blind evokes a new start of folk music, with acoustic guitars and jaw harp blending under lyrics full of references to ancient history and religion, and interesting plays on words. A very meditative tone. As the guitars slowly drop out, Andy transitions into I Reeled In Heaven, which shows a texture completely new to this album and fairly rare in contemporary music. The track begins with multivoice wordless harmony that slowly moves into dark, noisy ambience of layered guitars - something that calls back to the more introspective side of black metal. The rest of the track displays Andy's talents and versatility in the instrumental department, covering soft, clean bits and doom alike.

Morgawr is one of my favorite tracks on the album, with a folky feel executed with more complex chords and passionate vocals. The whole atmosphere transports the listener somehow to the darkness of ancient English shores and a struggle for life amidst dark magic and opposing forces. I'm inclined to believe that the title is a reference to the Cornish seabeast rather than Shannara, but it retains an excellent fantastic spirit in an incredibly personal way. Requiem for Shattered Timber is almost an epic ending to Morgawr that ventures incredibly far away musically, but reaches straight to the heart all the same. Permaneo Carmen is an excellent, more calmly thoughtful piece that again emphasizes Caina's range of textures and strong compositional talent. Wormwood Over Albion is definitely rising out of the darkness of Mourner with a more peaceful and simply beautiful track. And you'll have to listen to the hidden track for yourself . . .

Most albums have a standout track, or perhaps a couple, that I could recommend as a sample to get the feel of the artist's work. Caina's Mourner consists almost entirely of standout tracks, and they're truly outstanding. I highly recommend actually buying a copy of this record. It's unquestionably worth it.

Berlin Philharmonic - Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht and Pelleas und Melisande (V)

2008-04-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

This release is a combination of two of Schoenberg's works that, despite a commonality in the relatively large-scale orchestration and late-romantic aesthetic, show several marked differences in approach and overall sound.

The "symphonic poem" Verklärte Nacht is often hailed as one of Schoenberg's greater works. The piece, though, lovely as the motifs and development may be, forcefully reminds me of Rimsky-Korsakov's warnings against overuse of a single timbre. In this case, Schoenberg seems to have realised the entire epic late-romantic composition in strings alone. Nevertheless, the word "epic" remains relevant. Verklärte Nacht is an excellent piece, and is quite satisfying listening if your fingers don't itch to reorchestrate it.

Pelleas und Melisande is a touch less directly thematic, but employs a much wider pallette of timbres. Given time, it, too, swells into epic themes with a wide variety of orchestration and spirit. Verklärte Nacht is overall darker, but Pelleas und Melisande still delivers, especially with the addition of brass, woodwinds, and percussion. Schoenberg slides seamlessly to victorious joy to epic evil and back to lighter thoughts in his development here.

This CD release is really a good sampler of Schoenberg's symphonic works. Although I'd not recommend it as a "my first Schoenberg CD," I would recommend it as an addition to any late-romantic collection. One of my preferred records.

Animus - Poems for the Aching, Swords for the Infuriated (V)

2008-04-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

Animus is one of those rare black metal projects that makes effective artistic use of the genre's overused raw, low fidelity production. The project appears to be one of the ubiquitous "black metal solo projects" featuring a lone black metal fan recreating, or occasionally actually adding to, the self-focused works of forebears through black metal's couple-decade history. Animus here has a distinctive sound, at least in my experience, putting compositions that sometimes might otherwise fit into a bright, cheery song ("Three" in particular sounds almost like a soft ballad recreated as raw and black expression) into a sound that creates a sort of harsh self-criticism in raw tone and clacking, frequently absent programmed drums. The harsh vocal performance is produced in a way that almost blends into the wash of guitars in the overall sound while remaining distinct and hateful.

Animus is definitely an experience that makes time seem to slide past while the music stands still. I don't recommend this release for driving unless you WANT to miss important turnoffs in a distracted haze. Though the numbered tracks never seem to reach deep inside the listener or even bathe the listener in a surrounding atmosphere, despite the ambient tone and approach, the experience of listening is akin to staring halfway into your own soul and seeing an expanse of nothingness and alienation. The gently developed one-riff pieces never seem to end or begin as much as they seem to be glimpses into something that exists statically somewhere far off.

There is certainly something unsatisfying and unsettling in Poems for the Aching, Swords for the Infuriated. Not necessarily recommended as an introduction to black metal. Also not recommended for regular listening - the alienated, distant feel is distracting and almost paralysing at times. I suggest this album more as a demonstration of a completely different and strangely original approach to raw black metal than as a constant friend or an epic example of artistry.

Abandon - In Reality We Suffer (V)

2008-04-29T21:07:00.000-07:00

The slow, draining atmosphere of Abandon's album is
With this release, Swedish sludge group Abandon lays down a morose and strangely sparse epic of, as the title suggests, suffering. Downtuned, abrasive bass, drums in their death throes, a violent discord of guitar, and harsh hateful vocals combine to forge really tastefully uncomfortable poundings in a sort of primal release of loathing.

Abandon's sound is definitely distinct, with a strong root in unusually balanced production, and distinctive guitar and bass tone that screams something about physical injury. In Reality We Suffer has no qualms about showing exactly the emotional parasites that are chewing on the Swede's minds. It's powerful, crushing, and hateful. Unlike some bands, that let out tension and anger in a blast of rage, Abandon's slow pounding actually engulfs the listener in a sense of loathing for self and for the rest of the world. It's really hard to write a review while listening, as it creates an atmosphere of failure and pointlessness.

If this sounds like good stuff to you, it probably is. Well done.