Skullflower + Total + Sunroof + etc

[Lazrs3]

I got a fairly recent album off Stoic Strength that is called Purity and really rated it.

https://turgidvermin.bandcamp.com/album/purity

On Facebook, I have picked up a lot of 'he hasn't done a decent album in years' type talk,but tbh, I like anything new they have done as much as the older stuff, I don't get where it comes from. In my Heathen Harvest glory days I favourably reviewed Fucked on a Pile of Corpses and was told off saying I did not know what I was talking about, but to me it was an impressive album. I do like what he does a lot.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

TOTAL "Sutra" tape, 1987 self financed. I recall there was talk that this -could be- reissued? But that must have been decade ago. A-side is a lot of drum machine patterns and guitar noises, but somewhat industrial type. B-side way darker, and if it was done now, I guess someone would even dare to say "black-noise", due pretty much black metal esque vocals?! From this angle, his slightly BM influenced later releases are in quite different light. Just doing something he had been doing already long before there was "bm influenced noise".

[Lysergikon137]

I got a fairly recent album off Stoic Strength that is called Purity and really rated it.

https://turgidvermin.bandcamp.com/album/purity

My listening habits and relationship to noise are a lot different than most participants here but Purity helped me reevaluate my relationship to noise during a major pivotal point in my life. I love the pure solar ejaculation that Skullflower is in its current iteration... The sound of a couple folks simply doing The Work.

I've been digging into Skullflower a lot lately (maybe it's in the air given the resurrection of these topics) and although I don't care much for "noise rock" I am blown away by Obsidian Shaking Codex and keep returning to other albums from that era. Somehow they balanced a lot of elements that usually turn me off to noise and psych rock. The only era I am not too keen on is the stuff on Cold Spring, but my taste rarely aligns with that label anyways. I find it kind of amusing how everything on Bandcamp sounds like the same artist regardless if it's posted as Skullflower, Sun Roof!, or Yllustrious Forger of Dreams or whatever. Dude is living his best life and couldn't care less about anything else from the looks of it. Just magick, noise, and some fine ponies.

Between "Strange Keys to Unlock..." 2CD and the Eidola of Set artbook that Timeless recently put out, I have yet to discover a living artist in this vein that communicates other realms as lucidly as Skullflower. Very similar to Coil in my opinion but less chaotic and more at home with their demons.

[PuddysJacket]

I got a fairly recent album off Stoic Strength that is called Purity and really rated it.

https://turgidvermin.bandcamp.com/album/purity

My listening habits and relationship to noise are a lot different than most participants here but Purity helped me reevaluate my relationship to noise during a major pivotal point in my life. I love the pure solar ejaculation that Skullflower is in its current iteration... The sound of a couple folks simply doing The Work.

I've been digging into Skullflower a lot lately (maybe it's in the air given the resurrection of these topics) and although I don't care much for "noise rock" I am blown away by Obsidian Shaking Codex and keep returning to other albums from that era. Somehow they balanced a lot of elements that usually turn me off to noise and psych rock. The only era I am not too keen on is the stuff on Cold Spring, but my taste rarely aligns with that label anyways. I find it kind of amusing how everything on Bandcamp sounds like the same artist regardless if it's posted as Skullflower, Sun Roof!, or Yllustrious Forger of Dreams or whatever. Dude is living his best life and couldn't care less about anything else from the looks of it. Just magick, noise, and some fine ponies.

Between "Strange Keys to Unlock..." 2CD and the Eidola of Set artbook that Timeless recently put out, I have yet to discover a living artist in this vein that communicates other realms as lucidly as Skullflower. Very similar to Coil in my opinion but less chaotic and more at home with their demons.

Couldn't agree more, Bower is an absolute monster

[Lazrs3]

I got a fairly recent album off Stoic Strength that is called Purity and really rated it.

https://turgidvermin.bandcamp.com/album/purity

My listening habits and relationship to noise are a lot different than most participants here but Purity helped me reevaluate my relationship to noise during a major pivotal point in my life. I love the pure solar ejaculation that Skullflower is in its current iteration... The sound of a couple folks simply doing The Work.

I've been digging into Skullflower a lot lately (maybe it's in the air given the resurrection of these topics) and although I don't care much for "noise rock" I am blown away by Obsidian Shaking Codex and keep returning to other albums from that era. Somehow they balanced a lot of elements that usually turn me off to noise and psych rock. The only era I am not too keen on is the stuff on Cold Spring, but my taste rarely aligns with that label anyways. I find it kind of amusing how everything on Bandcamp sounds like the same artist regardless if it's posted as Skullflower, Sun Roof!, or Yllustrious Forger of Dreams or whatever. Dude is living his best life and couldn't care less about anything else from the looks of it. Just magick, noise, and some fine ponies.

Between "Strange Keys to Unlock..." 2CD and the Eidola of Set artbook that Timeless recently put out, I have yet to discover a living artist in this vein that communicates other realms as lucidly as Skullflower. Very similar to Coil in my opinion but less chaotic and more at home with their demons.

I have been digging in a lot recently, I blasted out Form Destroyer, the jams and gutar work on that are coming from somewhere else. I also played Purity and really feel it uses the Orange Canyon Mind sound as a springboard to go off from. Orange Canyon Mind and Malediction was my introduction to them. I have been lucky enough to see them playing live twice now.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

TOTAL "clear factory" LP
Majora
As mentioned few times, this year been listening more Bower stuff than for long time. A lot of releases somehow clicked more in my brain. This one, felt like with simple and easy things, there is good results.  1996 release, available very cheap and perhaps because of large pressing and it ain't as good as two former LP releases on Majora label.

TOTAL "Here, Time Is Space" 2xLP
Majora
1994 double LP. Between this, and clear factory, was Exploded Star Sad Servant (Self Abuse) and Glassy Warhead (Pure), and while Here, Time Is Space is not as noisy as those two CD's put out by noise labels, this one has more density, tastier noisescapes. Feedback, echo, synth/keys droning with howl of guitar/feedback and so on. Theoretically, you could say Clear Factory can be described with same words, but something on this is just much better!

TOTAL "Beyond The Rim" LP
Majora
1993 release, and probably kind of "comeback" of Total. Before this was Hard+Low on Broken Flag (1986) and Sutra (1987) and this marked the return under this name. Skullflower had done IIIrd Gatekeeper, Obsidian Shaking Codex and on top of such sound. Perhaps the era & technology was so favorable to get perfect sound quality for this type of drone. Psychedelic vibrating keyboard/drone/efx, screech of guitar noise on top. Seemingly easy to do, but when you really start to think who'd be doing harmonic-noise-drone this good, there ain't that many!  It is almost mindblowing to think, nearly 30 years later, you could grab this for 10-20 euro from discogs. Worth it? Well check out this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4IeAKQqVPw

[Lysergikon137]

That last Total track is some top notch stuff. I agree that harmonic-noise-drone is much harder to find good stuff than you would think... Been listening to the Black Sun Roof album Four Black Suns and a Sinister Rainbow.... very similar and among the best of his material that I've heard. Really cannot get enough of the stuff this guy has done. The new stuff from the last couple weeks is still killin it, I swear I'm out here just trying to make it one more fucking day before the other shoe drops in whatever hellhole the USA is at the moment and he's just handing out Grade A Audio Vril left and right.

Might sound trite but if one demonic acidhead can find his peace and noise out on a farm with ponies and cats safe from the tendrils of the NWO it fuels my grind.

[Lysergikon137]

I have almost exclusively been buying Matt Bower releases this year, and I have reevaluated my opinion on the Cold Spring releases: They absolutely fucking rip.

Fucked on a Pile of Corpses Probably the most straightforward "noise" release I've heard under the Skullflower moniker, but there are a few collaborators on this album including LS of Culver. Relatively short and less dense than I've come to expect from MB but is exceptionally crafted. It's almost comical how "hard" and flesh-focused the art and themes of this one go compared to the usual corporeal shimmerings. Very crusty and cadaverous.

Draconis Absolutely beautiful, mind-meltingly lysergic visions of cosmic intelligence and splendor. I believe this release is where MB has said they were unleashed to traverse the stars as they are today. Part of me is amazed this release is almost never mentioned anywhere, but I also cannot imagine who this would specifically appeal to. This release in particular really makes me appreciate MB's tip-toed balance between traditional psychedelia and traditional left-hand path theatrics.

The Spirals of Great Harm I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time with this one, but it is another very honed release in the vein of the Black Sun Roof - 4 Black Suns and a Sinister Rainbow double CD that was put out on Handmade Birds. Hissing, crackling, focused "sonic acupuncture". Makes sense why he'd drop this and retire from the music industry.

I've also picked up Tribulation, Total's Exploded Star Sad Servant, and both Voltigeurs releases on Turgid Animal. I can't get enough of the forward momentum in all this material. No matter how much clattering, cacophonous, swirling is howling around, almost every one of MB's tracks has this piercing push ahead, which is maybe why a lot of it gets categorized as "drone", but while a lot of other drone/noisebient artists can get stale every Skullflower/Volt/Total track is just bristling with life and energy. This shit is my audio orgone.

[thetenthousandthings]

Well said, mate. I feel quite similarly!

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Draconis Absolutely beautiful, mind-meltingly lysergic visions of cosmic intelligence and splendor. I believe this release is where MB has said they were unleashed to traverse the stars as they are today. Part of me is amazed this release is almost never mentioned anywhere, but I also cannot imagine who this would specifically appeal to. This release in particular really makes me appreciate MB's tip-toed balance between traditional psychedelia and traditional left-hand path theatrics.

I also listened this. I somehow considered it to be "recent". It always felt like this is something I recently got and will check soon. Now seeing that double CD came out 2014! It is surely stand out release among the new-ish releases of Skullflower. I like the way the tracks seamlessly jump into next one. It is almost like continuous journey, rather than single stand-out "songs". Transitions are fast, though. It is not like slow mix-fade from atmosphere to the next, but usually fast cut where song changes to the next, without need of having silence between. Two CD's listened one after another goes fast. Before review above, I have heard one Finnish friend compliment this double CD among the greats, and due his comments it was actually in my CD player last week.

[AKTI Records]

I`ve bought a lot of Skullflower releases this year. I`m going to write small takes on them all. First I`ll start with...

Obsidian Shaking Codex
Bought this RRR release same time with 20 other cd`s. In the pile I had some 00`s forest folk from the States, Sun City Girls, Jandek and whatnot.

This CD gets easily lost in the shelf because of the covers being this cd-r type of plastic envelope.

I guess this release is a some sort of classic and shows whats to come. Has a lot in common soundwise to the upcoming Skullflowers VHF releases, rock stuff ya know. Feels less improvised though. I can`t say if thats a good or a bad thing in my books. I like the way the sounds are layered. The drums being really low in the mix kind of gives me the feel of true volume. Repetitive melodies on bass and guitar remind me of my favorite band The Dead C. Damn good record. Basic stuff, but not so. A noise rock ritual. Listened to it like 7 times in last 6 months.

[AKTI Records]

Fucked On A Pile Of Corpses

Bought it from Ektro Records alongside with Spirals of Great Harm and Dragonis CD`s.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this album. Especially the track "Viper`s Gang". The song has this charming interface between racket and something else. Bursts of guitar notes cutting the noise, giving the track good dynamics.

The album feels slightly too monotonous in the end. I think all in all the record has it`s moments, but not the first one in line when somebody asks me to recommend a Skullflower record. I do like the length. To me, 36 minutes of this compact noise sounds more intriguing and something to come back to, than - let`s say 70 mins of this stuff.

[AKTI Records]

The Black Iron That Has Fell From The Stars, To Dwell Within (Bear It, Or Be It)

Nashazphone LP containing vibrant and epileptic arpeggios with synths and some guitar abuse. Psychedelic entity. The kind of record that needs to played really loud to get the "heady" experience. This album reminds me a lot of Vibracathedral Orchestras tunes. Average stuff, but I have to admit that I have some problem with how the synths sound on this one. They feel a bit plastic sometimes. I feel that one second I`m really inside the record thinking "this is the best shit ever" and the next second "anybody could do this".

[Earth O.D.]

Skullflower has yet another digital release out ("Strayed Gods", with Bower stirring things up again with an interesting cover, hehe), and I really wish Bower/labels would release some of these 10-30 min. works instead. They tend to be a lot more mellow in the Sunroof! vein with a lot of similarities to "Orange Canyon Mind". A lot of understated/minimal melodic loops, even Göttsching style simple synth/guitar work.

But as it is, Nashazphone just released "Ophidian Vibrations" LP, more in the minimalistic noise/drone style and I´m really not into it.

One key release that sticks to my mind would be "The Golden Laughter of Abraxas" - I don´t really buy digital stuff but got it along with a shirt I ordered. Or, depending on your time/interest, just go through them all. Oh yes, the stuff repeats itself, but I find myself from time to time immersed in the man´s own musical continuum.

https://skullflower.bandcamp.com/album/the-golden-laughter-of-abraxas

[Pius]

Looks as though Bandcamp has pulled Strayed Gods over the cover image.