For Greater Good - ... Unfolds
ambient / dark folk / cinematic
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Rejoice, dark folk and ambient fans, because cinematic masterminds For Greater Good have returned. After several years of silence, Izzy and Sam have unleashed a four track EP that will take you back to the glorious days of Cold Meat Industry. With a blend of ambient, martial industrial and cinematic folk, often combined with new wave-like vocals, '...Unfolds' does exactly what the title promises. Opener 'Ihtyll' feels like a love song created by Penitent and featuring Nick Cave while 'And Thus ... Unfolds' is a gritty dark industrial tune. 'Northern Lights' brings back the gloomy atmosphere and the shimmering melodies, plus some Biosphere basses.
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So, if the first three tracks of a four track EP already remind me of acts like Nick Cave, Penitent, Raison d'ètre, Aphex Twin and Biosphere, I guess it's alright to call this a pretty damn varied release. And then comes 'Synchronism', a goosebumps inducing dark pop anthem with vocals by Raya. In all, '...Unfolds' indicates a more than welcome return for a highly exciting ambient project. Recommended? Dûh!
Noiss - Deafening EP
alternative rock / punk / grunge
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Hailing from Chambèry in France, Noiss wants to slam you down with guitars, drums and rough vocals. In all honesty, this EP is neither noise nor deafening but it's a pretty convincing piece of old school grunge and punk rock, containing flashes of Nirvana, Queens Of The Stone Age and, why not, Pixies, just to name a few. Of these five tracks, 'Iteration 7' is my favorite, a groovy rock tune that will make you either bang your head or do some kind of weird, aggressive dance. So, if you're in for a grainy garage rock party, be sure to invite Noiss: raunchy and delicious...
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Katapult - A Fistful of Truth
thrash metal
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Inspired by the Gothenborg metal scene, Swiss thrash metal duo Katapult comes up with an odd EP that will either make you scratch your head or immediately open the moshpit. The four tracks on this EP are harsh, intense and raging pieces of thrash metal, created with the attitude of punk and laced with the anger of old school death metal. I think that's the best way to describe the music hiding behind this weird cover art. Think old Sepultura, Lamb Of God or The Haunted and you come close to the bloodshed Katapult is capable of.
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WARD041 - Uoltam
dark ambient / drone
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A mysterious act on an enigmatic label where ambient, noise, dark jazz and blackened atmospheres meet. 'Uoltam' contains two tracks, simply named '1' and '2'. The opener is a haunting piece of dark ambient with eerie soundscapes and threatening background noises.
Track two feels even harsher and darker, reminding me of experimental ambient acts like Tactile, Rapoon or Tho-So-Aa. This is the perfect soundtrack for a nightly walk in the forest, surrounded by ancient spirits and grueling beasts. Dark ambient at its best... |
Rutger Zuydervelt - Porcelain
drone / ambient / soundtrack
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Rutger Zuydervelt, also known as Machinefabriek, composed this spooky soundtrack for the movie 'Porcelain' by Jenneke Boeijink. The album contains 22 short ambient pieces and drones which perfectly seem to illustrate the atmosphere in the movie but also work quite well on their own. Together they seem to create one long track, both narrative and minimal, with only a few drones and strings. That is, of course, the strength of Rutger Zuydervelt's talent and experience: finding beauty in minimalism and shimmering sounds in the darkest drones. A perfect soundtrack.
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Machinefabriek with Anne Bakker - Oehoe
drone / ambient
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And one more release by Rutger Zuydervelt, this time under the Machinefabriek moniker and in cooperation with violinist/vocalist Anne Bakker. The ten pieces on this album are strange and eclectic experiment with noises, voices and melodies. For some reason this whole album reminds me of some of the most experimental gigs I've seen at the now defunct Incubate festival. If you're into avant-garde, neoclassical and experimental music, 'Oehoe' is definitely something up your alley, but I guess that's no surprise for fans of Rutger Zuydervelt. 'Oehoe' is one of thos releases to cherish for a long time.
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Petrolio - GLVWXUER#DQVLD#JHQHUDOL]]DWR
industrial / dark ambient / noise
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So, since we're picking the stranger releases for this edition of Brieviews, here is Petrolio, an Italian industrial noise act who seems to bang his head on his keyboard to come up with song titles. Not that he needs titles anyway because this music is harsh, intense and brutal, somewhere between Haus Arafna, Merzbow and Brighter Death Now. Sometimes there's beats but most of the time you'll be sinking into a thick pool of noises, soundscapes and electronic drones, clinging on to that one normal sound hidden deep beneath the gruesome noise. If that's your thing, this EP is definitely a must-have...
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Hellstorm Of Flaming Nothingness - I Am An Empty Shell
drone / dark ambient
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Equally dark but less noisy, Antwerp based drone act Hellstorm Of Flaming Nothingness delivers another set of mind-altering drones and top-shelf gloomscapes. Beneath the often extremely minimalistic approach lies a pitch black worldview. No, this album will not make you happy, but neither does watching the news or scrolling on facebook. 'I Am An Empty Shell' is a crushing statement of ambient minimalism and a surprisingly strong album. This is music to meditate to, to purify and reinvent yourself, to weep uncontrollably and to regain strength when it is all over. One music have for all you dark souls...
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