PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[Peterson]

N.I.T./Kruelco split CS (self-released, 2018)
          Another from one of my favorite PE projects going today meets Kruelco, which is something called "black noise" (e.g. mixed with black metal, I guess). I haven't really listened to Kruelco's side, yet. N.I.T.'s material this time around flows nicely from one track to another and features some of the best vocal performances so far. Electronics sharp and cold as ever, but with some really nice throbbing ultra-bass that manages not to overload headphones like modern day rap. Frankly not a lot to say except that if you're a fan of Iron Fist of the Sun, Koufar and '90s-era Whitehouse, I can't recommend N.I.T. highly enough. Looking forward to the next installment (full-length) which will be on a certain label sometimes advertising here. Only criticism is that in the future I'm curious about how more vocal diversity and quiet passages might sound. American PE gets a lot of justifiable criticism for being derivative but I don't see that here.

[Zeno Marx]

Been enjoying the fuck out of Knurl.  He's new to me.

Hiatus - From Resignation to Revolt 1993 - I don't think about, nor listen to, them often enough; a band that is above appreciation and into that arena of reverence - I don't think I've ever heard anything from them that isn't great, but this is probably my favorite - stupidly sold the CD version of this album, which has great bonus tracks; one of those purges I regret.
Unhinged - Win Our Freedom in Fire 1996 - I remember how this album took Minneapolis by storm - I remember how the jacket felt like damp cardstock, like cardstock out of the freezer, and the texture of the reversed cover; loved the orange print - the whole situation felt different for some reason - never cared for the music a ton though; it was OK, but I wasn't bowled over by anything about it, and I'm still not - I like elements of it a lot, but the sum missed my mark.

Death Fortress - Among the Ranks of the Unconquerable 2014 - I don't now anything about this band; because of the gruff, deeper vocals, it makes me think of crusties doing Immortal black metal, which is NOT a bad thing at all - wish I'd listened to them a month or two ago when I was deep into 90's black metal - pretty cool stuff.
Death Fortress - Deathless March of the Unyielding 2016 - I'm just not crazy about the vocals, but they're also part of what makes this band stand out [for me] - "Merciless Deluge" is a good example of how this band can write great riffs and songs - might like this more than their first album, and I liked that one very well.
Death Fortress - Triumph of the Undying 2017 - I think I like the 2nd album more than this one; the vocals are more significant on this one; still, really good riffs and all.

Tarab - Idée fixe 2017 - phenomenal...truly...powerful field recordings and manipulations - big metal container(?), insects, birds, rustling "sonic rubbish" indeed - big sounds - big feel.

Analfabetism - Kniven Sitter Kvar i Bonden 2018 - I should like this guy more than I do - there's something about how he edits or his bigger idea of things that isn't dark enough, or maybe foreboding enough or something I can't exactly pinpoint; death industrial that feels more like something on Touch than where satisfying death industrial collects; like how ambient on Hearts of Space can be so "off" for me - some good bones here, but I feel like walking away from the plate mid-meal.

Jorge Reyes - Comala 1989 - PBS has a documentary series running right now called Native America.  I was really drawn to the music, and it had me thinking about Jorge's pre-Hispanic series of albums, which are some of his most focused and greatest.  While not technically one of those, Comala is enough like them to begin to quench my thirst.  A common problem I have with Reyes is that while I like him a whole lot, there's also something about his work that won't allow me to listen to an album or two without needing a long break before returning to him.  Cheesiness or tonally unsatisfying or something.  But inasmuch as I know, he and Tuu are the only ones who play in this arena that aren't more geared to soundtracks.  If you know something I don't, please share.  I'm always in the market for things like this.
Jorge Reyes - Prehispanic Music For The Forgotten Spirits 1994 - great ancient-inspired music of flutes, percussion and chants.

Dead Can Dance - Dionysus 2018 - I guess when some feel it is an EP and runs short, but is actually 36+ minutes, it's a good thing.  It flows and removes time.  This is an amalgamation of their worldly side of Spiritchaser/Sambatiki and their live presence and instrument-heavy arrangements with the additions of field recordings and concept-focus.  Drop the sandbags.  Untie the tethers.  Makes perfect sense for DCD.  I'm into it.

[ConcreteMascara]

Dead Can Dance - Dionysus 2018 - I guess when some feel it is an EP and runs short, but is actually 36+ minutes, it's a good thing.  It flows and removes time.  This is an amalgamation of their worldly side of Spiritchaser/Sambatiki and their live presence and instrument-heavy arrangements with the additions of field recordings and concept-focus.  Drop the sandbags.  Untie the tethers.  Makes perfect sense for DCD.  I'm into it.

Excited to hear this, especially with your recommendation.

[absurdexposition]

WHITEHOUSE - Thank Your Lucky Stars "Special Vinyl Edition" 2LP

The remaster sounds great. It's got "My Cock's On Fire (Long Version)". That about does it.

[ConcreteMascara]

Agonal Lust - Modern Atrocities cassette - this project seems to get better with each release. Modern Atrocities is noticeably more "focused" for lack of a better word than the first two tapes. the tracks are not overly long, making impact quickly and effectively. the sound is a tad clearer too, although this still sounds like a project meant to be recorded and released on used cassettes. the overall aesthetic from the art to the track titles has created a cohesive, ultra-negative whole over three cassettes released so far. it feels like all the best bits from the past 20 years of american industrial and power electronics have been taken and refined into something not completely radical, but very effective. a group to watch for sure.

Linekraft - 33 Purgatories cassette - newest Linekraft release, came out back in July. on the expensive side for no discernible reason as the packaging is basically a big insert that makes it hard to store with other cassettes. BUT, the music here is great. I'm learning to expect the unexpected with Linekraft releases as there seems to be no defining template or style, but rather constant exploration into new types of broken sounds. it's most similar to his prior tape on OEC, but it's distinct from that too. at times its the closest to death industrial the project has ever been, but then sometimes its just weird and warped sounding. loving the b-side, especially the last track which starts with a tasty Jim Jones sample.

Screloma - Dirt CD - surprised by this one. I was expecting slow moving electronics w metal abuse and instead I got power noise/rhythmic noise that falls somewhere between Converter's Blast Furnace and DJ Tron's Psychotic TriZt. Really its like power noise with speedcore bits and power electronics vocals. it's fucking nuts! the ridiculous bass kicks will probably turn many off but it was a welcome reminder to me of my love of speedcore and Ant-Zen.

Missing - Untitled II cassette - this one is hard to review. only one listen so far but I'd say its akin to having mercury slowly poured in your ear while you lay semi-conscious in an abandoned strip-mall parking lot, wind blowing silt and trash across the asphalt.

[Kim V]

Missing - Untitled II cassette - this one is hard to review. only one listen so far but I'd say its akin to having mercury slowly poured in your ear while you lay semi-conscious in an abandoned strip-mall parking lot, wind blowing silt and trash across the asphalt.

Sounds like something i should try.
+1 for your Agonal Lust review! One hell of a release!

[fantastique]

Hijokaidan - Legendary Live Collection of Hijokaidan Vol. 6 DVD
Just got some of these in for the distro and took one home with me. The older I get the more I need DVD/VHS of live actions. This is a set to be appreciated by all. Grainy classic footage from 1981, lots of blown out saxophone squelch, guitar noise, screaming, moaning and the like. Total fucking chaos. There's something so refreshing about watching footage from this era when the psychotic nature was natural and even if it were for legend, it was a building block and not an instant gratifying fix. I would say this is essential for anyone who doesn't already own it. I have it on a DVD-R that a friend gave me a few years ago but having the art is pretty key, a crystal clear high contrast shot of the band writhing around on the ground soaking wet covering in what appears to be garbage and vomit.

Immediately after watching I watched two hours of live Butthole Surfers early 80s sets to keep the vibe going

[Peterson]

Missing - Untitled II cassette - this one is hard to review. only one listen so far but I'd say its akin to having mercury slowly poured in your ear while you lay semi-conscious in an abandoned strip-mall parking lot, wind blowing silt and trash across the asphalt.

Holy shit, thank you, Frank! Best review I've had hands down. Totally agree on the Agonal Lust observations - a notch up on the classic model.

[Ashmonger]

Serration - Machine Survival (C20, Unsound Recordings): Industrial/Heavy Electronics. This is good, but while listening to this, I'm starting to think that Unrest/Unsound really found its niche and I'm starting to find it a bit difficult to keep some of the newer projects apart. I guess the Unsound presentation (which is cheap, simple, but nice) doesn't help, but I'm sure it's also got to do with me running behind with listening to what's coming in, so perhaps I should try playing f.e. Detrimental Effect and Serration after each other. Anyway, if you like what Unrest/Unsound has been releasing, you'll most probably like this too.

Mania - Little Pieces of Violence (CD, Phage Tapes): Very recognizable Mania stuff, don't feel like I need to spend too many words on this, it's good.

Various Artists - Sex Noise (CD, Staalwaart Records): Harsh Noise & PE with some better known and some unknown acts and a traditional theme. Nice cover. With compilations you've always got ups and downs, but I feel like this is curated well, good quality overall.

Hymenal Opening/Cervical Smear (C40, Obsessive Fundamental Realism): Hymenal Opening has one long track. Fuzzy kind of PE, with some deformed vocals, didn't do much for me. Cervical Smear on the other hand is good. Rough and noisy PE.

Mz.412 - Ulves Broder (10", Cold Spring): I wasn't too familiar with Mz.412 yet, but I really like the Anima Nostra album and when I saw that Mz.412 returned, I checked the Ulvens Broder track and really liked it. Martial, brooding and orchestral in a way. The Father Uncreated is more ambient-like, Algiz - Konvergence of Life and Death is a reworking of an older track, which I'm not familiar with, so I can't compare. Nice 10" and a good incentive to delve more into Mz.412

ZSS - Moral War (10", F&V): ZSS good as always, but perhaps not his strongest material. Nice layout and that VJ cover is something else of course.

Citalopram Shunyata - Daughters of Emanuelle (C20, Hiisi Productions): Simple layout, tape in a folded A4 page with black'n'white porn pics. Not something not seen before, but it works. Track titles are hand written on a small piece of paper that's filthy, don't know what happened to it, but one can guess. Harsh Noise of the not-very-chaotic variety, at times quite calm. Nice tape overall.

Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped, Daydream Nation & Goo (CDs): So, I won these CDs 10 years ago with a shitload of other stuff. Lots of them were sold, the good stuff kept and then there's, even now, some stuff I had to give time and several listen sessions to know what to do with them. Sonic Youth was one of these bands. Of course, I found the concept of Noise Rock fascinating. I don't know why, but I found Goo enjoyable. The other two though... Doing rock music with noisey elements here and there sounds good in theory and actually there are nice noisy parts, some nice feedback, noise layers behind the music, etc. However, what they are playing is mostly soft radio friendly, just overall too nice music, which I can't do much with. Too bad, but I guess these CDs can go as well...

Gas Chamber Renaissance - Craniotomy of Reign (CD, Freak Animal): Don't know what the best genre description is for this. Industrial Noise? Enough distorted sounds, low on vocals (some almost Black/Death Metal vocals), but it's not chaotic, rather structured. Quite diverse sound palette, distorted sounds, feedback, synths, some vocals and I think some bass guitar too. Very enjoyable.

Am Not - Unpunished: Appendix (10", Unrest Productions): Unpunished was a great discovery and The Developing World is very good as well. Of course, I expect a lot from this 10". Perhaps my expectations were a bit too high, especially since the release is praised here? Or perhaps I'm getting a bit jaded with listening to too many new releases all the time, a feeling that's popping up regularly for the last couple of weeks. Anyway, this 10" is obviously good, but on first listen I'm not as blown away as I kind of expected to be.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Been listening ton of tapes from New Forces and other random things.. when more time, should comment some briefly as there are many noteworthy new items! Meanwhile some classics yesterday:

MASONNA "Open your cunt" LP
Urashima
I do not get bored of nude ladies nor good Japanese noise. This blasts like crazy. It is amusing, energetic, wild and juicy. Noise quite unlike anyone else have done. I guess copying style of Masonna would be too "obvious", yet perhaps even quite impossible to resemble it totally. In some ways one wishes there would be more noise like Masonna, but in other hand thinking hopefully no copycats will desecrate vision of mighty Maso!

INCAPACITANTS "I, residuum" LP
Urashima
This was originally tape on Less Than Zero in 1997. Then reissued as part of Box Is Stupid 10xCD. I guess being originally Italian label release, Urashima has special connection to this. Perhaps being some early material he came across? What exactly would be other reason to pick this particular tape as target of reissue? Well, another reason could be: IT KILLS!
If listening 90's Incapacitants doesn't rejuvenate noisehead, he should be cautious. Listening this is 100% reminder how I was blown out by Incapacitants first time I heard it, and couldn't understand how that sound was made. This has the same, very unique feel, that a lot of noise gets buried under intense amount of piercing feedback. It is as if there was too much noise. Too loud amplifiers. Too much stuff poured into one mixer and result isn't necessary crunchy and crushing noise, but insane dense whistle of multilayered feedback tones with yells, crackles, crunches and electronic buzzing erupting on top when being loud enough to conquer the deafening feedback assault. So much detail happening, yet in other hand, monolithic mass of sound.

[ConcreteMascara]

Mo*Te - Life In A Peaceful New World & Cuffs CDs - these two discs are my first experience with Mo*te. he's been discussed here with near reverence so I was very interested to check him out. of course when these two reissues came out I planned to grab them right away but that turned into a 5 month delay. but yeah, finally scooped them up from Malignant. I listened to Cuffs first which was very good but didn't completely grab me by the balls right away. gonna need more time with that one. but Life in a Peaceful New World, holy shit, immediately i was grinning ear to ear. put it on at 2am last night for a long drive home in the snow and it was absolutely perfect. two larges pieces which are as dense, intricate and textured as they are full of life, this is that good shit. there have been several good noise reissues this year from Masonna, K2 and Merzbow, but Life In A Peaceful New World has to be one of the absolute best! thank you to those hardcore noise collectors of the old and obscure who made this reissue possible.

[FallOfNature]

Gas Chamber Renaissance - Craniotomy of Reign (CD, Freak Animal): Don't know what the best genre description is for this. Industrial Noise? Enough distorted sounds, low on vocals (some almost Black/Death Metal vocals), but it's not chaotic, rather structured. Quite diverse sound palette, distorted sounds, feedback, synths, some vocals and I think some bass guitar too. Very enjoyable.

I really liked this one, too, and it seems to have gone under the radar a bit I think. I'm a big follower of the main projects of those involved but this truly stood out to me.

Lately -
The Grinning Plowman - Days Of Deformity
This goth/post punk/wave stuff seems to be gaining popularity lately with newer bands taking strong influences from the early 80s groups. I get more listening satisfaction from finding older stuff like this. If you enjoy Lowlife, prime era Sisters of Mercy etc, this could be worth checking out.

Old Tower - Stellary Wisdom
I don't really care a great deal about what 95% of Dungeon Synth genre can offer, but I like Old Tower a great deal. This album has taken a few listens to sink in, it's not as dark or ghostly as the previous one and I preferred the shorter tracks in comparison to the 15 min tracks here.

Warden - Krochtenmagii
Same fellow as above. Dark Ambient this time, far more drawn out and vast sounding. Great stuff for the right mood.

Sigil & Key ‎– Burning Silhouette
A purchase from a local friend who runs a fairly exclusive BM/Dark Ambient distro. Lo fi dark ambient again, almost dungeon synth...doesn't sound like Mortiis but has that vibe.

Dagda Mor ‎– This Sun For Europe
Artist is an old favourite and I listened almost religiously in the late 2000's. I was reading a review from a scanned Key Of Alocer 'zine and he kept mentioning how harsh this was so I decided to revisit. Funny what the Black Metal crowd considered harsh back then considering what else was around. Great release all round from a project that I consider legendary.

[absurdexposition]

FORM HUNTER CS (New Forces)
Perfect roaring, hissing, searing metallic harsh noise from Stefan (BREAKING THE WILL / KJOSTAD) and Weston (MAGNETIC CORONER / SUNKEN CHEEK). Concise and to the point.

[Theodore]

Filthy Turd - Forty Six In Use Louise CS [Team Boro Tapes] : Genius-ly retarted. Caveman tries to rock, to noise, to speak. Primitive. Love it !

[Bacteriafield]

Smell & Quim / Taint 7" split

S&q side titled "death baby fuck" Starts off with weirdo samples and tape screeching sounds. Goofy and playful as you'd expect. A Really chaotic and loud banging sound occurs which I thought was my speaker fucking Up but was actually the song.  Then a industrial beat kicks in and stays throughout the song. Low/mid  end guitar is rocking out  which I though Was a sample from some dumb metal band but it's definitet s&q. A trumpet that seriously could be the guy from brainbombs is at the forefront. Also We got some aggressive yelling vocals that set the mood... this isn't like anything I've heard from them before and even tho I hate guitar noise I like this because it's more of an industrial vibe. Smell & quim are one my favorites because they are literally never boring...

Taint side "apidocere" starts off with scrap metal and ripping sounds. Low bass comes thru and everything is super heavy and feedback driven. A high frequency sound is in your face and squeeling then morphes and shifts into mids then to lows. This kind of shifting vibe stays throughout the track. Theres a weird delayed sample of a guy talking, it's also pretty goofy and I wonder if it has anything to do with this being a split with s&q. then right after the sample Keith cuts everything out for a second and crashes in full force, this is my favorite part of the 7".... It Gives me a boner. The split has a really genuine feel I just don't get too much lately. Scored this for 5 bucks and was worth every penny.