PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[PSYWARRIOR84]

Cryocene "Graveside Fortress" CD-R. Dead Gods 2024.

Cryocene's "Exclave" (New Forces) was one of my top releases of 2021 so this new one was an instant grab. In fact it was the only merch I bought at FLAW fest.

How was FLAW Fest?

[HateSermon]

Cryocene "Graveside Fortress" CD-R. Dead Gods 2024.

Cryocene's "Exclave" (New Forces) was one of my top releases of 2021 so this new one was an instant grab. In fact it was the only merch I bought at FLAW fest.

How was FLAW Fest?

Overall really good. It was pretty ambitious to pull off but I think it worked. My only critique would be to break the fest up into 2 full days since Saturday was a whopping 20 artists... basically getting face fucked with harsh noise all day. Friday was a pre-fest and a little shorter. I wish there were either less projects or more variation because after a while a lot of the projects started to sound the same. The Rita was fucking incredible -- live mascara, tights, and ballet worship with a backdrop of harsh engine sounds. I think he was using some sort of kid's motorcycle toy handle to create this sort of revving sound. The performance by his counterpart was captivating... slowly putting on mascara and ripping her tights. Erotic and tense. Even going out into the crowd and interacting with them. Psywarfare was also great. Blasting sparks into the audience with an angle grinder... man the look on some of these people's faces was priceless. One girl in particular was terrified. Nice to have a sense of unrestrained danger at the end of the night! Dilloway was also incredible with the rocking chair noises and 8 track loops. Some similarities to his legendary performance at Amplified Humans Fest. BLJ, VWBH, Heat Signature, Paranoid Time, and Meketa also had noteworthy performances. Videos of each set will be on youtube soon. The whole fest was filmed.

[PSYWARRIOR84]

Cryocene "Graveside Fortress" CD-R. Dead Gods 2024.

Cryocene's "Exclave" (New Forces) was one of my top releases of 2021 so this new one was an instant grab. In fact it was the only merch I bought at FLAW fest.

How was FLAW Fest?

Overall really good. It was pretty ambitious to pull off but I think it worked. My only critique would be to break the fest up into 2 full days since Saturday was a whopping 20 artists... basically getting face fucked with harsh noise all day. Friday was a pre-fest and a little shorter. I wish there were either less projects or more variation because after a while a lot of the projects started to sound the same. The Rita was fucking incredible -- live mascara, tights, and ballet worship with a backdrop of harsh engine sounds. I think he was using some sort of kid's motorcycle toy handle to create this sort of revving sound. The performance by his counterpart was captivating... slowly putting on mascara and ripping her tights. Erotic and tense. Even going out into the crowd and interacting with them. Psywarfare was also great. Blasting sparks into the audience with an angle grinder... man the look on some of these people's faces was priceless. One girl in particular was terrified. Nice to have a sense of unrestrained danger at the end of the night! Dilloway was also incredible with the rocking chair noises and 8 track loops. Some similarities to his legendary performance at Amplified Humans Fest. BLJ, VWBH, Heat Signature, Paranoid Time, and Meketa also had noteworthy performances. Videos of each set will be on youtube soon. The whole fest was filmed.

That sounds like an amazing fest/experience. Hopefully they have another FLAW Fest, I'd travel for something like that!

[InspiratoryStridor.]

I was at FLAW, too. Amazing couple of days. I gripped the new Cryocene as well, among other things. Haven't listened yet, but most excited about the Action/Discipline tape released for the fest, as their set on Friday was a highlight for me. Also came away with a renewed appreciation for John Wiese, I thought he was excellent. 

[Cranial Blast]

Michael Sterns - Ancient Leaves CD Reissue by Infinite Fog.

I found this release to be quite exhilarating, amazing and quite unique for an ambient/experimental release dating back to 1977. The album definitely has some very sombre, majestic and even maybe a sort of melancholic type of atmospheres to heard throughout that sort of build and build up into this sort of subtle composition that keeps a nice interesting pace. Ancient Leaves is the only thing I've heard from Micheal Sterns, but I'll definitely be looking more into the discography. I'd like to think that anyone who's remotely into the more ambient side of Dead Can Dance would certainly enjoy this release and I'd highly recommend it to anyone that is even remotely searching for something ambient of the highest qualities.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Kazumoto Endo - Brick & Mortar CD (Skeleton Dust)

Reissue of the cut-up master's 2003 album. This one seemed so impossible to find before the reissue. Even While You Were Out would pop up for sale from time to time, but Brick and Mortar almost didn't seem to exist even though there were supposedly 500 copies.

A super precise and surgical 26 minutes. With nano-second splicing of pedal chain feedback loops, junk metal, scraped springs, and even pop music samples this album is truly special. Not a second is wasted and it's so meticulously crafted that it never feels like sounds are randomly thrown together. Every sound has a place and purpose.

Themes are created and interplay between the sounds are established, repeated, and then by the time you recognize the pattern, new themes and interplay are created. I cannot even fathom how long the standard track took Endo to edit let alone a whole album.

Endo is such a special artist and almost everyone is already familiar with his body of work. However, this album is truly immaculate and a stand-alone representation of technical cut-up noise. Even within his already well-praised discography, this has to be somewhere damn near the top. I personally think this tops While You Were Out which is a feat in and of itself.

If cut-up is your flavor and you haven't grabbed this yet, don't wait.

[Svartvit]

I was finally able to get Hospital's Mangled Clit comp and it's one amazing looking set. Very high quality digipak! There's only one track per side for each tape and songs flow into each other, like they were meant to be just one track. The only exception is the Purveyors Of Cruelty's Confession, with menacing, heavy industrial banging and spoken word. Two hours of otherwise very similar dirty noise and shouting, it's a bit hefty listen, but lovely nonetheless. Along with Final Solution, I wonder if there's more 90s NYC Power Electronics waiting to be unearthed, or is everything already reissued.

Let's pray to the noise gods that there is more still in hiding, I Love this sound.

[Phenol]

I've had a little time to digest the new DCD by The Black Mahgreb. It continues the style of the 7" and is very good, at least while listening to it. The problem is that it's too massive and after I've listened I can't really remember any standout tracks. All is good, but like with the latest GO album nothing really stands out either. I like that it's kind of subdued for large parts, though, and the brooding synth sound paired with also subdued high frequncy sounds with resonace turned up high is just he way I like it.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Tourette - Cendrier Du Voyage c60 (Archivio Diafònico)

Maybe the dirtiest and most forward harsh noise album by Tourette. All contact mics, feedback, and metal junk abuse. Only basic seasoning on this album but prepared by a skillful hand.

Still features the expertise in editing and composition of a Tourette album. However, featuring a more noticeable appreciation for grit and texture. Sounds are given more room to rot and fester. Many sounds are pushed to their limits, choked out, and strangled. Last track in particular sounds like a gimp crawling through a junkyard.

None of the classical like synth/organ chord work like on other releases. Even though synth is used minimally, it's more to add tension and nuance to some tracks.

I played this one twice in a row as I felt like I missed a lot of the detail the first time around and didn't truly appreciate how good it was. Even better on the second listen. Skillful and artistic necrotic sounds.

[Theodore]

A lost month. Mental turmoil and a deep stress i couldnt pinpoint, rotting on the couch, watching garbage TV, unwilling to do anything, no music, nothing. It ended with me winning 600EUR at the slots and loosing them back in a couple of days -Fuck you Rise Of Ymir- , plus my initial 40 ofcource, like a proper alpha loser. Take the money and run you stupid, i know. Strangely this set my head back straight, so to music, this morning :

Macronympha + Kakerlak - MM4TS (2007) -Thorax Harsh Cassettes- : It is what you expect from them and as good as you expect it. Noise, damage, party. One hour passed very quickly, and i went to turn the volume louder 3 times. I missed noise, perfect choice for relapse. Inserts with chicks with dicks.

No Artist - Bangkok Rangoon (Late 80s maybe) -Bizarr Verlag- : Street-life field recordings from these 2 cities. From a label that had this series. Nice listening, relaxing. Listen : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA52cRzDOo8

Drunken Dolphins - Pictures Become Suspicious (1984) -Calypso Now- : Pointless guitar jam on Side A. A little less pointless keyboards, guitar, sax jam on Side B. Not my thing. I bought it as an order filler and dont remember why i chose this instead of something else. Blind buy, very bad call. Happens ...

[Krigsverk]

XE - Front line fighters (CD, F&V)

XE really shines on this one, not that the previous albums were bad, but this really is a notch better than the last years offerings. The album kicks off with a long track that starts with some triumphant marching music loop that slowly disintegrates and gets more and more distorted. Slowly feedback is introduced and vocals start to emerge. The second track, "Front line fighters" has some droning distortion and looped speech going on, joined by metallic rattling... kind of like you would record yourself on a workbench doing some metal-pipework or similar, no attack, just indistinct workbench field recordings. This is a quite short track and it sloooowly fades out into the last track "Smash the reds"; here we have it all - feedback torture, metal junk abuse, angry looped vocals... a great climax to a great album. The whole thing is quite hypnotic actually, it feels like listening to hateful mantras repeated over and over again. Another thing I noted is that the feedback is not as piercing and tinnitus-inducing which makes the whole album a bit more easy listening (hahaha, yeah right), especially compared to the latest Snuff. But yeah, recommended and on the top ten list of 2024.

[Clinton Foundation]

Vihanmiehet - Matalataajuuksinen Extaasi
If you enjoyed their last album, you will definitely enjoy this one.

Grunt / Bizarre Uproar - Toinen Iho
Artists provide 2 long tracks with some of the most vile power electronics (noise?) there is to offer.
First track is full of filth & almost industrial scrap metal loops scattered throughout on top of a metal cacophony. I like the stop / start flow that builds during the track, perfectly layered. Around the middle of the track it sounds like scrap metal getting destroyed by a machine then getting whirled into a tornado. Near the end sounds start appearing more reversed & you get assaulted on and off by heavenly crunchy wet textures. Roughly last 3 mins is full of reversed loops, scrap metal & pulsating synth work with raspy vocals from Grunt.
Second track continues roughly in the same vein but is structured differently, like an orgasm that doesn't end for 20 mins. BU vocals buried in the mix, play this album as loud as you can possibly take it. Pure filth & scrap metal worship.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Actually not synth used in this one, for Grunt part at least! I did mention to one customer that was visiting my store today that there is no synth, no delay, no reverb, no efx... and he cautiously put the CD down and told will consider it.
Grunt part is just BU source material, couple cables and mixer. Most of it is not layered, apart from many things happening at once.  Currently been under work couple other releases that belong into this idea of doing something with completely different way or different gear than former albums. Probably 2025 will be coming something!

One thing that is ready, but not yet pressed, is Grunt/Gelsomina 2xCD. It will have one disc 2005 collaboration LP material and other disc new collaboration done 20 years later.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Freak Animal International Vol. 4 CD

I mentioned it before, but I look forward to each of these as much if not more than the other releases I order along with it. I always learn more about or discover a "newer" artist and hear something from some of my other more established favorites.

Yksi - Excellent psych noise without sacrificing harshness with really well layered sounds. I loved the White Magic tape on Satatuhatta and the Ultrasensory Exploration album. A substantial 14-minute track that delves deep into the harsh psyche.

Umpio - Provides the harsh with excellent metal junk sounds and knows how to use synths. The use of post-recording production has always propelled Umpio beyond others. It does it on these tracks as well.

Richard Ramirez - Wow! A seriously harsh track. No seriously. It really stands above the rest and shows Richard's pedigree. Even with a lot of great releases and re-issues this year, this track stands out as truly superb. I'm floored.

Government Alpha - 3 new tracks from the master. Is there anyone besides Mikawa who has been this consistent for so long? Government Alpha was always one of my early favorites getting into noise and one of my favorites to this day. An unrelenting and consistent artist. Love the G. Alpha influenced cover art on this comp also.

Could be a contender for the best in the series so far...

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Actually not synth used in this one, for Grunt part at least! I did mention to one customer that was visiting my store today that there is no synth, no delay, no reverb, no efx... and he cautiously put the CD down and told will consider it.
Grunt part is just BU source material, couple cables and mixer. Most of it is not layered, apart from many things happening at once.

Listening now.

The first track is very heavily focused on metal junk, high end feedback, and loops. If each artist mixed one track, I would guess this is the BU track. There are moments that remind me of Changez Les Blockeurs. High frequency metal screeching. Thinking of those "dragging metal across concrete floors" sounds. At times rhythmic in a chaotic kind of way. The track ends with a Judas Priest style backwards "satanic message" outro.

Second track starts with very intense distorted vocals. Metal junk and electronic feedback kick off with clanging and screeching high frequency electronics sweeping in the background. Literally sounds like both artists threw their pedals into a tumbling concrete mixer. However, it is expertly edited and mixed and comes together and I think this is the strongest of the two tracks.

Beautiful chaos and a great and highly awaited meeting between these two artists.