PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[HONOR_IS_KING!]

I am really hoping for 'Beirut Rising' to be excavated someday (would love to hear 'Refugee Camp Extermination').

I can almost guarantee this will never see a reissue. And it honestly doesn't really need it. He is far better now than that and kind of no need to dwell on the past.

Couldn't have put it better.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

I've been re-visiting a lot of Gordon Ashworth's material outside of the Oscillating Innards persona and really enjoying it. One of the first things I got from him was actually the Despairing Summer / American Ulterior tape from 2007 which left a deep impression. The work under his own name, Caen, and Concern all contain degrees of composition and self-inflection with tape music and acoustic instruments that works so incredibly well. I should spend more time expanding on the differences between S.T.L.A, Middlefield, and Truth & Distance but they are all excellent albums and it's more fun when people discover for themselves.

Very effective palette cleansing music after listening to a heavier dose of harsh material recently.

[no_baizuo_allowed]

Pogrom – Father:land (CD, Old Captain/Terror)
Relistening to this and thinking about good old Olegh of Old Captain. One must presume this will never surface above the oblivion of the underground, although it is very interesting to revisit in light of recent world events.
The quality of the recording overall is so distinct, one needs the right volume levels to be able to appreciate it fully. Starts with a buzzing rumble with muffled vocal levels buried deep beneath in the mix. Overall the sounds explored are seething and dirty in character; wading through an array of areas to come up with the filthiest sounds possible. Noteworthy incorporation of instrumentation on some tracks, which break up the tracks with their variation. For the most part, the bulk of this album across its 7 tracks is a hectic, devastating blizzard of rumble with satisfying bass-heavy crunch to give everything a heavy pump. It is really dominated by that, and of course joined by the sporadic vocals, always rabid in intensity.    Concluding track is a cover of the Lithuanian black metal darkwave (?!) band Anapilis. Pogrom strips it down and one cannot help but be at least a little astounded by the musical tribute on this. Also noteworthy is that this album art has moved away from the gung-ho streetscum imagery to a piece of Symbolist art depicting a hooded phantom. To be sure, all of the direct in-your-face bruteness remains front and centre. To add to that, the grim reaper cover art and goth tribute really push Pogrom down a fascinating aesthetic trajectory.
With a touch of F&V influence, this is uniquely Lithuanian power electronics that would be right at home on a label like Goatowarex's Viva Angel Press.
This, along with Bardo Thodol's "Chöd", Koufar's "Phoenicianism" and Ebola Disco's "Discography" are my top picks of the Old Captain's catalogue.

[MT]

Aprapat - "Hot Lava Shampoo" CD

Gave this few spins this morning. I'd say this is one of the best harsh noise albums I've heard in awhile. Soundwise it is punchy, clear and in your face, but also has enough grit and grind to give it best of both worlds. Noise is executed, again, precisely and loosely. Wild sections are brutal bliss. Sometimes the track just keeps getting more and more intense (esp with decent volume!), kind of like when car goes too fast and you grab the edge of seat! Last track is like a rock n roll gig ending song with guitar sustain and feeling the whole track is gonna collapse and explode. Great CD and demands a breather after, so intense.

EDIT: What I also liked about this CD is that it's more "hit oriented". 10 songs gives enough room to remember your favorite parts and come back to them. I have nothings against 2 track 40min blaster, but I like this approach more.

[online prowler]

GRUNT. Dance for genocide: Live 2012 Helsinki/London.

Just another tape confirming there is no need to buy noise in 2022.

We need to talk about this. Punishing live slaughter from Grunt performing as duo Aspa & Vanhala.

Was anyone here at the gigs? I did not have the pleasure. Come to think of it... If I recall correctly there are visual documentations of the affairs online. Need to watch those again hooked up the monitors.

[MT]

GRUNT. Dance for genocide: Live 2012 Helsinki/London.

Just another tape confirming there is no need to buy noise in 2022.

We need to talk about this. Punishing live slaughter from Grunt performing as duo Aspa & Vanhala.

Was anyone here at the gigs? I did not have the pleasure. Come to think of it... If I recall correctly there are visual documentations of the affairs online. Need to watch those again hooked up the monitors.

I was at the Helsinki gig. It was a damn good one, Bizarre Uproar also played a solid set that night.


Capers - "Lungs" CD
Did some pre-listening via Youtube before buying this and was enchanted by the broken sound. And broken sound it is, 37 minutes of basically sounding like cables are not connected properly, at times connecting and most of time making a disconnect heavy buzz. And I really like this. Saw a description of "non power electronics" somewhere of Capers, and that sums it up pretty good. Even though at times the material gets pretty rough, suffocating bassy tones, and that buzz you will get familiar with. If you want something opposite of for example Aprapat in terms of intensity, this is exactly it!

Nuori Veri - "Kadonnut Maailmankuva" CD
Nuori Veri caught my attention with "Luun ja Auran Synteesi" tape. Naturally I had high expectations for this and many people told me it is good, but I guess I wasn't prepared exactly how good this really is. It starts with the cover art, which I originally thought was a painting of some sort, but finally getting the CD in my hands I realise it is an actual photo. And a remarkably good one to nail the atmosphere of the album name and the material itself. Man standing on side of a gravel road with scythe on his shoulder, watching over a field, almost as trying to gaze into a time that doesn't exist anymore. The combination of some soundscapes familiar from Tervahäät first albums. Shouted vocals, spoken word vocals and rumbles of many kind of unidentified machinery, field recordings of sheet metal work, rattlings of metal and using of "rural elements". Knocks of wood, dragging things accross diffrent surfaces. Nuori Veri made a point to let the listener know "No synths were used" statement. Lyrics are quite important to understand and get into the world of Nuori Veri, and as they are in Finnish, the full experience will be limited for most of the people. But do not let it get in the way, the voice still emits the feeling it is telling you. To me, the tracks mostly deal with nostalgia of the past, connection back to something more natural way of living, but also instead of times and circumstanes there is also a human element in it. As in reminiscing a smell of a certain tabacco, perhaps someone once smoked and evoking a memory from the past.

Ramblings aside, I was really impressed by this CD. Spinning it fourth time now while writing this, and I still feel there is a lot more to it.

[Into_The_Void]

Profane Grace "The Divination Of Souls" duo consisting of Robert Cruzan from Demoncy and Chad Davis from Subklinik / Hour of 13. Terrific spooky dark ambient from 1992 with lot of blasphemous, sacral engulfing atmospheres and diabolic growls. Definitely an hell of a album, utterly scary and with a genuine evil feeling.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

OPERATION CLEANSWEEP "Release nose! The call to die" cd
Tesco
I wasn't expecting this to be this good. Somehow, it feels like more complete, even if it is more of collection of unreleased tracks over long period of time. Early tracks are usually the heaviest and more tasty sound, later with a bit more complex in structure. Good combination of both, even some tonal, melodic patterns in few tracks. Packaging is nothing to celebrate, though.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

PEOPLES PERSON "s/t" tape
Team Boro Tapes
This was sent to my way as promo already years ago. As SI magazine stopped doing reviews, there is probably bunch of stuff that was never reviewed or acknowledged in any way. Of course, can't guarantee everything would. I was mentioned there would be coming reissue of the tape? Does it deserve it - sure!
In times when we do not have shortage of good harsh noise, of course one can think what is it that makes item to stand out.
This 2017 tape is c. half an hour harsh-industrial-noise blast. Been listening it already 4 times today. A-side leans far more to pure harsh noise approach. B-side has a lot more "industrial" vibe to it. It is all the way HARSH in terms of sound elements. Crunchy, very saturated, very distorted, yet the arrangement of those sounds, especially on beginning of b-side is not purely abstract. Overall, the sound is pretty much in lines what I would associate with "MSNP". Bass heavy, crunchy, and a lot of punch. All-on-red dubbing on tape may add even extra punch, where it feels as if layers of noise would compete at the gate, who gets heard, and everything is erupting on top in this competition.
Good thing is also that every track is different in composition. 2nd track of a-side has bassy tone crunchy tone on back, layered with ultra crunchy noise distortion on top, what one could describe like the sound of glory days of The Rita.  While song just keeps streaming forward, suddenly you will notice there no longer is the same type of crunch, but hard and fierce electronic noise. While the drive of song is sustained, it keeps morphing into new things and crunch will return, but it all happens in a way that if you'd leave this on background, might not even notice transitions.

Flipping side, and you get repeating loops creating patterns of song-like appearance, despite it would be covered with free form distorted junk abuse. There are few occasions of barely distorted, clashing metal object sounds, bits of spoken human voices appear. Something that if you'd put vocals on top, very few would question if one would call it power electronics or industrial of some type. Many times when you got bands who want to sound like "Genocide Organ", I think they tend to sound quite different. This stuff here, is probably closer to Leichenlinie era GO, than most contemporary heavy electronics. Hard hitting electronic noise loop, raw saturation, human voice on the distance, just no flanged commanding vocals.. hah.. 2nd track has also rhythmic element in it, but harsh noise on top is clearly leading the composition.  The final track of tape, has  is fierce harsh noise where some low-mid frequency feedback noises (or is it synth?) are less to my taste, and couple moments that sound as if electronic gadget got out of hand, but fairly flawless. A bit of reverb on these, but overall entirely tape is never really showcasing gadgets or efx. It plays more with highly blown out saturation. It will be curious to see if CD reissue would have as good sound as the tape?

[HateSermon]

Totenrune / Sarin Snow split 7" (Novichok)

What a split. I'm a fan of both projects so I of course had to pick it up.

Totenrune side:
Real grimey loops of scrap metal layered over deep rumbling synth work. What's not to like? A tried and true combo that doesn't get old. Material was recorded in 2018 and then re-edited in 2021, according to the insert. It's a slow and tense buildup of textures that creates a murky atmosphere. Ripping steel and full of grit.

Sarin Snow side:
The thing I admire most about SS's work is there's always been an ethereal chaos to it. Most tracks, this one included, have some sense of air or environment in which it lives. Again, grinding low synth work and red hot steel percussion sets a martial tone and makes you want to boot up for war. Vocals are buried, gritty, and hard to make out (I'm sure by design).

Overall, packaging is nicely done. Novichok took great care in printing these. Graphic design looks like its done by Nico A. and is executed well. Plenty of replay value in this release.

If you have yet to check out either project, I think this would be a great place to start as it provides great material from each artist.

[Baglady]

BIZARRE UPROAR & GELSOMINA - Assisted Self-Sterilization CD (Freak Animal, 2007)
Gothenburg's elusive power electronics fella Implicit Ruin handed me this the other day as thanks for a favor. Knowing I'm more of a pure noise guy, he stressed that "I know what your thinking, BU and all, but I think you'll like it." He presumed correctly! Just a few seconds after the shouted opening, I thought of Incapacitants. Always a pleasant sensation. The overall focus on this disc is shrill feedback, electronic tones and currents ringing and chafing, acoustic metal mess, and ecstatic screams and howls buried somewhere beneath. The booklet and the titles might try to steer one's impression in a certain direction, but this is just noise joy at its finest to me. The third track, the title track, is the outlier here, with its more structured build, hammering loops and focus on huge metal sounds. Although it lends variation to the album, it's the only moment where the album starts to drag a bit for me. It is a great piece in itself though, and it has grown on me over repeated listening. But it is the more free-flowing deep rivers of strident feedback, singing electronics and acoustic rattling that really makes the album, I think, with the second track "Bizarre Sterilization / Bizarre Castration", being the absolute peak. The final track, "Ei Enää Äpäriä 2", is a perfect closer though, pitching up the high-pitched yet another notch while letting in some lowend rumble in the process. And is that a theremin or a synth wailing away at the end, in heart-warming El Shanbara Thereminosis fashion? Brilliant and rich noise album. What a pleasant surprise!

I'm not sure if I even have anything else by BU in the shelves here anymore, but I do have some Gelsomina that I haven't played in ages. Time for a recap!

[FreakAnimalFinland]

PETOLUONTO tape
Found this from metal distro at death metal gig I was recently. 2016 experimental-industrial-electronic tape from Finland. Hit & miss kind of thing, but not bad!

ALFABLOT tape
Same thing. Same label, 2016, Finnish ritual-industrial-electronics, 4,50 euro from metal gig tape box. This is actually pretty good! If long tape would have been maybe shortened into best 30 mins, it would have become more focused. Some electronics, some scratching of violin and such perhaps? Some other normal instruments, but usually used in non-musical ways.

No idea if this guy is still around, and what he is doing. Alfablot was 100 copies edition, but don't see even mentioned at discogs.

[Zeno Marx]

Militia - New European Order 1996
VA-War Against Society 1997

It's easy for me to forget how great Militia is at what they do.  I hit these specifically for Militia, but I was deep into it all.  Law.  I have to revisit Law.  It's been a while.  And I'm now in the mood for digging through some Test Dept live recordings.

*anyone have a rip of these?  PM me.  I'd like to be mobile with Militia.

[FallOfNature]

Going through a Dungeon Synth week. Sat through a lot of albums but this was this evenings -

Chaucerian Myth - Meditations: The Visions of Margery Kempe
Mostly too light for my liking. A few sombre moments, but overall too flowery.

Sequestered Keep - misc releases
Hit and miss. The good stuff is great, the bad stuff I cannot even tolerate to see a full album through. But when he does hit the mark it's one of the better fantasy DS projects for sure.

Blood Lord - Unwelcome Guests
I like this a alot. Chiptune or whatever. Sounds like Castlevania or Ravenloft put to music. Goofy, but I like it enough to own both tapes.

Mortwight - various releases
Blurs the line between DS and darker ambient. Not cavernous or primordial like say Herbst9 or Terra Sancta type ambient... more of a moss covered cemetery at night vibe. Pretty good indeed.

[ConcreteMascara]

BIZARRE UPROAR & GELSOMINA - Assisted Self-Sterilization CD (Freak Animal, 2007)

An absolute classic in my book. My favorite Gelsomina release but also one of the best BU releases, even though I like more of the different eras. Those time stretched bits in the 2nd or 3rd song in between the feedback and metal abuse are especially memorable. I remember I picked this up at Hospital back when it was in Manhattan and absolutely punished my ears on the train ride back to NJ that afternoon listening to this on my walkman CD player. Not exactly nostalgic for the days I always had to walk around with a CD player but it was nice in those moments where I picked up something new and could listen right away.