#19

Binan Ath – Worship To Satan c60

A demo from a Russian one-man black metal project that doesn't sound like it was recorded in a cave with a broken walkman? Shocking. Enjoyable enough stuff here; with a little more synth action than you'd expect, but not in a bad way. I can only hope Satan has been placated with Binan Ath's offering of corpsepaint and songs containing “goat” in the title.

Metal Throne Productions


Get Rad – Choose Your Own Adventure 7'

I'm not to big into hardcore, but I'm digging Get Rad. They manage to cover that essential trifecta for this type of music; keeping it short, fast, and full of nostalgia for the pop culture of the late 80's & early 90's. Get ready for that circle pit. Oh, and yes there is a sweet choose your own adventure included with the ep.

The Perpetual Motion Machine


Hookers – Kentucky Suicide c30

Fuck yea! This is some nonstop, thrashed out, horror filled rock and roll. Loud, gritty, and mean as a snake, Kentucky Suicide is the sound track to you and the Wolfman splitting a bottle of rye & driving around in a bitchin '73 Camero, looking for trouble. So, get it already.

Husk Records


Lobotomized/Bonesaw -Split 7”

Uhhh, so each of these bands recorded a song for this ep about how much they like to hang out with eachother... First up is Norway's Lobotomized, who start off with a punk infused death metal track about the good times had while touring Scotland with Bonesaw. *yawn* This is followed with an Abscess cover that actually sounds alright. On the other side is Scotland's Bonesaw with an old school sounding death metal track about, you guessed it, hanging out in Norway with Lobotomized. These bands seem to love one another so much, you'd think they'd just get a civil union already.

At War With False Noise


Pine Smoke Lodge – Season Above Lakes c33

Taken from a live performance last year, Season Above Lakes begins with a claustrophobic piece composed of bells, pipes, and a howling synthesizer. It's a louder and more chaotic sound than what I associate with Pine Smoke Lodge. On the flip side is a more ethereal track of a droning synth accompanied by vocalizations, an oriental flute, and various percussive instruments. Season Above Lakes is an enjoyable enough listen, but a little rough around the edges.

//cae-sur-a//



Sepulchral Moon – Khazad-Dum cd-r

And what do we have here? Things start off with a nonrhythmic percussion piece played on what sounds like a diy kick drum, a pie tin, and a single bar of a xylophone. This followed by several tracks of nearly inaudible natural soundscapes composed of wind and rain. A not-so-spooky synth piece also pops up along the way. As if this wasn't enough, most of these tracks contain chunks of dead air. Basically, Khazad-Dum breaks down like this:
Ppffft.

Smell The Stench

#18

Aieyiyiyi – Manners c24

Ok, you know this is going to be rad based solely on the band's name and the fact that it's half of Pine Smoke Lodge. But, honestly, there is no way you can even begin to fathom how spectacular Manners sounds. Absolutely haunting drone with an otherworldly dreaminess. The standout piece is Apantomancy, which utilizes rhythmic guitars and ghostly female vocal to induce the deepest of trances. A must have.

905 Tapes


Beachfront Exercise/In A Built In Band – Split c45

First up is Beachfront Exercise, who put down some laid back, experimental soundscape type stuff. It's decent enough, but doesn't really manage to stand out from the crowd. This appears to be the group's first recording, so hopefully with time they'll develop their own sound. On the flip is In A Built In Band with 22 minutes of cut up sampled sounds, loops, and static. Meh. A rather underwhelming release.

Darbolistic Rex


Heidrain – Lonely Soul cd-r

I still cant decide if I dig this or fucking hate it. Heidrain falls into one of those micro genres that's popping up everywhere these days; in this specific case it's “black drone metal”, or some other juxtaposition of those three words. Basically, it's slow black metal. Reeeeaaaalllly slow. It's kind of like, in theory should I like this, but in actually, iunno.

Smell The Stench


the end of the ocean – pacific·atlantic cd

the end of the ocean have released a monumental slab of instrumental post-rock; there's nothing I can say that's going to do pacific·atlantic justice. It's one of those experiences that just leaves you wowed. I had the pleasure of seeing these guys live and it was even more intense. Why haven't you tracked down a copy yet?

Future Recordings


Urnarium – Visions of Hatred cd-r

Oh fuck yes; gloomy, suicidal black metal out of Hungary. Utterly depressing and doom filled. Need I say more?

Smell The Stench