New music: Brennendes Gehirn & Dorian Williamson, thisquietarmy, Australasia, and The Chewers

Today we're visiting four albums for our music post instead of the usual three. The reason is that none of these are quite typical Black Metal & Brews releases, yet all four are worth your time and energy. For the readers with a broader appreciation of music (which seems to be most of you), I hope you'll visit with each of these releases and enjoy yourself.

Brennendes Gehirn & Dorian Williamson- "Rites of the Aethyr" CD (Antithetic)
This collaborative effort by Brennendes Gehirn and Dorian Williamson of Northumbria fame is everything I'd want in a versatile droning noise release. Three tracks that are unique even in context of the album they share, as each features a different lineup. The first track, "Involution," belongs to Dorian Williamson. It has an almost womb-like security and palpable emotion in the texture of its circular drones, the rest of the album is decidedly more ominous. The title track is a collaborative effort between both artists, and features a bit of percussion and chanting early on, yet grows into spiraling, crackling madness. Ending the album is the monumentally creepy "Geheimnis," an offering from Brennendes Gehirn, which begins with two or three minutes of speech before growing into some of the most somber and haunting noise atmospheres I've heard this year. Listen to this song in an empty parking lot on a windy night, watching paper and litter blow along. It's hard to feel like you aren't the last person on earth. The album's progression feels like the slow and final fade of the brain as one enters the realm of death. Perhaps there's more to it than that, but the vastness and severity of this release certainly work in my understanding of it. This is absolutely worth your time and interest, so grab a copy as soon as you're able.

thisquietarmy- "Hex Mountains" CD/LP (Denovali)
thisquietarmy has typically been the one-man project of Eric Quach, and while it still is, this album features many guest appearances, including the previously discussed Dorian Williamson. thisquietarmy's trademark sounds are all present on this release of subtle yet dynamic doom and drone, and if anything, this is probably the most expansive release I've heard from this artist.  Perhaps it's the influence of others, as this feels like a very organic album. Nothing is forced, nothing seems to be scrutinized. Instead, the flow of these songs feels like one artist creating something and allowing others to leave their own delicate marks. Triumphant guitars soar across the peaks of snow-capped mountains, while live drums punctuate the already breathtaking intensity and beauty created by Quach in the opening track. In contrast, many segments of this album are passages of minimal sound, with delicate waves of drone crashing off in the distance, balancing out the massive nature of the heavier passages.  While this can be a dark and personal affair at times, I feel a sense of rebirth and self-discovery when listening to this album. As always, it's featured here, so I recommend obtaining a copy.

Australasia- "Vertebra" CD (Immortal Frost Productions)
Italian post-rockers Australasia already graced my site earlier this year with a very solid EP debut. Now they've returned with a full-length album, featuring some of the tracks from their EP as well as some interesting new territory. There's a much stronger vocal presence on this album, although it's still primarily an instrumental affair. These guys are now dabbling in everything from tremolo picking heaviness to subtle synth beauty to dark trip-hop inspired passages, yet it still feels like a very natural progression for these musicians who clearly love experimenting and playing with each other. Fans of progressive or otherwise playful music should enjoy this greatly. Purchase a copy of this album from Immortal Frost while they're still available. Also note--the bandcamp link above only has a small selection of songs from this album, which is far longer than bandcamp would have you think.

The Chewers- "Chuckle Change and Also" (Self-Released)
The Chewers are by far the strangest band I've featured here, and for their strangeness they've burrowed a funky little hole into my heart. Their music feels like a mix of the broken junkyard blues of late-80's Tom Waits and the unconventional madness of The Residents at pretty much any time in the past forty years. This stuff might fall under the whole "outsider music" tag but I'd be the last person to consider myself an expert on it.  Many of the songs are on the shorter side but it works nicely. Rather than allowing tunes to feel like good ideas that stretch on longer than they need, The Chewers let each song exist as it needs to, with no extra instrumentation or needlessly long songs. Purchase a download from their bandcamp and immerse yourself in the oddness. If you're at all curious about the weirder side of music, you need to hear The Chewers.

Fell Voices- "Regnum Saturni" 2xLP (Gilead Media/Antithetic)

With this post, I return from a lengthy period without writing. It's been about a week, and I've chosen a monster of an album to mark my return to this blog. With Regnum Saturni, Fell Voices have done many things that defied everything I have come to expect, yet have somehow exceeded and surpassed my hopes regardless. I've listened to this album many times and I'm still not sure how to even describe what they've done here. This album has many identities, each of them holding an equal importance and sonic appeal, and to call them all out individually and list them would detract from the beautiful place of balance they've created as an entity. Instead of trying to commit words to something that is both formless and calculated all at once, I've decided to write my review as the band recorded their album: entirely live. I'm about to start listening to the album again, and I'll describe my experience as it progresses

The album opens with "Flesh and Bone," the shortest of the three songs on this album at a mere 17:48. It hums in with some sort of soothing droning instrument that I can't identify. Accordion? Melodica? Synthesizer? I'm not too sure, but it's going to pop up a lot through the course of this album and it definitely sets the mood nicely. The pulsing of the drone is hypnotic yet it builds a certain musical tension as the listener waits for the onslaught to come. After a couple minutes the black metal breaks through, howling onward and upward like a storm of some sort. Vocals are almost entirely buried, serving as another abrasive texture in the ferocity. The first couple of minutes are almost utterly relentless. Just when the listener thinks that this might be the new norm, the song drops just enough for one to discern individual components just as easily as the greater musical piece. The thing that grips me the most is the balance between motion and stillness. The droning quality of the music is a constant, yet the song moves forward at an incredibly rapid rate. The album's cover is almost identical to the images of the hurricane at Saturn's north pole that have recently surfaced, perhaps this is indicative of the musical quality (and would make sense with the album's title). The eye of a hurricane might be calm and constant, yet the winds are wild and unforgiving. So it is with Fell Voices, a balance between calmness and punishing fury. Amusingly enough, many of the riffs spiral in and out of the song in a similar fashion to their peers in Ash Borer's latest album, although instead of Ash Borer's cold restraint, Fell Voices has set fire to everything around them and the arctic guitar patterns are the few glimpses of solace amidst the madness. Around the fifteen minute mark, the song loses control of itself, spiraling ever upward into an explosion that leaves us with the same drone that spawned the album, making way for "Emergence."

By this point I realize the drone is the only moment of forgiveness that the listener will receive. When the metallic aggression returns, it's with less of the misguided fury, forsaking blown out noise for a more direct and precise assault. This is probably my favorite on the album, although I could hardly recommend separating any section of this album from the others. There's a triumphant feeling here that just really strikes my fancy. Around 8 minutes in, the song has hit its pace and if you're not following intently, you're really missing out. Things lock into the most perfect groove and the density of the chaos surrounding this jam just adds to the overall sensation of being a direct part of this rather than a disconnected listener. I'm currently listening to this during a thunderstorm and it's pretty much the most awesome soundtrack. A little over halfway through the song, some of the density clears and you actually get a really good idea of what's going on between all the chaos, and it's truly beautiful. The riffing and frantic pace never slow, yet elements of shimmering, high-pitched melody creep in just long enough to feedback into a return to aggression. If nothing else, this song presents one of the finest displays of mastery over atmosphere I've witnessed all year. The song's peak hits sixteen to eighteen minutes in and the subsequent denoument fades away in a truly gripping fashion, droning into oblivion with wretched voices shrieking out of the void.

As "Dawn" snakes into my consciousness, I'm both frightened and excited. This album does require a degree of endurance from its listener, but the reward is well worth it. Much like the two songs before it, this tune runs you through pretty much any imaginable territory while managing to throw out a few surprises. As the sonic density rises for the listener to meet with the final challenge, there is a calmness and brilliance that resonates throughout each shimmering cymbal crash and each rhythmic riff. This song is the culmination of more than forty minutes of tension. By the time you've made it to the hollow rattling that signals the journey's end, there's a sense of accomplishment, peace, and also a slight sense of loss. Fell Voices' sonic shifting continues to delight me and I'm really happy to have had the honor of reviewing this album. You can obtain this colossal album from either of the labels that co-released it, Gilead Media or Antithetic Records. It's a double LP with an etched D-side and there's even a limited edition shirt available. This isn't just a recommended listen, it's going to be one of the year's strongest albums. Grab it and catch these guys live if you have any opportunity to do so.