H.Ö.H. "Palava Kuljettaja" tape
New tape contains 6 untitled tracks and I dare to say, despite admiring all the H.Ö.H. stuff, perhaps the best tape yet! It remains pretty much equally brutal and primitive as before, but each track has clearer distinctive elements and "composition". Even if it may be just crackling radio static and rewinding tape noises back and forth or somehow rugged tape loops. All remains utterly primitive and hand made feel, void on ANY effect gadgets or editing. Brilliant!
EURONET "Jabber Zeus" tape
LEGLESS "Music For Blackouts" tape
White Centipede Noise
Label remains to be crucial source for no-bullshit harsh noise assaults! Of course harsh heads could review all the tapes in length & detail, but perhaps unnecessary now. Just to conclude, every tape on this label seems above average!
SEX AND HYPNOSIS tape
Backteria Field
A-side passes by without much of impact, but not sure what exactly is so crucially different on b-side, that it captures instantly! Creepy industrial noise created of multiple sound layers of physical noises. Not sure if it's accurate to talk about oldest TNB, 1st album era Haters or Vivenza, but somehow those names came to my mind even if SAH barely sounds like them.
WHITESWAN "Inevitability of violence" tape
Nil By Mouth
Finnish PE, which has always been hit & miss. This is more towards first demo type. Primitive vocals with no effects, and not much of character, but fits quite well with one-dimensional lo-fi noise electronics. Which is not bad category here. My only complaint is that like tape on Wrath, both sides are nearly identical. Just doing basically "same track again". While he could have set up sound different and both sides would become more interesting. But sonically, this is actually one of the best Whiteswan tapes, with more blown-up overloaded electronics!
SISSY SPACEK "Slow Move" CD
WHITE GOLD "2" CD
Troniks
Troniks is not dead!! It's slower than it used to be at peak, but Phil is still around and as result you can hear two releases that are like timetravel to 2005. If you didn't get enough of harsh noise from Los Angeles back then, and feel like blasting high-treble levels, fierce electronic harsh noise is what you need, then here's two discs what won't disappoint.
There is no overloaded crunch of the 90's, but the mid 2000's ripping clarity and crisp distortion.
Sissy Spacek has more "meat" behind the layers of nearly plain white noise, but also this time it is harsh noise - not noisecore or experimental of some sort.
SHIFT "Altamont Rising" CD
Cold Spring
Still waiting copies of new album to arrive, so re-visited this previous album, and it is actually even better than I remembered. I don't think I ever made conscious link of this and The Grey Wolves. Of course it's foolish to assume GW would be any specific influence for Shift, but now that this is playing, it's almost as if Catholic Priest Fuck Children & War Against Society era grey wolves popped some steroids and upgraded their gear. Some of the similar fuzzy rawness, yet tonal heavy electonic backbone, looping rhythms etc.. The Raptors Talons Tore Their Flesh goes pretty close to territory of Through Constant Decay, minus eerie choir synths.
That all said, Shift has been already years more like bands to use as referencepoint, than to be compared with older groups. Now with c. 5 years after this was composed, it underlines strength of album how fresh and timeless it sounds!
IRM "The Cult Of The Young Men" CD
Annihilvs
Another revisit. 2002-2006 recordings, live either studio or at gig. Time before permanent bass player. It is not bad. Not at all, but there are few things what are clear. First of all, IRM has matured and become more interesting during last 10 years. Second, this material is not that far from what IRM does, but is simply not as well done as it is now. As good as Bladh is as vocalist, after all, he has nearly one way of doing his delivery. Vocal rhythm, tone, and intensity is almost identical from album to album. In latest efforts, there is variety, but still very much certain way.
If one would compare Shift with this, each Shift album is different from the previous. Despite few elements, like darkness, negativity, slow tempo and heaviness, Shift always changes. Of course every IRM album is different, but certain elements repeat strongly - one being vocal style & effects used with it, which is so dominating element that it may make tracks feel samey, even if they weren't. While I used to be much in favor or "red album", nowadays I'd rate highest things from 12" on Segerhuva onwards where band has upped the level in pretty much every level.
