PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[burdizzo]

Folkstorm - Total Nihil (CD, Old Europa Cafe): Got this in a trade with OEC, first Folkstorm release I hear, not disappointed at all. This album is a tribute to Marco Corbelli. Now I don't have that many AM releases and I'm not familiar with his other projects, but I wouldn't have really thought of AM if it wasn't said. Anyway, good Power Electronics, bleak atmosphere. Since getting this, I've got another Folkstorm CD (Hurtmusic) coming in another trade. Looking forward to that.

Interesting. I'd always sort of not bothered with Folkstorm after receiving the "Victory Or Death" CD many moons ago. It wasn't bad, but I thought it was formulaic and ordinary, and concluded there were a whole heap of projects that I'd be better off following. However, I recently bought the "Noisient" 10" and was really impressed by the lumbering industrial cycles on the first side, so now I'm thinking I may have been missing something all these years! Anyway, you recommend this latest one? Anyone else w/ any opinions on good Folkstorm releases?

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Bizarre SS - S/T (Filth & Violence)

Picked this up later than most and finally giving it a spin. I'm actually pleasantly surprised with how dynamic and composed it feels. There are definitely movements and it certainly isn't the all out noise blast that the BU & Gelsomina collabs were, which I also love. Not sure if this was due to the editing process or was the idea from the start of the collaboration, but a great direction.

Hopefully there are future releases planned as this project has a lot of potential!

[FreakAnimalFinland]

MACRONYMPHA / DEISON split tape
Loud
I got pretty good amount of old stuff from mr. Deison. He did a lot of splits on his Loud -label in 90's. I like his low-tech noise of these old times and should probably check out more since it has been literally decades since listening these tapes. Macronympha 1997 - also pretty damn good!
Deison has been active till today, but I have not followed activities so much in recent years.

Government Alpha "the maternity music" tape
MSNP
Mid 90's harsh noise! No complaints! Super primitive hand drawn skeleton sex covers is a big plus, haha...

V/A METALCHEMY CD
Phage
I recall this was planned as tape, long ago. I did first version of Grunt track probably 4 years ago? Could be. When plan was changed to be CD, it felt necessary to update new version of track. Both versions I requested to be "first on comp" as thinking that not making all the way harsh and loud, aggressive metal junk abuse, lower volume and lower harshness would not make track sound as it "should" if it was between couple total smashers... hehe.. Well, now between Bocksholm and Lethe, it is not first - but clearly Sam who compiled this, made good decision as flow of comp is very good. Most of early part is less harsh. My favorite on comp is PUTREFIER. Really great track! Lethe is very nice too. Disc progresses into full on harsh blast of Knurl and K2 and there is plenty between. If you like metal junk noise, then no need to hesitate!

Kjostad "Glacial Lake" CD
New Forces
This is phenomenal. Also plenty of metal junk, but also birds, cats, natural sounds, rotten electronics, ultra saturated and nearly crackling harshness. Sharp, crystal clear - but also broken and physical. Sound elements are displaying really good skill and sense of recognizing what object, and what equipment makes GOOD NOISE.

Baculum "I would rather feel empty...." 2x cd
Phage
1,5 times listened and good stuff. I do get a feeling track 2 of disc 2 uses merzbow on the source sounds or am I just dreaming?! Harsh noise from Phage label's Sam Stoxen.


I am very glad USA noise scene produces more cds!

[Strangecross]

Kjostad is phenomenal, I think the Frost Cracking Trees tape is even better than that cd.

[absurdexposition]

Kjostad is phenomenal, I think the Frost Cracking Trees tape is even better than that cd.

That's my favourite of his so far as well.

[Ashmonger]

Folkstorm - Total Nihil (CD, Old Europa Cafe): Got this in a trade with OEC, first Folkstorm release I hear, not disappointed at all. This album is a tribute to Marco Corbelli. Now I don't have that many AM releases and I'm not familiar with his other projects, but I wouldn't have really thought of AM if it wasn't said. Anyway, good Power Electronics, bleak atmosphere. Since getting this, I've got another Folkstorm CD (Hurtmusic) coming in another trade. Looking forward to that.

Interesting. I'd always sort of not bothered with Folkstorm after receiving the "Victory Or Death" CD many moons ago. It wasn't bad, but I thought it was formulaic and ordinary, and concluded there were a whole heap of projects that I'd be better off following. However, I recently bought the "Noisient" 10" and was really impressed by the lumbering industrial cycles on the first side, so now I'm thinking I may have been missing something all these years! Anyway, you recommend this latest one? Anyone else w/ any opinions on good Folkstorm releases?

I only have Hurtmusic so far and haven't played it at home yet (only listened on Bandcamp before deciding to trade for it), so I can't really compare Total Nihil to other releases. I can only say I like it...

[MyrtleLake]

I NEED to hear that Brume + John Grieve album.

There are only 49 copies pressed. >>Drone Records<< shows that it is still available. I purchased mine from >>Metamkine<<, but their website says they are changing names or something(?). Last I saw, they had at least one more.

As for that era Contagious Orgasm, I might recommend "From the Irresponsible Country Sounds" (PACrec / Troniks, 2004). It is only a little over 20 minutes, but it is quite good.

[muppet1]

Shot Dog cs [Idiopathic, 2019]

Great self-titled and to-the-point cassette of shuttering, crumbling static textures from this collaborative project of Kiran Arora and Tyler Keen. I've listened to this one a number of times the past month and a half and haven't tired of it. Hard to tell which sounds are from either person and there isn't a whole lot of development on either side, so much as we're treated to a slowly modulating deluge of mixer feedback, grayscaling sound, and occasional wisps of microphone whistle. A few times the mixer threatens to crap out once and for all, and the sound firmly balances upon that sweet spot of internal feedback just before all sound ceases to be. In the last few minutes everything begins breaking apart with more detail and variation peeking through, then it's over.

[Yrjö-Koskinen]

FRA HEDENSK TID - 回帰への祈りCD, Zero Dimensional Records
Japanese black metal from 2013. Much like the album title, all songs are in Japanese and translate to things such as "Blood Memory", "Response from the Pagans" and the title track "Prayer for Return". Not entirely sure whether this connects to the Norwegian band name (meaning "From (a) Heathen Time"), and is literally about Norse pre-Christian practice, or if there's somehow a Japanese angle to this. The music works well. Somewhat minimalist, and working with attractive harmonies, melodies and 90's demo riffing. The by far most obvious influences, or at least comparisons, would be early Swedish BM -  Those of the Unlight era Marduk as well as Throne of Ahaz' forgotten gem Nifelheim. This won't be pushing out Gorugoth as my favorite Japanese underground black metal band ever, nor will it rival Sigh or Infernal Necromancy in popularity, but it's a solid little gold nugget. BLACK, asian gold nugget!

K2 - Tamayura CD, Gravity Swarm Recordings
Classic K2, I'd say. Violent, buzzing, haphhazard and controlled at the same time - bursting is probably the best adjective. The very simple cover is made out of recycled paper and features an attractive Japanese drawing as well as a colored logotype. Someone once wrote in a review of another K2 album something to the effect that he had yet to hear a bad K2 recording. I'm inclined to agree. Swinging stuff.

[Zeno Marx]

Brain - s/t 1999 - was planned to be a 2LP reissue after the original CDr issue, then canceled and picked up by Alluvial, which was a great matching - could be my imagination, because I never asked, but this seemed like a nod to Zoviet France Loh Land in the way it was indexed and the organic travel and feel, but then some lunar landscaping like Digilogue - recommended - I can't remember, but I believe he was either a radio DJ in Salt Lake City or maybe had an experimental hour? - he's good...very good.

https://br4in.bandcamp.com/

John Watermann - Calcutta Gas Chamber 1993 - still thinking about this one - it's always thrown me, and I've never been either discouraged or super taken with it.

Manon Anne Gillis - both out of the Noisextra podcast and the John Watermann album above, for I associate the two from hearing them both for the first time on the great Howard 31 compilation on Artware - the first four albums - Lxgrin 1984 and Aha 1984 are both great, and I think I'd give the slight edge to Aha being the better of the two; Monetachek 1985 and Bisherigori 1986 both mess with voice too much for my tastes, and they're very disjointed and jarring in style - I think of her as a less academic, more stage and drama character of electro-acoustics; flamboyant.

Matt Shoemaker - Mercurial Horizon 2020 - more high quality metallic ambient you'd expect from him - love when he makes it sound like he's playing an iron radiator.

Shum & Kazegyakusatsu 2018 - Hungarian noise/ambient collaboration with some quasi-power-electronic sounds - interesting and quality stuff that should be higher on my radar, but there's simply too much competition for time.

[Andrew McIntosh]

Have finished listening to Calineczka's epic "Music not for Airports" from Attenuation Circuit, nearly seven hours of pure synthesised minimal drone absence. In fact, sounds like some of the more layered and intense of his releases so far. Now just going through "Pora Deszczów", which has a lighter touch, with the odd different flourish, a bit closer to eleh's sound.

I don't know if I have, or anyone else has, posted about Ścisław Dercz's Important Drone Records here before, but just in case, all the downloads are very cheap (the tapes usually sell out pretty quickly from the looks of things).

https://importantdronerecords.bandcamp.com

[Zeno Marx]

Have finished listening to Calineczka's epic "Music not for Airports" from Attenuation Circuit, nearly seven hours of pure synthesised minimal drone absence. In fact, sounds like some of the more layered and intense of his releases so far. Now just going through "Pora Deszczów", which has a lighter touch, with the odd different flourish, a bit closer to eleh's sound.

I don't know if I have, or anyone else has, posted about Ścisław Dercz's Important Drone Records here before, but just in case, all the downloads are very cheap (the tapes usually sell out pretty quickly from the looks of things).

https://importantdronerecords.bandcamp.com

Thanks for this.  I hadn't heard of him, and I'm always interested in this type of drone/minimalism.  There are more talked about names that I haven't heard yet, like Eleh, so maybe I should start with them, but with your recommendation, this can butt in line.  If they're all doing 2-7 hour epics, I almost don't want to know about this Important world of drone.  Time and mood prohibits.

[acsenger]

Fusao Toda from one of my easily top 10 favorite feminine dark psychedelic shoegaze pop vibe bands ever, she literally has a PERFECT discography

I assume you're referring to Angel'in Heavy Syrup here. Their last album, IV, is the perfect psychedelic rock album. Heavy at times, yet always ethereal. I like their other albums too, but IV is definitely their masterpiece.

Regarding Christine 23 Onna, I like their Shiny Crystal Planet CD overall, but I find it uneven in quality. This applies to Acid Eater too in my view, which has some of their best tracks (like Top of Spot, perhaps the best song on it), but also lesser ones. I liked their LP the least, but perhaps I should listen to it again.

[PedestrianOrgans]

Has anyone heard that New Blockaders tape vacuum-sealed with the shirt? Tempted to pick up a copy but kinda want to know if it's worth it first.

[Andrew McIntosh]

Thanks for this.  I hadn't heard of him, and I'm always interested in this type of drone/minimalism.  There are more talked about names that I haven't heard yet, like Eleh, so maybe I should start with them, but with your recommendation, this can butt in line.  If they're all doing 2-7 hour epics, I almost don't want to know about this Important world of drone.  Time and mood prohibits.

Elaine Radigue would be a basic reference for what these artists are doing. She did it first, and better. The epics on Important Drone (a cheeky name since its not associated with Important, who have a lot of eleh releases) are usually around the twenty to thirty minute mark. A few minutes listening and you'll get the idea. It's purposively derivative and challenging only in how much you could be bothered with, and I'm all for it, I listen to it for hours.