PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[Soloman Tump]

Lussuria  / Alberich ‎– Borgia LP
Unfamiliar with both artists until now, and I'm impressed. I'm not a follower of Hospital Productions related projects usually and I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. Atmosphere heavy, drones, too engaging to be mere background noise ambient/drone. Some heavier, more intense moments. Well worth the $20 I threw at it.

Try to check out Alberich's "NATO Uniformen", it's amazing.

As a crossover with the bandcamp discussion elsewhere, I just paid for the mp3 files of NATO Uniformen.  As there is around 4 hours of music to get stuck into, I was happy to pay for the digital files only since I do not have a working tape player anyway and I suspect the tapes are rare to get hold of in the 2nd hand market.

[totalblack]

Lussuria  / Alberich ‎– Borgia LP
Unfamiliar with both artists until now, and I'm impressed. I'm not a follower of Hospital Productions related projects usually and I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. Atmosphere heavy, drones, too engaging to be mere background noise ambient/drone. Some heavier, more intense moments. Well worth the $20 I threw at it.

Try to check out Alberich's "NATO Uniformen", it's amazing.

As a crossover with the bandcamp discussion elsewhere, I just paid for the mp3 files of NATO Uniformen.  As there is around 4 hours of music to get stuck into, I was happy to pay for the digital files only since I do not have a working tape player anyway and I suspect the tapes are rare to get hold of in the 2nd hand market.

Yeah the tapes are quite expensive, but there is a condensed 2xLP version of the set that was made a few years back. But there is a decent chunk of missing material.

[cr]

Today been listening lots of new ALTAR OF PERVERSION album. 2 hour album of monolithic BM is not easy to swallow. Somehow different than listening 2 hours of noise. When you expect some catchiness in tracks, but there is barely none. Most of old school riffing present at debut album (2001...) is absent. After 3 listenings so far, it feels each time betters. Just 2 hour metal album isn't one of those things what is bound to be on heavy rotation.

First listening session today, impression was really good, and as you say - it's  monolithic BM. Looking forward for the next round.

[Strangecross]

Entre Vifs - Kohle + Stahl cs Aussaat
Just amazing. Material from 2015. Sounds like a mix between TNB and Hollow Bush.  Seems to be carried out with such ease in a simple manner of layering, which i guess adds to the magic of it. sound palate is just perfect the whole time, the title translates to Carbon + Steel, and the sound reminds me of such elements, or cement blocks.

[WCN]

HEAT SIGNATURE - Disguised Human Presense CS - (self-released 2016)
Heat Signature is Brad Griggs and Luke Tandy, 2 out of 3 from the incredible Griggs-Tandy-Aune trifecta, unsung midwest HN masters whose collaborations always bear great fruits. This is a one sided c60 of absolutely killer harsh noise. Perfectly paced, always changing through a rich and wild sound pallet, each new layer combination better than the last. Entire tape has a great rugged mastering job, where all layers gel together seamlessly while retaining power and without sounding excessively lo-fi or flubby. Highest recommendation.

V/A - WNF: Tag Team Noise Rumble Spectacular LP - (Stinky Horse Fuck 1996)
Ran into this at a local shop, was shocked I had never heard of it and it was so cheap. Macronympha, Incapacitants, Strict, Haters, Dogliveroil, AMK, Schimpfluch, Evil Moisture, S+Q plus more... this was a no brainer. Wrestling themed compilation, with bands battling against each other: one in the right channel, one in the left and a DING DING!!! to mark the end of the match and move onto the next... Dumb of course, and the mastering job is pretty crappy, with the dynamic range unusually large and the overall volume pretty quiet, but a fun record. Some of the combinations are annoying, some are brutal and joyous. I love the old school stupidity of it the more I listen.

KAKERLAK - Among The Minutiae CS- (Stiff Sanctorum 2015)
As everyone knows and always says, "Kakerlak always delivers", but this tape kind of bothered me when I first got it. It's his classic ultra-hard sickening noise, but this recording has a layer of more raw and slow metal abuse over the top, which is quite hot in the mix. A bit like the sounds in his masterpiece "The Gardener", but I found it somewhat distracting layered over his mega-violent and "fast textured" walls in this case. Returning to it, it's a great sounding tape I can't deny, and I've gotten more used to the mix, though it requires blurring my ears a bit.

LEGLESS/BEING - split CS - (Angst 2017)
Long tape of absolutely relentless harsh noise. Both sides sound like masterfully executed live-to-tape sessions. Extremely violent with some jaw dropping moments. Essential tape for harsh heads in 2017.

POTR/BACULUM - split CS - (Phage Tapes 2016)
Live recordings from the 2 main projects of Sam Stoxen of Phage Tapes. POTR is industrial PE. These tracks are themed around animal cruelty and industrial agriculture. I think I was at this show, and I remember it being a strong set, but as I listen to the recording, the pitched/flanged vocals bother me. The BACULUM side on the other hand is more my thing, and it rips! Straight to the point brutal harsh noise. An underrated project, especially live.

BLIND DATE - Lying All The Time CS - (Idiopathic Records 2017)
Don't know much at all about this project. The tape was given to me when I visited the Thousands of Dead Gods shop in Brooklyn, and described as "as if someone was obsessed with the mid 2000s Troniks catalog and at the same time a music theory buff." May be an obnoxious description, but appropriate, in a positive sense. Heavy, crumbling, physically sourced sounds played and assembled in a very thoughtful and subtle way. Somewhat emo overtones, mainly from the project name and titles, but the sounds themselves remain dry and cold, never any melancholy piano loops or minor chord drones brought in, which I appreciate. It's a long tape, and the ending loses it a bit when it gets into really stripped down contact mic stuff and squealing vocal sounds, but overall highly recommended for checking out some quality new blood.

[eyesofsatan]

BLIND DATE - Lying All The Time CS - (Idiopathic Records 2017)
Don't know much at all about this project. The tape was given to me when I visited the Thousands of Dead Gods shop in Brooklyn, and described as "as if someone was obsessed with the mid 2000s Troniks catalog and at the same time a music theory buff." May be an obnoxious description, but appropriate, in a positive sense. Heavy, crumbling, physically sourced sounds played and assembled in a very thoughtful and subtle way. Somewhat emo overtones, mainly from the project name and titles, but the sounds themselves remain dry and cold, never any melancholy piano loops or minor chord drones brought in, which I appreciate. It's a long tape, and the ending loses it a bit when it gets into really stripped down contact mic stuff and squealing vocal sounds, but overall highly recommended for checking out some quality new blood.

Highly recommend his second release under the Blind Date moniker "Levitation Game" which was released on Dead Gods earlier this year. You must've visited right before it came out. Really enjoy the first tape but this is a big step up. Shorter (a c15), straight to the point and absolutely crushing with the same high quality arrangement / editing.

[Peterson]

Shameless self-plugging:

(various artists) - "Elävä olento koneena" (Pääte, 2018)
          Title translates to something like "man as organic machine," therefore no sound generators or effects were used on any of these recordings. We get H.Ö.H. from Finland doing harsh, intricate and moving sound-art/sound poetry experiments alongside Belgium's O Ratel Ratel in a heavy, muscular industrial style with tape-warped flavor on the A-side. B-side is jazzier stuff, France's Cryptofascisme with a more collaged piece and and Missing in a low-key, buzzing tape music style.

[ConcreteMascara]

David Gilden - Texas Chainsaw Dopefiend cassette - I've read many a recommendation for this tape on the boards and when this showed up at Skeleton Dust I figured it was best to grab it before it disappears again. I'm admittedly not the biggest listener of pure harsh noise and my exposure to Mother Savage/Macronympha is relatively limited. With all that being said this tape way exceeded my expectations. It's a relatively long tape but there's so much variation between segments, and such brutal transitions between the segments it didn't drag a bit. It's just non-stop, no-bullshit harsh shit. Also, apparently there's more than one version of this tape and the music or sequence is substantially different between the two. don't know which version this is but i've got no complaints.

Grunt - Castrate the Illusionist LP - I waited a month or so to pick this up and I wonder why, why did I do that? Some of the most immediate and vicious sounding Grunt recordings since the split with Montage and the Charred Empire tapes. It's almost a kind of grindcore feel where the tracks kick in immediately and end just as quickly. The pace is so fast it's almost easy to miss the level of detail in the compositions. But goddamn is this album killer. Not a weak track in the bunch. And for me, the best part is the variation in the vocals which cover pretty much every style Grunt has ever done from the high-pitched shrieks to the clear and powerful orations. I love Myth of Blood and to a slightly lesser extent World Draped In A Camouflage, but this album might be better than both. That being said, having just re-listened to Petturien Rooli I don't know that this one tops that one. But they're also very different albums, so it's really a question of what vibe and style at this point with Grunt. Do I want it hard and fast or monolithic and methodical?

Red Light - Red Light cassette - hadn't heard this one in a few years and it's way more fearsome than I remember. ultra high-pitched feedback abuse, a mixture of plain spoken vocals and later on aggressive ones. simple but perfectly effective packaging. it's like a police scanner filtered through the sound of late '90s/early '00s Taint. If you don't have this, get it! A goddamn gem in the IOPS catalogue.

Mania / Hal Hutchinson - Wreckage CD - another one which hadn't been listened to in years. I loved the original tape which was the basis for this CD, and this release is just that plus 2 solo tracks from Mania and 1 from Hal. Absolutely killer material hear. collab tracks Ignition and Flame Territory are highlights but basically it's all solid gold metal abuse, speaker rattling bass and crispy but sparse highs. Praise to Phage for continually making big pressing of killer CDs. I'm sure it sucks as a label to see great albums for sale super cheap within 6-12 months because of the ready availability, but it's a great boon to all those who wait a bit check out an artist or pick up an album. Not every good record should be impossible to buy.

[bitewerksMTB]

Hunting Lodge "Unearthed + Son of Will" tape- for fanatical HL fans as most of s2 you've heard before but in slightly different versions. s1 is all heavy MB-type synth experiments, pre-HL. Definitely a fun listen; if you can keep from dancing around in the dark with glowsticks during the backing track from "Na Vilavilairevu" then I don't want to know you.

Skin Crime "Conqueror Worm" tape- pretty much mandatory for HN with excellent artwork from the greatest evil worm movie ever made.

[Theodore]

David Gilden - Texas Chainsaw Dopefiend cassette - Also, apparently there's more than one version of this tape and the music or sequence is substantially different between the two.

Really ? Is the reissue different edits / mixes than the original ? I only have the reissue. Do you know more info ? Or if anyone having both, shed some light please.

[Yrjö-Koskinen]

Two rather old CDs compiling some stuff made by a great guy (in a musical sense; I don't know him). Let's compare them while drinking supermarket bought Karhu 5,5%!

THE CHERRY POINT - Night of the Bloody Tapes CD (Troniks)
TCP are often mentioned as one of the godfathers of the  sub-genre of Harsh Noise Wall, along with Vomir and The Rita. At least on this album, it's pretty clear why. The recordings compiled here are massive, rumbling, dizzying, rabid and powerful pieces of violence. The sound resembles in many ways some of the better mass-producing HNW artists - think Sleep Column/Elephant Graveyard, Necrotic Fissure and so on - but it has the advantage that it has not yet become quite consumed by gimmick/scene and the idea of sounding static just because that's what you do. On Night of the Bloody Tapes, even with the next-to-absolutely-massive wall sound, The Cherry Point has more in common with the Treriksröset/Sewer Election Killing for... tapes than some random dude calling his HNW Java Generator wavs dirty names. There are lots of things going on, and while this may be more of a barbed fence than a literal wall, we all know that the important thing is whether it gets the job done. This does. A fucking awesome album - somehow grown up, for all its minimalism.

THE CHERRY POINT - Black Witchery (PACrec)
And now for something completely different. This compilation has very little to do with the HNW genre founding shenanigans of Night of the Bloody Tapes, and sounds very different indeed. I'm sure there are all sorts of chronological and factual reasons for this, but I won't spend any time researching any of it. For I am strong, black woman. Anyway: this is a way more free-roaming take on industrial noise and rapacious feedback. There are electronics, there are effects, there is something wet and unpleasant dripping down your spine. Roomy reverbs made less roomy by their obvious nature of being synthetic, but then made more roomy again by the addition of multiple strange layers... I wont try to explain too much, since I am now officially drunk. What I will say is that of the two Cherry Point albums discussed here, the former is certainly the most in-your face, and probably my favorite, but Black Witchery may be the more subtle or even "more intelligent" one. "Season of the Witch" (the third track of the latter album) stands out by combining both worlds and  introducing some brutal looping bordering on lo-fi PE among the fidgeting experiments, and thus making everyone happy. It's great. In fact, The Cherry Point as a whole is (/was???) pretty great.

To sum up: intelligence gets you fired, brutal HNW gets you laid. Black Witchery is the superior compilation of TCP material on a technical level, and one that will probably grow on me, but ATM I'll pick Night of the Bloody Tapes most of the time.

[Theodore]

David Gilden - Texas Chainsaw Dopefiend cassette - Also, apparently there's more than one version of this tape and the music or sequence is substantially different between the two.

Really ? Is the reissue different edits / mixes than the original ? I only have the reissue. Do you know more info ? Or if anyone having both, shed some light please.

To answer my own question. I listened both the Devil Worship uploaded on Youtube -i guess it is from the original- and Side B of the reissue tape. Too long in duration to be sure, and i forgot most of the spots i had marked in my mind but what i remember and feel it's the same. Just my tape misses the last 10-20 sec -those with the drums- cause it ends.

[ConcreteMascara]

David Gilden - Texas Chainsaw Dopefiend cassette - Also, apparently there's more than one version of this tape and the music or sequence is substantially different between the two.

Really ? Is the reissue different edits / mixes than the original ? I only have the reissue. Do you know more info ? Or if anyone having both, shed some light please.

To answer my own question. I listened both the Devil Worship uploaded on Youtube -i guess it is from the original- and Side B of the reissue tape. Too long in duration to be sure, and i forgot most of the spots i had marked in my mind but what i remember and feel it's the same. Just my tape misses the last 10-20 sec -those with the drums- cause it ends.

I'll compare my copy to the upload and report back. This was all what I heard from someone who had two copies of the tape, so I believe 'em. I just have no way of knowing what version mine is without doing a sit-down audio comparison.

You know what my brain is shit. I was thinking of the two versions of Human Skin Lanters, whoops! Too many MSNP tapes that weekend...

[Eigen Bast]

Controlled Death - Symphony For the Black Murder
Maso's new project. I had high expectations going in but this obviously surpasses them. Powerful, HEAVY on the low end power electronics / drone. Vocal performance is perfection. Bleak vibe all around - like an air raid siren sounding while the bombs drop. Would love to see this stuff performed live, any videos out there?

[bitewerksMTB]

Skin Crime "The Thing that could not die" tape (Self Abuse)- s2 is the best; for the life of me I can't figure out his sound source(s). It kind of sounds like he's torturing guitar strings; s2 has a little less of that than s1 and with more static, heavy bass rumblings. 

Disgusting Sanctum "The Pathology of Abuse" tape (Finders)- damn good, heavy death industrial. I hope he cranks out a full-length soon for vinyl or cd.