Buried- "The Only Promise" (Loaded Sound Records)

Today we're taking a trip through some territory that could be considered unsettling by many, with the debut release from Loaded Sound Records, Buried's horrifying black drone offering entitled "The Only Promise." This double-sided cassette features the same three songs on each side, each an untitled piece of that contribute's to the album's greater focus on the theme of imminent death and how each human being chooses how to deal or not deal with this unifying experience.

With knowledge of the album's theme in mind, it's hard not to notice how each sonic aspect of the album rotates back towards our dwindling time on this planet. The guitars stretch out in ever-expanding riffs that rumble onward while the first number of minutes of this album almost entirely lack percussion save for a single hi-hat strike that serves as the ticking of our collective clock. Vocals are sparse and hidden deep within the mix, but they're downright painful to hear and the lyrics are blunt and hopeless. Anything more flowery or complicated would dilute the intensity and simplicity of the message: everything you will ever do will eventually be rendered irrelevant, as we're all going to cease to be at some point in the relatively near future. The album itself even serves as both the fight against and the surrender to death, which I find is rather unique and makes this album just as much of a rite of passage as it is a meditation on this generally uncomfortable topic. While things speed up a bit at the end, it only feels like the last attempts to evade an already sealed fate. I can't say I feel any easier about my own demise after listening to this album, but I do feel that this album is a safe place to visit when I need to feel a connection to music that addresses such a concern. If you like your doom to be agonizingly slow and blackened to the point of absorbing all light, you need to give this tape a listen.

Copies are available from the band's merch store as well as the  Loaded Sound shop, where they've also got a sweet Buried shirt design, nifty cassette-worshiping beanies, and an even niftier Satan-worshiping tote bag. This may be the first Loaded Sound release, but I already know I can expect quality to come from this label in the future. Keep an eye on their website for more updates.

Dunnock- "A Forest of Shattered Promise" CS (Acephale Winter Productions)

A couple months ago I received an email from a new record label named Acephale Winter Productions. I've started receiving more emails from labels and bands and have been a lot pickier than I used to be, but these guys instantly had my attention when I learned they were from my beloved bay area of California. I was especially pleased when I realized that their first release, a tape from new black metal artist Dunnock, was actually quite good. As I often do when a band strikes my fancy, I ordered a physical copy so that I could really get the full experience, and it's quite pleasing to say the least.

The album opens with the sound of pouring rain. It's appropriate transitional music for entering such a reflective and isolated space. The light piano and shimmering sounds that lead into the album are slightly misleading, but provide a helpful moment of comfort as the second track approaches with a cold, remorseless assault. There is a huge sense of detachment here, as cleaner backing passages complement the denser and more blackened foreground in what feels like a struggle of duality. Many bands attempt to switch between harsh and beautiful sections, yet few successfully combine the two into a properly integrated sound. I really appreciate the rawness and filthiness of the guitar and vocals as it blends with lighter ambient tones. The clear textural nods to the denser side of shoegaze are apparent, but the music never falls into the stagnant sea of "blackgaze" territory. Eerie samples fill the few quiet moments with an even greater sense of dread, leading the music's thickness to become some sort of furious buzzing barrier that protects the listener from the real dangers that await in the silence, as documented in the chilling "She Was Cold." Overall, this album fits into one of my favorite little pockets of black metal, where the music is equally soothing and unsettling at the same time. Depending on my personal state of mind when listening to this, I find the experience can change vastly, which is an enjoyable characteristic for me. While I singled out one particular song as a recommendation, this album is best listened to as one complete journey for the full experience.

This album can be purchased through the Acephale Winter bandcamp page, which is where I found the lovely images I've used for this review. I do own a copy, but their photography trumps mine easily. If you're not sure you're ready for a full-on purchase just yet, feel free to download it and mull it over for a while. I promise this one will grow on you once you give it proper focus and attention. Additionally, the label plans on releasing a cassette from Tolkien-inspired dark ambient project Ringbearer within the next week, so keep an eye out as things continue to develop.

In Human Form- "Earthen Urn" (Self-Released)

Released on January 10th of this year, In Human Form's "Earthen Urn" is probably the first truly great album of this year. This release and group were recommended to me from a musician friend whose taste I respect and trust greatly, and with the obvious nod to Death in their name I had to give them a listen. I was quite pleased. In Human Form (hereafter referred to as IHF) craft a progressive, urgent, and well-put together blend of aggressive black metal with songs that often pass the ten minute mark yet never feel like they've overstayed their welcome. While some of my readership may not often have the desire to hear more intricate approaches to black metal, this group maintains a lo-fi and pure aesthetic while allowing their music to spiral out of control.

The album opens with the pace-setting "Cognitive Reconnaissance" which runs the gamut from epic black metal to (appropriately enough) Schuldiner-worshiping solos to punk-inspired minimalism all within one track. I've always been a fan of albums that take me for a journey, so it's great to see that IHF manage to do that successfully within each of the six songs on this album. Another thing that really makes IHF stand out to me is their thorough and planned approach to writing lyrics. It's a small thing to many, but as someone who has sung in bands myself, I feel it's crucial to try to make the lyrical direction unique and special. There are a few places on this album where I feel like strings creep into the music, although the only band member description listed that might cover it is "samples," so I'm curious to learn the nature of these sounds, as I feel they lend themselves quite nicely to the bleak melodies they accompany. A personal favorite moment of mine on this album (if for no reason other than how intriguing and strange it is) is the instrumental dark ambient passage "Prisms of Now." As IHF are hardly a noise-based act, I'm curious to know more about this song and how its influences may creep into the background of the other songs. On an album where aggressive riffing with piercing howls is just as commonplace and natural as a soothing saxophone interlude, it's really hard to label or define IHF, and that is the band's greatest strength. Everything feels natural, yet nothing is predictable. If only most bands this ambitious could pull it off so well.

Copies of this ferocious and involved album are apparently available for purchase from the band through email/their facebook (link above) or you can purchase a download from their bandcamp page. While this one isn't available for free, it's definitely worth the price of admission. Whether you're a music geek looking for technically sound music or just a fan of diverse and bizarre black metal, you'll be quite pleased with this album.

Host: A Brief Profile

Now that my college semester is over, I have the time to focus on things that help me relax. Luckily for all of us, listening to new music and sharing it with the masses is pretty much my favorite thing to do. To get things started in a proper fashion, here's a brief profile of ritual noise artist, Host along with a download link or two for your enjoyment and enrichment. This artist directly contacted me a few months ago and my scatterbrained nature during my semester prevented me from giving a proper review, although I'd enjoyed the album he initially sent. Apparently my constant delays due to school and personal life worked out nicely for my readers, as he's since released an experimental track of sorts and has another album coming out in the very near future.

Host's first release with which I am acquainted, "Implant," is a journey of some sort, perhaps into and through the singularity. The futuristic beauty and horror that play with each other sound like the perfect soundtrack for a sci-fi film of technological advances gone wrong. Disconcerting drones buzz alongside chirping, somewhat tonal electronic textures with minimal to no percussion yet the music definitely does have its own structure. I'm always into a bit of melody or tonality making its way into noise and ambient structures, and Host does a great job of integrating accessible sounds into noisy soundscapes, creating a fantastic atmosphere. This album had my full attention and appreciation within the first minute, and I imagine it'll do the same for most of my readers who have appreciated my noise-related posts in the past. If you're still hesitant to hop on the noise/electronic train, this might actually be a pretty good starting point due to the genre-straddling nature of this release. Grab this one as a free download from Host's bandcamp page to start your journey into one of our many possible futures.

Following the crumbling beauty of "Implant" is Host's current experiment, "Evolution." This song is going to be hard to explain, as everybody has their own wholly unique experience. "Evolution" uses samples from Host's upcoming release, "Null Pointer," and combines them with random number generation, live financial, meteorological, and social data in order to manipulate the sound and alter the experience for every listener. I will admit to only perusing this potentially endless experiment once so far, although I do plan on visiting with it again. My personal experience is that of an endless series of pistons, churning ever onward with mechanical precision. It's dark, relentless, and I love it. Experience it for yourself and be sure to bookmark the page for your own future excursions. This might be the future of music, so don't be surprised if other artists start doing things like this soon.

After immersing myself in "Evolution" for about ten minutes, I feel prepared to present and review Host's impending release, "Null Pointer." Following the apparent trend of growing in size, intensity, and scope, this album's three tracks each pass the ten-minute mark and shed much of the electronic tonality in favor of cavernous low-frequency drones. Even the tiniest of sounds echoes into a seemingly infinite void. True to the album's title, it seems that everything converges somewhere immeasurably distant, with everything fading into a dull hum that never fully reaches a resolution. The mechanical churning I described in "Evolution" surfaces here as intermittent static, swelling to fill empty space left as each previous noise falls farther from audible levels. This album is more experiential than musical, which is not to say that it can't be listened to for the sake of listening, but the massive amount of detail and texture here make this ideal material for a session with headphones in a darkened room. As the last crackle of static fades into oblivion, we are left with nothing but ever-lengthening echoes for the final minute or two, giving a rare moment of peaceful closure that leads to a contemplative silence that I find most appropriate after such an experience.

It should go without saying that Host is an artist to watch in months to come, as this project has already released a handful of solid releases and seems prepared to continue putting out new noise at a considerable pace. "Null Pointer" will be released on the 27th of May, which gives us just under three weeks to prepare. As the music continues to change form and approach with each release, I can only imagine that whatever comes next will be equally engaging and rewarding to dedicated noise fans and casual listeners of drone alike.

Lustre- "Night Spirit" LP (Fallen Empire/Eisenwald)

Fans of atmospheric and ambient black metal probably don't need any introduction to this band or album, but since not all of my readers fall into that category, welcome to a review of Lustre's landmark album, "Night Spirit," which is finally seeing release on vinyl thanks to Fallen Empire and Eisenwald. For the uninitiated, Lustre is a one-man atmospheric black metal project from Sweden. His songs transcend the dreary and often forgettable meandering that tends to typify the ambient reaches of black metal by reaching levels of beauty and serenity not often provided by the genre as a whole.

"Night Spirit" is composed of two tracks that are unified, not quite as one seamless song, but in sound and direction they lead the listener on an unmistakable journey. In many ways, this song is hard to describe with words. Every time I listen to this album (which is usually multiple times a week) I feel like I go on a sort of journey into myself. The density of the guitars and keys paired with the stripped percussion and sparse vocals drives me into a very calm and familiar place. This album feels, more than anything else, safe and timeless. There are a couple percussive key lines that I'm sure some people might poke at as a bit cheesy, but I truly feel it's as effective as any melodic lead I've heard on any other instrument. Each of these tracks crosses the twenty-minute mark and each is equally hypnotic in its effect. The album flows from a low to a peak and back down again. This triangular journey works very nicely, as things get coldest and most intense towards the end of the first song but work their way into an incredibly secure and warm sensation by the end of the second. Much like the album's name, it's something of a musical quest from nightfall to dawn, and it's just as beautiful as watching the shifting of the skies. I really can't recommend this album highly enough; it's easily one of my favorite records of 2013 so far.

Snag a copy of this while you're still able. I'm still surprised this didn't sell out immediately upon its release, so you should feel fortunate if you haven't already grabbed it. Obtain this beauty and find your own source of inner calm at maximum volume.

Inter Arma- "Destroyer" CD (Gilead Media)

Inter Arma have been one of those bands that existed on my periphery for a year or two without actually making their way to my ears. Call it bad luck or perhaps just having too many great options at my disposal to ever really catch up on every band I'd like to hear, but I just never got around to listening to Inter Arma until just recently. I'm instantly regretting having overlooked these guys last year, because it looks like they'll be making their way into my regular vocabulary with this release.

It's really hard to give a name to the kind of metal Inter Arma plays aside from just victorious and sprawling. The vocalist alternates between being a phlegmy Lindberg-like maniac with a perfect rasp and a bellow that sounds like some ancient warrior calling across a battlefield. "Destroyer" seems to work as both title and description of their musical approach, with the aggressive moments seeming victorious and valiant while psychedelic and spiraling guitars seem to slowly bore into one's skull during mellower moments. The instruments play in and through each other in ways that call to mind some of Mastodon's earlier and more intense albums and there is a constant sense of forward movement as Inter Arma slays everything that gets in its way. I'm not often into music that's this streamlined and well-polished for some reason, but there's such sincerity to this music that I can absolutely get behind this. At times I can't stop nodding my head, even though the opening track is nearly ten minutes long. This is one of the few bands I've featured here that could give some heavyweights a run for their money. This isn't just something that should appeal to the underground--the headlining acts of the metal world should be eyeballing these guys as potential tour mates. Inter Arma has the appeal and the talent, it's just time for somebody to take notice.

With a recent signing to Relapse Records, it seems that this band is on their way to bigger things, so it's only logical to revisit some of this band's earlier works before they become huge. Aside from getting bragging rights for knowing them first, you'll also be treated to an incredible EP that's well worth the cost. Grab it from Gilead Media and hope that you're still in the first 500 orders so that you can get a sweet patch and button.

Eternal Eclipse- "Compilation" CS & Ninjas for Hire/Earthenwomb "Split II" CS (Glossolalia Records)

Today we're examining two separate releases from a small private label that focuses exclusively on local artists from the Willamette Valley region of Oregon. While exclusivity can be a harmful and isolating thing, it can also create a tight bubble in which artists are sheltered from outside influences. In this respect, it's always interesting to look at small musical communities, especially from the standpoint of an outsider. While I can't say I've pinned down an exact sound for this label and its bands yet, it's clear that this group of relatively young musicians is keeping very busy within the greater genres of black metal and noise.

Glossolalia Records' 29th release, Eternal Eclipse's compilation cassette, is a collection of lo-fi black metal misery that is primarily spawned from the mind of just one individual, although there is a rehearsal track at the end with a full live lineup. These songs plod along at a medium pace with shrill vocals that tend to stay low in the mix, but occasionally break through to emphasize particularly intense moments. As with many bands like this, there are some scattered moments of "imperfection," but I feel that these moments really bring out the human nature in the music rather than detracting from it. This isn't technically-focused music to begin with, so as long as the mood is consistent, (which it is), I'm pretty happy. I also am pretty curious if this band's name is inspired by the Edge of Sanity tune of the same name, because that would be pretty awesome, even if the two aren't stylistically similar in any way. If you like your black metal slow and melodic with the occasional shift in tempo, give this tape a shot. It's over an hour of atmosphere and density for only five bucks. You can't go wrong.

Following up the bleak beauty of Eternal Eclipse is the harsh and chaotic split between Ninjas for Hire and Earthenwomb. While I already had a cursory familiarity with Earthenwomb, I had never heard of Ninjas for Hire before obtaining this cassette. I'm not one to rag on a band for their name, but I'm quite grateful that Ninjas for Hire aren't a rap metal or pop-punk group, because their name initially gave me the impression that I might be in for some rather unpleasant listening of the variety that I tend to avoid. Instead, both artists give the specific brand of unpleasant that I relish: harsh black metal with obvious influences from noise artists. Ninjas for Hire blows through their side of the split with a blown out and choppy offering of black metal with punk and thrash influences that reminds me of Bone Awl or Crebain at times. Sometimes the choppiness of the recording can be a bit distracting, but it's all part of the package with music like this and it still works pretty well. Earthenwomb's contribution to this split manages to be even denser, with drums that feel like focused waves of noise instead of actual percussion and vocals that cut right across the music. It's aggressive and hideous, and after the initial shock of the intensity has set in, it's pretty awesome. The space between sounds here becomes the "beat" around which the music occurs, encouraging a more focused listening experience. If you want background music, you'll have a hard time here, but if you pay attention, you'll find some solid and murky black metal.

These bands and this label are all pretty busy, so keep an eye on all the pages I've linked to throughout this review. This label has new stuff coming out pretty regularly, and almost everything they release is up for free on their bandcamp page, so it's completely risk-free.

Eitarnora- "Tall Grasses and Black Ash" CD (Lakedeer Recordings)

Eitarnora are a drone-heavy folk duo who seem to exist in a beautiful little bubble, separate from the rest of the musical world. These two musicians seem to find peace and solace in gentle, natural forms and use their music to create a blissful space in which they can reflect. In this beautiful little realm, Eitarnora creates a landscape of mid-afternoon clouds and rolling hills with grass playing in the wind, beautiful yet isolated, which seems to be the way Eitarnora prefers to exist. While the twosome utilize a broad variety of instruments and even a couple guest appearances over the course of these five songs, there remains a very stripped down nature to this glistening hybrid of drone and Americana. All the spaces are filled in by gentle tones, yet none of it is overpowering or invasive, and it works wonderfully, being both personal and massive at the same time.

I find the music here goes through moments of melancholy without fully immersing itself in anything negative. Instead, it's the moments of introspection and calmness that come from progressing beyond the melancholy that really stick with me as a listener. Endless fields stretch out before me during some songs, like opening track "Feet in the Earth," while other songs retain a sense of solitude, like dust floating in thin light beams in an old forgotten attic. The nice thing about these relatively soothing songs is that they never make their way into the territory of dull background music. While many similarly calm albums can fade into the distractions of everyday life, Eitarnora's gentle presence is still strong, hovering in the periphery of one's conscious thoughts, with layer upon layer of sound revealing new sonic and mental territories with each repeated listen. This space is perfect for silent reflection, meditation, and even just relaxation. I've been listening for a few days now and it has been a stellar soundtrack for both rising in the morning and readying myself for sleep. Any time I want to find a piece of nature's beauty in the midst of the flat city in which I live, I know I can turn to this mellow gem for a soothing escape.

This album is currently available for preorder from Lakedeer Recordings, with an official release of midnight tonight. 100 copies of this CD will be available, 20 of which are special editions which will contain a 3" CDr and DVD-r recording of a live Eitarnora concert, as well as a vial of dried grass and black ash. Check out a sample of the second song, "Plains Dance" from Eitarnora's bandcamp or a sample of the gorgeous "You Are Mine" on Heathen Harvest if my kind words haven't already convinced you of the worthiness of this album. Immerse yourself in pure beauty and enjoy.

Terzij de Horde- "A Rage of Rapture Against the Dying of the Light" CD (Self-Released)

Terzij de Horde look like such sweet, mellow guys in their portrait inside this CD. They look more likely to help stoke up a fire in the winter and put on some tea than to create chaotic and conflicted black metal. Of course you know that stirring up chaos is exactly this group's goal, and they certainly succeed at it.With each of these four songs, Terzij de Horde creates something that is bold and unique yet completely familiar, as if this music comes from such a deep place that all of us could hold it in our collective experiences.

Musically these guys lash out like a hydra, with elements of hardcore, crust, and sludge latching onto their relentless black metal assault. Stillness is not an element one will find here, but ferocity is pouring out of every sound. Opener "Prometheans" is noticeably shorter than the other tracks on this album, yet it sets the pace properly, starting at a crawl that builds up to a bloodthirsty hybrid of textured riffs and breakneck drumming. Vocalist Joost sounds like he has long since given up anything human and replaced it with the entirety of nature's wrath towards humanity's destruction. These guys are also clearly well-read, as evidenced by the list of "inspirations" for this album (all are novels rather than musical works) and the fact that they took their own moniker from a line from a famous Dutch poet. It's pleasant to see that their literary hobbies make for great lyrics. In black metal I rarely pay attention to the lyrical content of a band, yet these guys made it actually a pleasure to read along as I listened. This album as a whole is good for repeat listens due to its relatively short length, and I can only imagine how vicious these guys would be in the live setting.

Terzij de Horde is currently writing a new album that will surely shred our collective faces off. In the meantime, grab a shirt and CD directly from the band (or download it for free if you're a bit poor today). If you're lucky enough to live anywhere near them, they'll be playing with Ash Borer and Fell Voices in Amsterdam just a couple weeks. Don't miss these guys, they're destined for some serious attention in the near future.

World of Metal and Rust- "Industrial Noir" CDr (Self-Released/Depressive Illusions)

Some of my more frequent readers may remember my review of the now-defunct black industrial artist Mara. For those who enjoyed Mara's last breath, World of Metal and Rust is born from Mara's ashes. Cold factories and grey industrial skylines have always scattered the landscapes in this man's music, but here the electronic elements and darker atmospheres which I had touched upon in my previous review are now a dominant force. Gone are elements of depressive black metal, and in their place is a slow, monotonous mechanical emptiness that creates an even bleaker environment.

The sounds created here vary from hypnotic to absolutely terrifying. Mechanized percussion fuses with fuzzy and cold synths to generate pure atmosphere. I feel like this would serve as one of many soundtracks to the end of the world. The sky is mostly black and red swirling into each other, with some substance that might be either ash or snow falling from above. The streets are littered with vehicles, papers, and peoples' belongings that they left behind along the way. Few survivors remain in this wasteland. This is in many ways exactly what the name of this project evokes, and the sound is well suited. Many songs here seem to contain two or more separate compositions that complement each other rather than one solid song per track, but I feel it works nicely. The album flows quite well from song to song and the atmosphere is consistently heavy. The ominous nature of the music might make extended listens difficult for some folks, but I feel that listening all the way through creates a perfect sense of dread and despair that chills me to the bone in the best way possible. I must reiterate that nothing here really makes it into "metal" territory, but everything here echoes cold detachment. This is perfect misery and self-hate.

Copies of this release come in a DVD case with full artwork and a labeled disc. You can purchase it digitally from the band or it you can purchase a physical copy for 6 EUR from Depressive Illusions, who also released the Minblod album I recently reviewed.  Only 33 CDs are available, so grab it quickly. Keep up with the band through its blog and be up to date on any future releases or plans. There's already a new demo posted, so it's worth checking out.

Autolatry- "Of the Land" CD (Self-Released)

Snow, nightfall, and the woods are trademarks of classic black metal albums. Many bands intentionally evoke these elements in lyrics, album art, and absurd song titles. Some bands, like Autolatry, barely need to mention the colder, more natural side of black metal for it to shine through everything they do. While New England may not have the regional clout of Scandinavia, cold weather seems to run in Autolatry's collective bloodstream. With this brief EP, they show that they can hold their own with a unique brand of progressive black metal that seems culled equally from American and European influences, all with crisp, precise production, partially courtesy of the studio brilliance of the legendary Morrisound Studios.

"Of the Land" is a collection of four songs that reflect upon different aspects of winter in New England. Opener "Mountain" sets an aggressive and compelling precedent, and though it's my least favorite track on the album, it's still an impressive and enjoyable tune. Every member of the band showcases something unique here, with the drums being particularly on spot throughout the whole album. I find these tunes straddle a territory occupied evenly by Cormorant and Enslaved, with a healthy dose of tech-death influence that adds a certain aggression without sacrificing the black metal aesthetic. The riffs run the gamut from technical to textured and the cold atmosphere is relentless, even when the songs find their way into chunkier, more American death metal influenced territory. Autolatry's creative insanity works its best when they're moving at full-speed, with the occasional stop-start dynamic there to create the perfect tension for the band to break through. A lot of rawer black metal groups don't sound like they'd translate well live, but these songs sound both majestic and stage-ready, which is a nice balance since these guys always seem to be either on the road or gearing up for it.

Snag a copy of this album directly from the band and bask in icy technical mastery or download it for the price of your choice. They're currently working on a full-length entitled "Native," and I can safely say that it will be massive. Keep an eye on these guys before they take over the metal underground and be sure to get their stuff before it becomes rare collectors' items.

Heavy Breath- "Muddy Life" (Self-Released/Battle Stag Records)

This may be one of the posts that deviates most from my regular regimen of lo-fidelity recordings filled with indiscernible instrumentation and muddled vocals, yet it's one I'm happy to share with my readers. I actually heard about Connecticut hardcore weirdos Heavy Breath through a bizarre string of comments on twitter, of all places. Someone had referred to them as the "craft beer of hardcore" or something of that nature, and it piqued my curiosity as a fan of both extreme music and delicious beers. Indeed, as someone who has listened to hardcore for years (big surprise, I know), I've become extremely picky in regards to all things punk-ish, yet there is something refreshingly intoxicating about these three songs. It's currently 3:30 in the afternoon, I'm drinking a beer already, and I'm grooving hard to this album. You should do the same.

Here's the deal: Heavy Breath are one of those bands that can't be easily pigeonholed. I hear bits and pieces of many bands I love,with everything from the experimental leanings of Refused to the urgency and climactic builds of pageninetynine to the addictive vocals that remind me of newer heavyweights Ladder Devils. This is just such a good fun time that I can't really give it a name. Heavy Breath seem just as content locking into the deconstructed groove about three minutes into closing track "I'm a Motherfucking Weak Man" as they are throwing out complex, primal punk assaults. There's also a massive degree of classic rock and roll swagger that makes me think back to the days of truly dangerous rock, when bands like The Stooges were giving parents nightmares.While there are only three tracks presented here, they slam pretty hard and each has enough memorable sections to make them familiar by the second listen. I've enjoyed this album easily half a dozen times in the past week, since it's brief length makes it the sort of album I play twice at a time. It doesn't feel stale or derivative; it feels like a bunch of guys getting together and making music that they really enjoy and love.

While some of my more extreme readers may not find much here, fans of rock, hardcore, punk, and pretty much anything Alternative Tentacles-y will really dig this. This album is available for download at the price you see fit, so the biggest risk you have to take is a small amount of space on your hard-drive. Rumor has it Battle Stag Records will be releasing this on vinyl at a currently unannounced point in the future, so keep your eyes open. I recommend listening on high volume with a hoppy or bitter beer. Dig it.

A death Cinematic- Corrosions of Traveled Daydreams CS (Tycho Magnetic Anomalies)

Just over two months ago, I was fortunate enough to interview a death cinematic, who briefly made mention of a future cassette release from Tycho Magnetic Anomalies. Such a short time later, I find that a copy of this cassette has made its way into my hands (and many other copies are available for purchase), and I'm finding myself surprised once again by an artist whose music has already been in my thoughts for years. As always, a death cinematic has outdone himself with both presentation and music. This is his first cassette release, and he has transitioned quite nicely from digital to analog with this album.

a death cinematic has always had an audience with the drone metal community despite lack of any direct "heavy metal" sections in the songs, but the very first moments of "Corrosions of Traveled Daydreams" consist of a nearly galloping riff that lasts just long enough to disintegrate into cleaner, gentler territory than I've usually heard from this artist. The contrast between two new extremes presented here had already gained my interest, but even without context of a death cinematic's other releases, this album impresses me. Clean guitars seamlessly integrate with the hum of gently rolling drones, and melancholic notes stretch slowly across percussive static. Despite the melody so often displayed, this is not so much a reflection of joy as it is the aural equivalent of the last glimmer of hope. These are not songs for the victorious nearly in the sense that these are songs for survivors. If there is any beauty at all, it is only in the knowledge that the world will continue its course regardless of humanity's intentions. Desolation and rebuilding have long been at the heart of a death cinematic's sound. With this release, the two have merged into a sort of functional emptiness. From soft to entirely jagged, the sounds and colors swirl and  soar through a bleak and unchanging landscape. The world a death cinematic shares here may be covered in soot, but its rivers still run and the roots of the trees still grow. The song titles and sonic paintings tell of a human race that has lost itself in a way that would make Cormac McCarthy smile, if he's capable of such a thing. There is little good left in humanity, and nature will eventually undo our messes when we finally finish destroying ourselves, at least if I've been listening properly.

Perhaps my words have been a bit abstract here, but when dealing with music of this nature, I find concepts and feelings become stronger than genres and ideas. a death cinematic works just as much in textures and blurred sounds as with defined song structures and discernible instrumentation. To limit a review to simply touching upon the musical characteristics would be a disservice to music that is created with such a visual and conceptual approach. In fact, accompanying this album are a set of photographs and vellum prints, along with a poem, an etched wood box, and decals with the album cover's trademark dead bird. The entire experience of this album is both humbling and impressive, and demonstrates an expertise that I hope to witness again soon. This release has been limited to a mere 60 copies, yet some are still available from the label at this time. As a reviewer and lover of music, it's my duty to recommend you purchase this before they sell out.

Jason Hodge- Hope Has Abandoned Us Cassette (Enemata Productions)

Sometimes when examining an album, I get the feeling that there's a greater context to the music than might initially be given. Whether it's lyrical themes for some bands or a larger sense of purpose associated with a particular album, knowing the background story can deepen one's appreciation for a piece of music. Jason Hodge's recent release,"Hope Has Abandoned Us," is absolutely an album whose value and weight grow immensely with proper background information. This cassette was recorded during a dark period in his life shortly following the death of his grandfather and the flooding of his surviving grandmother's home. While many artists would be content to merely use grief or frustration as a catalyst for creating something, Jason Hodge decided to record a large portion of this album in the abandoned building, utilizing items found in the house as part of this cathartic and dense recording.

The A-side contains the track "Carried on Crippled Wings/Forcing Pieces to Fit," which is a dark and seething journey that makes me envision a world entirely in grayscale. Musicians whose works fall under the general umbrella of "noise" often tend to feel disconnected, but Jason Hodge's music seems personal, urgent, and even somewhat desperate and frustrated. There is a tension that impresses itself upon the listener. This isn't harsh noise, nor is this mellow drone. What this music does is convey emotions in a genre that often lacks them. If anything, I feel almost overwhelmed by the swelling sounds presented in this first side, which attack like waves against a flimsy barrier. As hasty structures tend to do, the sound barrier gives way after a few minutes to a rolling terror of lower frequencies akin to the engine of an aircraft or the base of a waterfall. The rest of the song continues as some sort of violent deterioration, with scraping percussion fighting with the rolling noises of water or heavy machinery for aural dominance until everything has been ruined and the chaos slowly fades beneath its own weight. The intensity is unparalleled without resorting to some of the easy shock tactics of the genre, which is what makes this tape so compelling. Even at its most aggressive, this album never becomes a barrier of assorted frequencies, nor does a violent vocalization ever make an appearance. Not that those ideas or sounds are necessarily bad, but many artists fall back on them as safety nets where bolder sounds might have worked just as well. The B-side here is home of "Hymn for a Hollow Body," which appropriately enough is a slightly more tonal track, although it is entirely cold and distant, with much of the song's first few minutes sound something like echoes of wind in a cave. The song progresses into an almost mechanical howl which constructs a great rolling emptiness of sorts, a center of nothingness in the song around which all the other sounds revolve. By the time this turbulent tape has ended, the subtle hum of speakers conveying silence is a welcome comfort in which I bask for a few minutes. In a way, the phantom sounds constructed by my brain after this album are almost the perfect counterbalance to the chaos it inflicted. I feel that perhaps this whole album was designed with such a purpose: to force so much pain out that nothing but cathartic bliss remains by the end.

Copies of this tape are currently available from Enemata Productions and are well worth obtaining while they're still available. Keep an eye out for Jason's upcoming releases; he's a very efficient and productive musician and he seems to pop up on new labels all the time.

Echtra- "Sky Burial" CD & Total Negation- "Zur späten Stunde | Zeiträume" CD (Temple of Torturous)

By this point, many of my readers may have noticed that I love finding new things. They may not be things that are new to others, but I enjoy a new experience here and there. When Swedish label Temple of Torturous emailed me two separate new releases of theirs, from two groups I'd never even heard of before, I was quite intrigued. While some may view unknown or unfamiliar bands and sounds as an issue, I took this as an invitation to find something new and exciting. I'm happy to state that I was quite right, as both of these unique albums have impressed me thoroughly in their own ways.

Echtra is the guitarist/vocalist of black metal heavyweights Fauna, among a handful of other groups with which I'm not yet familiar. His work here seems slightly more meditative and personal, with this album, "Sky Burial,"  focusing on the need of each individual to make peace with his or her own mortality. The practice of sky burial is a Tibetan tradition wherein the recently deceased is left in a specific location that has been designated for the decomposition and disposal of human remains. The body is left to the elements, where it is often consumed by predatory birds. As the soul has left the body, there is no need to honor its former home according to this tradition. In a similar fashion, Echtra creates a fluid representation of chaos and peace with this album. There is a focused sort of deconstruction that occurs here, with sparse vocals occasionally dotting a deserted landscape of textured guitars and dense keys. As each of the two tracks are simply halves of a greater single performance, they blend together into one massive, cathartic piece of music. I find myself listening to this album as I fall asleep at night, yet when I listen during the day, I find it invigorating. Something about this is familiar and comforting, much like the understanding of death itself, yet it is never dull or tiresome. The Temple of Torturous release of this album includes a DVD of the only live performance of "Sky Burial," which dates back to 2008. While I haven't yet seen the live performance, I can say that it will be worth watching if it captures even a fraction of the beauty and intensity presented on this album.

Switching things over to Total Negation, we're presented with two EPs packaged as one full-length album. While many bands release separate albums that are essentially the same, these two EPs are easily distinguished from one another, so I'll review them separately. The first four tracks belong to the "Zur späten Stunde" EP, which explores the intense moments the mind often experiences right before body and mind drift into sleep. Opening track "Einkehr" sets the stage appropriately with clean yet dissonant leads creating psychedelic atmospheres over fuzzy and dense chords and howled vocals. The darkness here isn't suffocating, but there is an eerie uncertainty that forces the music onward, deeper down the proverbial rabbit hole of one's own mind. The overall feeling here is dark and uncomfortable, but with a faint glow around the edges. Moving on to "Zeiträume," a sequel of sorts, Total Negation explores the textures and sensations of dreams themselves. For first listens, I try not to read the press information lest I be swayed. Despite this, I instantly picked up on some instruments that are unconventional for black metal. Sure enough, both melodica and vibraphone are featured prominently here, showcasing both creativity and skill with composition. This doesn't sound or feel like a half-hearted attempt to "transcend" black metal, nor does this feel like an amateur musician playing with an idea. "Zeiträume" is a creative and engaging testament to the potential within sole member Wiedergaenger's grasp. Crunchy guitars and foreign instruments play in unison at times, adding depth to the heaviness of the more metal moments, while at other times the two sets of instruments seem to dance around each other, both at odds and working in a peculiar sort of harmony. While there's a confusing element to these four tunes, I would say that I prefer the vision displayed here. These four songs are unique and beautiful in a most remarkable way. A solid example is presented on closing track "Traum," which leaves things off on a perfect note. This release will be packaged as a sole compact disc, but the music here should be more than sufficient reason to consider purchase.

Both of these albums will be released from Temple of Torturous on March 31st. The label has recently announced that distribution in the United States will be done through Unholy Anarchy, but I'm not entirely sure when the album will be sold through the distributor. In the meantime, save your pennies and get ready for these two incredible albums.

Crowhurst- "Death Van" CS/LP (Static Reason/Placenta Recordings)

I awoke today with an anxiety in my mind that wouldn't go away.  There has been a high pitched noise in my bedroom for a week now, and it's really started to trouble me. My sleep is restless and my thoughts are hazy. I often feel like I'm not really present because I'm so exhausted. When I put on Crowhurst's "Death Van," I felt like somehow the inner uneasiness and tension had fallen out of my brain and into my computer's speakers. From the trippy and slightly disturbing artwork to the scattershot approach to noise that Crowhurst is making their name with, a ride in the Death Van takes you through pretty much any experience you can imagine.

From the opening track "Enter the Death Van" on, things are ugly, but not in the chaotic sense that such an album title would imply. Instead the noises roll through and around the listener as a slow and constant waves of sound, bringing one in and out of a claustrophobic sort of madness filled with sharp sounds and feedback. After a while, rather than feeling fear or horror, a dull euphoria sets in. By this point, you've given up on hope and instead you've embraced the insanity--this is the point where Crowhurst excels. When one is forced to find solace in the bleakest of places, Crowhurst is able to effectively guide the listener in any direction. With the help of more than a couple friends, (almost every song here has multiple guests), Crowhurst drives the Death Van full of listeners on a guided tour of Hell in a way that's almost comforting. When we are able to look fear and misery in the eye, we are able to make peace with them. At its peak moments, this album takes the hideous and makes it beautiful.  By the time we've all been beaten into submission, the gag is taken from our mouths and the chains are undone. An almost blissful rendition of the Death in June classic "Rose Clouds of Holocaust" provides a final moment of comfort and beauty, much like the last ten minutes of mental function before brain death occurs. The end is abrupt, yet haunting, leaving you with only one option: to enter the Death Van once again and repeat the cycle.

This album goes on sale on vinyl from Placenta Recordings and cassette from Static Reason on Friday, March 15th. Getting this is pretty much mandatory if you're at all interested in noise, drone, or just bizarre experimental music of any sort. Downloads aren't available from the Crowhurst bandcamp, but a full-album stream can be heard to help you realize just how rad this album sounds.

Curseworship- "Curseworship" (Self-released)

Today's submission comes from the dry, desolate wastes of Salt Lake City, Utah. I've always been of the opinion that any city that is primarily ruled by religion or conservative values is inherently good for making ugly music as a form of rebellion, and Curseworship seem eager to prove me right. This trio has released a three-song album that would terrify the piss out of any clergyman unfortunate enough to witness it. If the band's name or the three inverted crosses gracing the album's artwork don't make it apparent, these guys have definitely chosen to side with the darkness.

Leading the way into Curseworship's madness is the appropriately named "Summoning."After a brief feedback introduction, the stage is set for some straight up ugly, crawling death metal with some static noise elements thrown in just to make things even more unsettling. The cave man stomp here is thick and well-executed rather than simply aping Obituary as many similar bands tend to do and the rhythm is tight and driving. When the band decides to pick up the speed about halfway through, it's somehow surprising yet the transition feels organic rather than forced. The second track starts off with yet another surprise, a light and melodic introduction that turns into a distorted mess of a song that lingers slightly longer than its predecessor. Closing this beastly album out is the sixteen-minute long horror of "Goat of a Thousand Young (Raising From Hell)." This album is full of surprises, but nothing surprised me more than this track. The eerie power electronics that wormed their way throughout the previous two tracks have finally taken over by the time this monstrosity unfolds, leaving a huge slab of dense noise as Curseworship's final offering to the listener. Rather than finding this a bit uninspired or simple, this is a hair-raising way to end the album and I approve.

While currently only available as a "pay what you like" download from Curseworship's bandcamp page, this album is tentatively scheduled to be released on cassette through Crucial Blast sometime this spring, so keep an eye out. I know I'll be first in line.

Ramlord- "Crippled Minds, Sundered Wisdom" LP (Hypaethral Records)

Some of you may remember Ramlord as that band I once used the word "crushing" to describe too many times. Some of you may also remember that I think "crushing" is an awesome thing that doesn't happen enough in the reviews I write. Specializing in lo-fi black metal often leaves me with a lack of solid headbanging, skull-crushing tunes. Luckily Ramlord exist so that I may write about their boozy, chaotic blackened crust madness and get my daily recommended dose of crushing. To say that this new album is a positive expansion on the material presented on their split with Cara Neir is an understatement, and I'm pretty stoked on it.

I often feel the need to write from the perspective of an educated, intelligent, well-spoken individual, but with music this raw, I feel that flowery speech would detract from just how ferocious this is. Listening to this takes me back to the days when I hung out at basement shows and drank as much cheap beer and whiskey as I could before burrito cravings set in. The difference here is that Ramlord don't seem intent on creating fun for their listeners so much as they are hellbent on imparting bleak fury. I'm nodding my head along while I listen to the album, but I'm also kinda stuck on the fact that I'm going to die one day. All the lyrics seem to lead me back to the impermanence of mortality and the futility of believing in something beyond this world. It makes me just want to dig into the music all the more, clinging to every hideous moment because this music itself is bursting with life, almost in defiance of death. The frantic pace of the music, the harshness and humanity of the vocals, the energy creates a sort of pessimistic beauty. Another thing that really works for this is Ramlord's complete lack of commitment to any one niche within the greater genres of crust, metal, or whatever else you'd call their music. Thirty-second facemelters like "Enslaved" exist in some sort of twisted harmony with the eight-minute closing nightmare of "Extinction of Clairvoyance (Part Two)," which is a continuation of the aforementioned split with Cara Neir. This whole album gives me way too much to digest, but I can say with complete sincerity that I'm okay with a bit of sonic uneasiness. I've always been into discomfort and struggle in music, so the massive quantity of chaotic and cathartic experience here gives me something hearty to sink my teeth into.

So this slab of viciousness has already been available for digital download for about a month, but I'm a total slacker. The benefit of me not posting this until now is that if you're super cool and preorder the record (for a measly fifteen bucks), you've only got to wait about a month for it to ship out. So what are you waiting for? You could have this album for free, or you can be one of only 100 awesome individuals to own this depressing mess on vinyl. I'm part of the second group; will you join me?

100th Post Commemorative: A Retrospective Glance at A Pregnant Light's Discography

It's been just shy of seven months since I started this blog, and I realize I haven't had much occasion to geek out on one of my personal favorite artists, A Pregnant Light. Since this is my 100th post, I feel it's important for me to share something I love, regardless of ease of purchase. A Pregnant Light was one of the first artists that helped me rediscover my love of extreme music, specifically in the analog format, and their discography has grown rapidly over the past year or so. Initially I declined to review new APL releases, as they often sold out before I'd receive my copy in the mail. With APL's home label, Colloquial Sound Recordings, deciding to repress a few tapes and open up certain releases for digital sale, I feel that there is no better time than the present for me to do a retrospective review of this compelling artist's brief yet prolific career.

I was fortunate enough to discover this band before their first cassette, The Feast of Clipped Wings, had sold out. Upon hearing the sample of the opening track, "Under Consult of the Dragon," I was immediately sold on this band's ferocious mix of melodic hardcore and aggressive black metal. The urgent pace set on this album has its roots in hardcore punk, yet the jagged and beautiful riffs here seem to come from a darker, more introspective place. Another remarkable thing that caught my attention was the completely reckless and passionate vocal style, which has a cathartic intensity that is seldom found in black metal, more often reserved for masochistic groups like Pig Destroyer or Converge. Despite the sense of vulnerability I find within this album, I can't help but feel like these songs have become my own personal anthems of strength, helping to overcome things I had once imagined as insurmountable. While A Pregnant Light has released many fantastic cassettes since this first assault, this album still holds a high position in my heart and its personality and the quality of personal strength can be heard in most of APL's other offerings.

Following an album as fast and passionate as The Feast of Clipped Wings would prove challenging for most bands, but with the subsequent split with black noise artist SADOS entitled The Sky Conspired Against Thee Before Thy Bones Had Dried, APL proved to be a band with more than one voice. Rather than dialing in a track or two that might not have fit on the first album, APL offers up the monstrous "Draining Fragrance," which fills its nearly ten minutes in length with a sonic journey through a familiar ferocity and a new sense of self-restraint, tension, and uneasiness. The song begins as if it's caught in the midst of a storm yet soon finds a source of shelter, a place from which the song grows and climbs through valleys of ambiance and textured melody upward towards a massive peak before crawling away to die in solitude. While the b-side of the tape belongs to SADOS, to ignore their involvement in this release is folly. "Frail" is a beautiful yet chilling fusion of power electronics and fuzzy black metal that serves as a surprisingly appropriate pairing with APL's soaring contribution. The purity of the atmosphere SADOS craft is supreme and I'm eager to hear more from this artist, who seems to have been dormant since this mighty release. This tape is neither available for purchase nor download at the moment, but keep an eye out for this gem. It's well worth obtaining.

APL's third offering is another split, this time with UK horde Obscure Lupine Quietus. APL's two tracks here present more of the black metal aesthetic than either previous release, but are still distinctive much like any other APL work. "Burning Basin" opens things up with a relentless energy, and "On A Banquet Table" follows up with well-arranged majesty, presenting the closest thing to atmospheric black metal I've heard from thisartist. While not necessarily the darkest album APL has released, these tracks feel most appropriate when played after the sun has set. Flipping the tape over presents Obscure Lupine Quietus, who contribute two tracks of raw, mid-paced black metal perfection. "Ascension Through Cold Mists" lives up to its name with shrill aggressive vocals and icy leads carving themselves into memory with vicious precision. While this is the only OLQ release I've heard, I'm certain that their others are equally chilling and worth my while. The second edition of this magnificent tape is currently available, so snag it while you can.

As if the many faces of A Pregnant Light aren't already apparent with the first three releases, the fourth tape, entitled Live to Tell, pays direct homage to one of popular music's most polarizing divas, Madonna. While the second press of this tape is now available with a fourth track, I don't yet own a copy of the newer edition and am therefore not qualified to discuss the nature of this newest offering, but the three tracks on the original version show a band just as unafraid of criticism as Madonna herself. While the black metal community might shun an artist for releasing a tape like this, I've always viewed extreme music as a place of both rebellion and acceptance. If our community cannot embrace an act of rebellion against itself, perhaps we're becoming a bit closed-minded. The two original tracks here highlight a dark beauty that is commonly found in post-punk and new wave, as shown on "Possession of Diamond," which incorporates these uncommon melodies without losing sight of A Pregnant Light's trademark intensity. The Madonna cover features guest musicians from Amber Asylum joining in to create a stunning rendition, complete with haunting organ and female vocals exploring another new territory for this adventurous band.

After a tape like Live to Tell, A Pregnant Light had pretty much set a standard for unpredictable yet high quality music. While anything would seem expected at this point, the bar was raised yet again shortly after with two new tapes released at the same time. With greater quantities than the other new release, Death My Hanging Doorway, is a 21 minute offering of futility and passion. If previous epics hadn't already made it apparent that A Pregnant Light exists with the primary purpose of generating pure expression, this album takes all prior sonic blueprints and melds them together into something so intense that it leaves me exhausted. This album makes a stronger representation of unified sound, with the drums showing more clarity and variation than ever before, creating the sensation of a full band more than many solo artists could hope to achieve. If any album from A Pregnant Light sounds like inner turmoil, this is it. There's an almost ambitious element to the pain presented here, a ritualistic negativity of sorts, but not necessarily a release from whatever suffering is at the music's core. The first edition came bound with rope in a unique and beautiful presentation, and is available from Handmade Birds. Copies of this tape's second edition are available again, and I strongly recommend purchasing one while possible.

Released at the same time as Death My Hanging Doorway, but in a limited edition of 33 is quite possibly A Pregnant Light's most surprising release, Most High Place. The three tracks on this cassette are by far the darkest things I've heard from this artist, although anything resembling the punk and metal aesthetic is absent here. If Death My Hanging Doorway was a self-punishment of some sort, Most High Place is where A Pregnant Light has hidden away to recover in the shadows. The disarming quiet here reminds me of The Cure circa Faith or perhaps even the most reflective moments of early Nine Inch Nails. Stripped electronic percussion and sparse guitars provide a smoky backdrop for distant vocals that exist somewhere between a whisper and a distant rasp. Black metal fans might scoff at this album, but I find it to be a dark refuge from all chaos outside of myself. No samples of this album exist for the public's ears, nor is this tape available for purchase. The first edition came packaged in an envelope with cards hinting at the album's message. Perhaps a second edition will shed even more light at some time.

Not two weeks after the dual release, A Pregnant Light released St. Emaciation, which is something of a return to the style presented between the first two releases.The fur-clad woman on the cover hints at the dichotomy of beauty and ugliness presented within as she wears the skin of another creature while attempting to convey sensuality. The two tracks here are melodic and swirling pieces of gorgeous, mid-paced black metal. "Creation Rhythm" has the steady pace of a heartbeat driving its beauty onward. "Fertility Cult" is even slower, a crawling testament to A Pregnant Light's mastery of extreme atmospheres. This is currently available as a digital download and is well worth the investment.

The most recent output from A Pregnant Light is the brief and ferocious album, Hear the Slow, Slow Shadow. Recorded in the haze of a drunken afternoon, this is possibly the most stripped down and aggressive thing I've heard from this project to date. Every song flows together, yet each individual piece is abrupt and urgent. Songs like "Down Sanity" linger around long enough to tear out your throat and leave before you've had the chance to realize it. This one's also currently unavailable but will probably see a second release in some format given enough time.

So there you have it. I'm super stoked on this artist's work. Colloquial Sound has always impressed me with the consistency of their artists, but this one in particular has a very special place in my heart and in my music library. The picture above is my complete APL collection. See that shirt? Those are still available as well, and are super comfy, so grab one if you're into it. Anyway, thanks to all of my readers for sticking around this long. I didn't expect to write more than five posts before giving up, but clearly I've been on a bit of a roll. Maybe we'll see a few hundred more in years to come. Thanks everybody, I'll be back with a series of posts very soon.