#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

#17

Baalberith – Abortion of Religious Futility cd-r

Playing a more technical style of black metal than their contemporaries, along with incorporating a thrash undertone, Baalberith produces some truly kult music. Instead of following a straight ahead, by-the-numbers, sound formula on Abortion of Religious Futility, each song's style is slightly different from the others, the proportion of technicality or trashicality in relation to what each track requires. This can be a risky move and totally wreck an album by not giving it a sense of cohesiveness, but that's not an issue here. Recommended.

Dark Meadow Recordings


Cornucopia – Quasar c21

Rumbling soundscapes that manage to be loud with out being harsh, Quasar takes you for a ride on waves of pure audio goodness. Sit back and relax my friend, let Cornucopia do the work. Yea...

905 Tapes


Ghoul Detail – Medicated cd-r

This is some exceedingly sinister drone right here. Ghoul Detail uses the sound of industrial machinery to create rhythmic percussion which is mixed with densely structured loops, crating a baleful, ominous atmosphere. My only point of contention was the track Septic Specter, which employed some electronic drums that sounded more fit for a drum and bass song. This complaint aside, Medicated is just what the doctor has prescribed if you've grown weary of spacey, synthed out drone and ambient.

Dark Meadow Recordings


Happy Jawbone Family Band – The Return of Hotel Double Tragedy c44

Garage pop with heavy dose of americana and blue grass, The Return of Hotel Double Tragedy is a goofy album, but in a good way. I suspect a lot of people wont even bother to give this a chance because it's outside their usual musical stomping ground, but it's some impressive lo-fi pop music. Take a chance.

Spooky Town

#16

Aisle – Chakra Pricks 3" cr-r

Things start off with a track that mixes looped Indian chanting, fuzzed out 808 beats, and some electronic organs. Hmmm...ok. This is followed by a distorted, rhythmic piece that would be somewhat hypnotic, if not for the massive amounts of jangly static. After listening to this ep, you just can't help but wonder what was the point of recording it.

Felt Cat


Demetrius Grave – Empty Rooms cd-r

For those of you worried that the genre of black metal is becoming stagnant, there is Demetrius Grave: a lo-fi black metal, industrial, techno, classical clusterfuck. The individual bits and pieces actually kind of sound alright, but when mashed together, this shit is a train wreck. You try and listen to an hour of this and not get a massive headache.

Smell The Stench


Great Society Mind Destroyers – Spirit Smoke c55

This is pretty much the soundtrack to you dropping a ton of blotters and having the sweetest trip ever. Great Society Mind Destroyers is pumping out some epically heavy psychedelic music and there's no excuse for you not to have this. It's wahwah peddles and fuzz everywhere. Recommended.

Sloow Tapes


Harold Biffen – The Wormhole and the Hymn cd

Initially, I wasn't terribly impressed by The Wormhole and the Hymn, but with each listening I've come to appreciate this album more and more. For collection of guitar tracks that are lacking any sort of effects or manipulation, the depth and complexity of what's here is amazing. This isn't the type of music you can have as background music, it demands your full attention. While not the sort of thing that's going to appeal to everyone out there, those of you who dig instrumental compositions and guitars should snag a copy.

Tape Drift Records


Pink Venom – Waste of the World cd

I'm really on the fence about the whole “harsh drone” thing, as most bands just sound like your average hnw band played at a quarter speed, but Pink Venom does it right. Distorted & unsettling guitar driven pieces that leave you feeling just a little on edge; this isn't the sort of thing that will let you space out to. If you like your drone crunchier, Waste of the World is for you.

Dark Meadow Recordings


Proxenus & Glowingpixie – Elapidae cd

A collaboration of sorts; Glowingpixie has taken a track from Proxenus and 'reinterpreted' it. I was initially skeptical about this concept, but my suspicions proved to be unfounded. A single track of dense, evolving, ambient drone, this is some impressive stuff. I especially enjoyed the infusion of rain and various other organic sounds into the track. Definitely worth checking out and has me interested in both groups solo stuff.

Dark Meadow Recordings

#15

Endless Time – Force c62

There's some solid psychedelic drone being pumped out here, but the lo-fi recording is just killing me. You just start to get into a piece and then some tape hiss or synth feedback flares up and wrecks it. I get that Endless Time wanted to add a bit of fuzz, make it gritty, but it's just not doing it for me.

905 Tapes


Forest Funeral – Demo cd-r

This is what I think of when I hear people say 'dark ambient'. Creating a depressive ambiance, Forest Funeral drags you down into utter bleakness. My only, minor complaint with this is the last track, included as a bonus, doesn't quite mesh with the mood set by the earlier pieces. I'm definitely going to be checking out more of Forest Funeral's work.

Smell The Stench


Orphan – Gone Tomorrow cd-r

Orphan's sound has evolved noticeably since I Don't Have A Home. Aside from the increased presence of vocals and percussion, Orphan has drifted away from drone and toward ambient and dreamy pop, with some tracks having a rough, industrial edge. That description really doesn't give the the music on Gone Tomorrow justice, so how about this; it's damn good and you should hunt down a copy.

Self released


Sathanas Urine – We're Nothin' More Than Sathanas Urine cd-r

Honestly, I don't know what the fuck to make of this. Total lo-fi, harsh, black metal chaos with this weird rock n' roll undertone; it's all over the place. Oh, and each song is around 10 minutes or more. Maybe the closest comparison I can think up is Vondur? Happy Flowers playing black metal? Who the fuck knows.

Smell the Stench


Yana/Make Believe Bombs – Split c20

Up first is Yana with some top notch audio collage work. Found sounds get blended with some synth howling to create an nicely layered work. On the flip MBB starts out with a lone horn improving, then some low key electronics join in and things get dreamy real fast. Somewhere along the line that horn fades away and things become very minimalist; just a hint of that synth accompanied by a foreboding scraping sound. Why u no have this?

Felt Cat Records

#14

Battleship – Neon Ranch c20

Battleship serves up a tasty little selection of rhythmic, trance inducing experimental stuff here. As you're loading that awesome wizard-shaped bong, make sure you've got Neon Ranch ready in the cassette deck. Sweet.

905 Tapes


Heart Heart Julia/ T rust – Split c21

You remember how at the end of Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, they traveled into the future to learn to play their instruments and then their future, skilled selves return to rock out? Well, not even that sort of temporal paradox could help out Heart Heart Julia. It's a whole mess of improve racket that's just taking a shit on you for having listened to it. On the flip is T rust, who play some minimalist, lo-fi psychedelic music. Rad jams, too bad they share this tape with musical fail.

Felt Cat Records


Nebula VII – Through Emptiness cd-r

An ep of harsh drone constructed from digital reverb, Through Emptiness starts out somewhat interesting, but quickly becomes stale and repetitive. This isn't “minimalist” or “a-tonal”, it's just 16 minutes of rumbling noise. Over and over and over again...

Smell the Stench


Northern Forest – Winter North cd-r

Things start off sounding like new age music for Satanists. For twenty minutes, Northern Forest goes overboard with cheesy music sequencers and synths. Really? I was dreading the release's other track, but was pleasantly surprised by a piece that blended low key synth with nature recordings. Kinda missed the 'black ambient' mark, but the last track shows potential.

Smell the Stench


Smoke – Haze c47

So, here's the thing: when you look at Haze in the light of it being an entirely improvised album of black metal, it's kinda impressive. But, when approached as just a black metal album, it leaves something to be desired. The screams, blast beats, and harsh guitars lack cohesiveness...because it was all just improvised, duh. I found the lack of structure and lo-fi recording technique on Haze to be a deal breaker, but if you like your black metal raw and chaotic, definitely check it out.

Hair On My Food Tapes

#13

Ben Billington – Brave Grave#3: Drums c92

One man, a set of drums, and 90 minutes of tape. I'll be honest, I'm not a percussion aficionado, so this is a little outside my comfort zone. That said, I enjoyed what this had to offer. It's pretty damn intense, but also manages to incorporate some laid back, atmospheric elements. This isn't the thing for everyone, but if you're into drums or want something different, snag a copy.

905 Tapes


Garrincha & The Stolen Elk – Black Sambo/White Mamba c21

Oh, you gotta dig this; rhythmic drone with wild strings and horns. Really rad, but I want more than just 20 minutes. Recommended.

905 Tapes



i AM esper – The Slumber of the Grayscale Moths/Over the Atlantic c90

A collection of two i AM esper albums and some bonus material, side A starts off with the monsterous ambient dirge that is The Slumber of the Grayscale Moths. The side is rounded out with the bonus track “Listen and Glisten”, which is similar to Slumber, but noticably more upbeat sounding. On the flip is Over the Atlantic, which alternated between tracks of feedback oriented drone and spacey guitar loops. Niiiice.

Frozen Tendril Records


Lace Bows – Morte Do Artista c82

Morte Do Artista is the perfect soundtrack to drifting off into space. But, if you want to appreciate what Lace Bows is doing here, you have to really listen and not let the album become pleasant background noise. Over an hour of minimalistic synth, the sound ebbs and flows and one begins to feel this isn't a linear piece, but cylindrical. If you like them low key, this is for you.

Bum Tapes


Majutsu no Niwa – Ecstatic Crystallization c60

Lurking somewhere between noise, drone, and psych rock is the feedback drenched realm of Ecstatic Crystallization. Driven by a reverb-soaked guitar, I found it a little to abrasive and chaotic to really get into. Not a bad release, just not particularly my deal.

Sloow Tapes



Pürple Zhrö – Sorgho N'sryo cd

This seems to be little more than a collection of sounds and noises arranged arbitrarily to form a handful of “songs”. Sporadically throughout the album there are brief moments that resemble something like music, and it's actually enjoyable, but these are few and far between. There's obviously some talent behind this racket, too bad it's being wasted. Who knows; maybe I just don't get it.

Sturmundrugs Records