PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[acsenger]

Phosgen – When Innocence Dies... (LP, Wolf Rec.)

After recommendations on this forum, I bought this album and I agree with those who commented on it: a solid if not exceptional album. Heavy German electronics with the usual trademarks: rhythmic and oppressive electronics, samples, feedback. The last track on side B lives up to its title: Never Ending Pain. It's the harshest track by far on the album and, interestingly, ends in really painful high-pitched feedback cut into the runout groove, thereby creating a loop until the needle is lifted. A solid album worth getting, especially since it's cheap on Discogs.

S·Core – Crime (CD, Daft Records)

I really like S·Core despite the fact that the CDs I have are all a bit too long and they all have weaker tracks. Still, even if they benefited from stricter editing, I really appreciate S·Core's strange sound world. I think Mikko has described it on this forum as rotten noise from the gutter or something to that effect, and I fully agree. It's not that it's an expression of negative emotions, but rather like the sound of some strange, unhealthy, rotten place deep underground, with strange life forms... The tracks don't progress much, so the lesser ones can drag on, but taken as a whole, this CD (like the others I know) is still a good listen. It looks like I'll have to chance to get some of S·Core's tapes from the 80s; I'm looking forward to hearing them.

Snuff – II (CD, Filth And Violence/Untergeschoss)

Excruciating high-pitched feedback with vocals all the way. Stuff that's literally hard on the ears. I'm in no way an expert or a huge fan of PE, but I like this album a lot, even when it's not for everyday listening. There are, I think, two parts where there's murky midrange noise instead of high-pitched feedback, and the second one goes on for too long (that's the part with some field recordings of children in the background – perhaps recorded at an indoors playhouse or something, judging from the reverb), but other than that, this is a very much recommended album for those who like painful electronics.

[cr]

Marduk - Frontschwein
Nice. Especially for relaxing and readjusting ears and brain after a shitty week in the office.

Chop Shop - Grey Area  tape
I like this one so much, I could listen to it endlessly on repeat.

Ke/Hil: Hellstation
So good! Looking forward to the new one - "Zone 0"

[acsenger]

Marduk - Frontschwein
Nice. Especially for relaxing and readjusting ears and brain after a shitty week in the office.

I'm blasting it right now. I haven't been following black metal for 10+ years, so I have no idea what "those in the know" think about this album (or the band), but I love it: it's fucking intense with great melodies here and there.

[Zeno Marx]

Ure Thrall - Arabian Knightmares 2004 - ethno-ambient - more lightly attacked tribal and ethnic drumming like you'd find on Voice of Eye's Transmigration (collaborators in the past and this is not unlike what you'd expect from them) - would have fit perfectly on the Twilight Earth compilation series - Arabic tones - maybe not as menacing, or as dark, as the subject matter would imply, or as expectations would hope, which would have given it more resonance and have been even more to my liking - good and highly skilled album - strange that Tesco would reissue this album.

Chris Watson - El Tren Fantasma - The Signal Man's Mix 2011 - field recording manipulations- more ideas from this great album - musical mixes - the train track rhythm on the first track made me think of Apoptose "Blutopfer" and military snares.

[bile]

Hostage Pageant "Parallel Interruption

Shane Church is a crucial figure within the United States Harsh Noise world and this tape further solidifies his place amongst classic (and modern) masters. Brilliantly paced pieces across two sides of this C20. Building off of minimal framework and bizarre, barren sounds across the A side (lots of intriguing tinkering here...reminds me of an abandoned medical complex...wheels squeaking, metal tins and examination tables stirring...), whereas the B side presents a catastrophic look into exploration. This continues to hit the spot every time I put it on...just the correct amount of atmospheric electronics and harsh bursts. Gorgeous organic sounds, never too distorted but never too "light", either. Beautiful.

Bizarre Uproar "Amputaatio"

This miniature review is being crafted while listening to this disc for the second time (the first time was a casual listen while going about other daily routines...). I was a fan of "Vihameditaatio" from last year as well as the "musical" elements hinted at within "Rape Africa", but this 2015 disc isn't touching any nerves with me. Without saying too much (in fear that with more listens I will grow to love this material) my bias leans towards the strictly harsh electronics side of BU...I found myself itching to put on "Purification" throughout the duration of this output. Maybe I am approaching it with the wrong set of ears and misunderstanding the messages behind these slow moving, devastating waves of sound. It's uncomfortable, it's creepy, it's very well crafted, but just not my "style". Oh well.

[Andrew McIntosh]

"Amputaatio" sounds for all the world like Abruptum playing Drone Doom.

[Baglady]

CURRENT WORMING - "1" C26 (Dogmatics In Outline)
New canadian project on a new canadian label (same person responsible for both). Influenced by (but not a carbon copy of) the "swedish tape noise" thing, and I'd say it lands somewhere in between the uglier (Ultra-Fuck) and the more "clean" (Blodvite) side of that spectrum. It is slightly more aggressive than the laid back swedes output though. Emphasize 'slightly' here; it's not harsh by any means. Promising stuff, well worth your hard earned money.
There's a second CW tape, and a new PE project called NOR INDEX, out on the same label. Both great tapes as well.

[jadderly]

Ure Thrall - Arabian Knightmares 2004

Just got this in the mail recently...haven't had time to listen to it yet though.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

GODFLESH "A World lit only by fire" LP
Hmm.. somehow doesn't give me same feeling as previous mLP. That felt very good. Even if sound not as strong as the old classics.. This feels more like situation where they know exactly what to do, but for good songs, it's not all about consciously following template. The little extra is present in only few tracks. Not bad, but just very little reasons to pick up this when looking bands discography...

SWASTIKA KOMMANDO "1983" 4xLP+7" box
Menstrual
Good box. Sort of "vinyl on demand" kind of looks. Even that amusing "official certificate" is included, as if bootlegs of this kind of boxes would be likely to happen. One side of the first LP isn't too amazing due quite dull vocals. I wonder whether there was something wrong with master tape of 2nd LP. One side is utterly suffocated lo-fi sound, and suddenly for last 5 mins or so, sound of same track suddenly "fades" into crispy and clear sound. Something what you sometimes can experience with old tapes. But of course there are ways to make it work. I wonder if original tape release is like this, or is it just this vinyl here? I must say I might actually prefer the lo-fi part of the song more, so whether its fuck-up or meant to be so, it works...
3rd LP with half live side and half interview in Italian language and then return to noisier stuff. I prefer most 1st and 2nd of LP's and excellent 7".  That's the screeching feedback noise and dark suffocating industrial-noise soundscapes.

BAYMON "Förruttnelsen" tape
Obscure black-noise tape from Sweden. Raw and distant sound what appears like live-at-rehearsal place recording. There are things like discordant bm guitar riffs repeating on distance, scream, raw electronics etc. What I said about Axnaar some messages above, fits here too. I personally rarely feel the simple cold guitar riffs within noise would add much to noise, while the noise doesn't add much to simple guitar work either. Sort of blending together things what would be better separate? It's not bad, and like said, should be lots of fans for this sort of obscurities.

[bile]

Orgasm Response Unit "Dissonant Love"

This is an older tape released on the superb Amnesia Program imprint. ORU is a collaboration between the Tandy brothers (whom are stellar solo artists under the monikers Being and Diaphragmatic) and, just like their individual output, this is unrelentingly heavy Harsh Noise. Scrap metal, feedback, and distortion (although this feature is used tastefully...I believe that most of the sounds on this tape are undistorted but merely amplified incredibly loud...). Every second of this thirty minute tape hits the spot. The dynamics and pacing are virtually consistent throughout the whole listen...absolute chaos. An essential listen for any USHN heads.

[jadderly]

NAXAL PROTOCOL - The Guilty Should Get What They Deserve! CD
One of the best industrial/noise albums I've heard in a long time. Not much else to say. This is great.

TEST DEPT - A Good Night Out LP
Live album, sort of in between the tribal metal percussion stuff of the first two albums and the later performance art soundtrack type stuff. This is good, but nothing beats the earlier TD material for sheer power.

CAZZOKRAFT - Integrity of the Preconcious System CD
Like the Naxal CD, this is disc really stands out among the herd. Good variety, well put together, aggressive yet dynamic. I'd like to see these guys do another collaboration album soon.

GNAWED - Feign & Cloak CD
American death industrial. A bit more subtle than I might have expected but I like this. Didn't blow me away but probably needs more stereo time.

SONAR - Sonar CD
A lot less dancefloor oriented than some Sonar material I've heard. Many of the tracks fit into the abstract yet rhythmic stuff you'd hear from something like Esplendor Geometrico. Good stuff.

[eyestrain]

Orgasm Response Unit "Dissonant Love"

This is an older tape released on the superb Amnesia Program imprint. ORU is a collaboration between the Tandy brothers (whom are stellar solo artists under the monikers Being and Diaphragmatic) and, just like their individual output, this is unrelentingly heavy Harsh Noise. Scrap metal, feedback, and distortion (although this feature is used tastefully...I believe that most of the sounds on this tape are undistorted but merely amplified incredibly loud...). Every second of this thirty minute tape hits the spot. The dynamics and pacing are virtually consistent throughout the whole listen...absolute chaos. An essential listen for any USHN heads.

Viva Tandy!! These boys rip live.

[bile]

Orgasm Response Unit "Dissonant Love"

This is an older tape released on the superb Amnesia Program imprint. ORU is a collaboration between the Tandy brothers (whom are stellar solo artists under the monikers Being and Diaphragmatic) and, just like their individual output, this is unrelentingly heavy Harsh Noise. Scrap metal, feedback, and distortion (although this feature is used tastefully...I believe that most of the sounds on this tape are undistorted but merely amplified incredibly loud...). Every second of this thirty minute tape hits the spot. The dynamics and pacing are virtually consistent throughout the whole listen...absolute chaos. An essential listen for any USHN heads.

Viva Tandy!! These boys rip live.

Some of my favorite live sets have been at the hands of these brothers (together and individually!). When I was on tour last winter Diaphragmatic played the Cincinnati date. One of the most visceral HN sets I've witnessed in person...tiny room, superb volume, maximum textural density.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Been too busy recently with many things occupying my time. Listening stuff, yes, but not had so much time to "report" about it.

OCHU "tvärsnitt" LP
Verlautbarung
Received this yesterday and started to listen it this morning. And have not listened anything else today. Constant replays, and even more so for B-side. I know that lumping together entire countries worth of bands may be irritating, but one could say that in one sense one could say this is something one could expect from Sweden. Sort of noisy stuff, but leaning toward more arty side of it. But at the same time you could say what Ochu does, is utterly different from contemporary Swedish sound. Despite seemingly common similarities like charming rough (tape captured?) sounds. Blending in field recordings, very physical sounds etc. But he does it very different ways. I could perhaps conclude that despite all sorts of goodies from various swedish artists, this is easily best album from Sweden in this field for some time?! It is innovative without pretentious. It's raw, without being powerless. etc etc... Too bad only 160 something copies exists. I'm already down to last copy available at my mailorder.. lets see if more is possible to get...

[Scat-O-Logy]

OCHU "tvärsnitt" LP
Verlautbarung
...I'm already down to last copy available at my mailorder.. lets see if more is possible to get...

Damn, I knew I forgot something after paying my order. Hopefully you're able to get more copies so I can order one with upcoming FA releases.