Blog Archives

Ieva - Lueurs

30/4/2015

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Do you know those dreams between pleasant adventures and nightmares? Those dreams where you're on a dark journey where anything can happen at any given time but you're self-confident, taking on any challenge, knowing you will survive the events. Whatever lurks in the shadows and whatever stalks you from a distance, you can handle it, well aware that you will wake up stronger when all of this is over. Well, these dreams have an interesting musical equivalent, named 'sound sculpture' and Ieva is a prime example.

Samuel André was born in France but moved to Japan to explore sound and visual artistry. As a self-taught composer he founded a label named Pollen Records and released his debut in 2012. For the new album, Lueurs, André was contacted by the highly acclaimed Eilean Records from France. In short, Lueurs is a stunning sound adventure that flirts with music where analog equipment and field recordings create something you can only imagine in the dreams I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

For the timekeepers, there are five tracks on this album. The shortest lasting for a bit over six minutes and the other four between twelve and nineteen minutes. However, the strongest aspect of the album is its sense of concept and continuity. 'Forêt Vierge' opens where 'Eclipse' faded away, with odd chants and a haunting atmosphere. That way the songs, or tracks, are perfectly mixed into one another.

The most amazing aspect on this album is its continuous flirting with music, as I mentioned before. This is not music in the strict sense of the word. There's no rhythm, hardly a melody and definitely no repetitive, easy to follow sequences. This is a complex structure using a multitude of sounds. Some of those sounds often create something resembling a melodic element but it's far, far away in the background.

However, 'Vers Le Soleil' suddenly turns this album into a beautiful neo-classical piano and strings driven piece of actual music. If we still imagine the dreams in the first paragraph, this is the spot where you will reach an ancient, sunlit ocean at the edge of the gloomy and dangerous forest. Soundscapes, field recordings and drones fade in an out, enabling the listener to float away with them and relax. Maybe this is my favourite track on this album.

Lueurs is an amazingly beautiful album, even in its dark atmosphere. It never gets overwhelming, annoying or boring and that's a huge challenge for sound art releases which often just turn into noise. Samuel André succeeds in creating dreamy worlds, a bit odd and bizarre at times but continuously enjoyable. As far as I'm concerned, this is an experimental ambient classic.

Serge

Human Cull - Stillborn Nation

30/4/2015

Epileptic Media

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Grindcore has managed to charm me a lot throughout the years. I know, 'charm' is not really a good word for this kind of musical brutality but I'll try to explain. Over the past decades grindcore bands have always managed to surprise me with their intense tempo and downright punishing guitars. While many people see this as uncontrollable chaotic noise, I see this genre as an extreme outing of that which is present in every art form. These are the b-horror movies and the gory, abstract paintings of the music industry. Most of all, these are groundbreaking bands and both the music industry and our society need them.

Human Cull is a band from Exeter, England. This trio is uncompromising and unforgiving. This album, Stillborn Nation, is a brilliant piece of extreme metal and punk, comparable to bands like Nasum or Agoraphobic Nosebleed. Downtuned, dissonant, amain and audacious music blasts through the speakers impressively fast. In mere 25 minutes (and 23 songs), Human Cull unleashes an assault on your sanity and conscience.

My favourite track is actually the final one, 'Echoing Silence', probably because I'm a little more into doom metal than grindcore and this is a tremendous powerhouse of a song. However, concerning power, none of the other songs are inferior. From the painful shrieks that open 'Teeth For Revenge', over the immense blastbeats in 'Jackals', to the sickening gutteral vocals in, well, all of the songs, this album breathes intensity and fortitude.

Grindcore and crust fans all over the world, may I present one of your new favourite bands. If you have the chance, check them out live. You'll be in for an unbelievable ride, filled with moshpits, stagedivers, crowdsurfers and walls-of-death. At least, if you survive the gig...

Serge

xKatexMoshx / Sete Star Sept - Split

30/4/2015

Epileptic Media

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IIf you're in for a few minutes of musical extremism, you should check out this little gem. Two bands, residing in the putrid underground of Italy and Japan respectively, released a 7" split that surely will blast itself a way through your skull. The split is released by a number of labels and something went a little wrong it seems. While the vinyl itself states 45RPM, the Discogs page claims it's 33RPM. The latter seems to work best by the way.

xKatexMoshx presents eight tracks, on a 7", which does indeed mean we're dealing with some furious, hyperactive and highly destructive grindcore. These Italians take no prisoners and leave no survivors. Their participation on this split is solely a part of their plans the crush all of mankind with a sound that is way too brutal for anyone who is still sane.

Sete Star Sept takes it a bit further, if that's possible. On these five songs the touch of 'music' is completely gone, drenched in a wall-of-noise and incorporating some of the sickest growls and screams known to mankind. No decent human being should be allowed to listen to this, but luckily there's no such thing as a decent human being, only victims

to be tortured by these Japanse butchers.In all, this is a brutal piece of noise which isn't usually appreciated by the masses. Even many metalheads frown upon something like this. But the extemists should rejoice and get their hands on this thing. This is right up their alley, as putrid, vile and rotten as possible...

Serge

Indoctrinate – ... And All Hail To Progress And Efficiency

30/4/2015

Epileptic Media

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Well, time to get off your lazy arse and initiate a moshpit in the middle of your living room. Leave all your prejudices, right-winged ideologies, animal cruelty and authoritarian ideas at the door or be completely destroyed by the brutal force Indoctrinate is.

Indoctrinate is a band from Vienna (Austria) which plays furious d-beat hardcore and throw a few metal and grindcore influences in their sound as well, just to make things worse. This results in a malapert 7" that has a lot of power.

The single opens with a speech about the use and abuse of prisons, followed by the song 'August 19'. What strikes me the most in this track, is the musical quality. The mix of punk and metal makes this an awesome song that might become one of my favourites in the genre.

'That'll Be The Day' opens with a speech about slavery and oppression. This song shows the same songwriting abilities as the other side, though it is a lot slower.I'm quite stunned by these Austrians. This is not just brutal hardcore; this is extreme music from a surprising high quality, blending several of the extreme genres and turning them into a tremendous face-slap for your concience.

Indoctrine clearly is a threat to society but that's a good thing, this society needs to be destroyed and start over...

Serge

Hulduefni - Space Odyssey

28/4/2015

Epileptic Media

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Sometimes it's nice to get exactly what you expect when you encounter a new album. Not that I don't like surprises but today I don't really feel like listening to extreme music. Today is an ambient day, a day to relax and dream away to wherever the soundscapes lead me. At this moment I'm somewhere in space, near Barnard 33, also known as The Horsehead Nebula. It's quite nice in here, at times a bit eerie and often creepy but nice enough to spend some of my time.

Hulduefni is a sonic space explorer from Lisbon, Portugal. The name is Icelandic for 'dark matter'. The album, Space Odyssey, seems to be a compilation of previous works but I could be wrong about that. Fact remains that this is a pretty excellent ambient album that might as well resemble a flight into space, so it's no wonder I immediately imagine this music being played on documentaries about our universe.

Musically, this album can be compared to a very minimalistic version of works by people like Klaus Schulze or John Serrie. Layers of soundscapes and drones slowly fade in and out of the speakers in an attempt to take the listener on a starry-eyed journey. Don't look for too much variation because in this album there is little. Not that little variation is a disadvantage, on the contrary. Space Odyssey is an 80 minutes lasting dream and a perfect excercise in relaxation.

At times Hulduefni incorporates some bizarre experimental and noisy influences in the music, reinforcing the strange, out-of-this-world atmposphere. 'Machines, Space Machines' is one of those tracks that just sound a bit too odd for most people but it might be exaclty what outer space sounds like. So, for all space ambient lovers this album comes highly recommended. However, I suggest you be quick because this is a strictly limited edition CD.

Serge

Ohmu - Hive Mind / 2014 Demo cassette

28/4/2015

Epileptic Media
bandcamp
facebook

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Aah, the underground. It rarely gets any better than here. This is the musical area where artists no longer care about genres, subcultures, popularity and sounding like their idols. Here is where originality and experimentation are more important than what it looks like or even what format it is recorded on. Here you can find tapes, 7 inches, cd's, mini-discs, floppy-discs and tons of other stuff that makes sound, or better, noise.

Ohmu is a three-piece from Austria that doesn't care what you think about their music. In fact, I don't think they even care what music they make. They just call it 'noise' but there's a lot more to this. Ohmu uses a tremendous amount of instruments, effects and software to create something that can best be described as experimental music. From actual noise over ambient and electronic experiments toward free-jazz, IDM, psychedelica and noise rock, these Austrians do it all.

We received both the CD Hive Mind and the 2014 Demo cassette for review and I decided to treat them together. Both contain a similar, quite unique blend of styles and both are equally enjoyable if you're a fan of boundless experimental music. The track 'Ohmu' opens both releases. Yet, on the tape this a pretty damn good doom rock track; on CD it sounds a lot more electronic. In all, the tape release is a bit darker and heavier than the CD and to me personally, it's a bit better.

The tape is also a tiny bit less experimental and hints towards indie rock, shoegaze and even synthpop. However, don't expect a hit single from these guys by the way. For that all of this sounds way too weird, at least for most people. There are little other ways to describe this than "unpredictable sound manipulation where everything is allowed". It's astonishing how the sound highly differs on both media and this clearly shows a band that constantly evolves.

To conclude, this really is an interesting band that might as well become a pleasant surprise at many stages. Their experimental nature has blessed them with a very original sound. They have released an amazingly brilliant tape and a CD full of weird music experiments. This is underground music at its best, period.

Serge

Day Before Us - Crystal Sighs Of A Broken Universe

28/4/2015

Twilight Records
bandcamp

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It's been a while since I've listened to something like this. Not because I don't care about the ethereal branch of ambient music but simply because nothing new came our way. I'm a bit of a musical wanderer so it often happens that I completely forget about a certain style for a period of time. Writing for this website actually makes that better and worse at the same time. Sometimes I'm in full-metal-mode and on other occasions I'm immensly happy with an ambient album like this. The arrival of every release has the potential to be a nice surprise...

Day Before Us is a French/Greek duo. Crystal Sighs Of A Broken Universe is their third full-length and it's something for fans of Die Verbannten Kinder Evas, Arcana, Dargaard or Elend. Based on European poetry and Greek mythology, this is an excellent ethereal ambient album and a beautiful nostalgic trip into the completely different landscapes our beloved contintent once used to be. Yet, above all, it's a very personal journey into the imagination of the participants.

The album opens with angelic vocals, after a few minutes accompanied by infading drones and soundscapes. Piano and strings enter the music, turning the whole into a gloomy, almost bizarre neo-classical adventure. There's a tremendous feeling of drama in the songs and an almost theatrical atmosphere. These elements remain present throughout the entire album and serve as gentle guides to the listener. THe overall feel is calm and never gets overwhelming.

Selecting a favourite track is a pretty impossible task because the follow-up of the songs give the whole a concept-character. However, I love a song like 'Toute mon âme, loin de ce monde'. The minimal piano and even more minimal soundscapes are enchanting in this song. Others are a bit more bombastic but this song is beautiful. In fact, it's mainly the piano that gives this album a touch of magic. It also makes Day Before Us a highly credible neo-classical music project.

The true power of this album lies in its composing quality. Day Before Us knows perfectly well how to combine dark ambient and classical music and uses that skill to create eerie, but beautiful, anthems of a high quality. This is ideal score music for dark, creepy horror movies. I would recommend checking this out if you're one of those wandering souls. In fact, let's gather and wander towards our own eternal homes...

Caves Of Steel - Revisioned

26/4/2015

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Sometimes, when there's not a lot of releases to be reviewed or when we don't feel like listening to the genres in our inbox, we check out some young bands on bandcamp or facebook. Last night I did some facebook scrolling and encountered Caves Of Steel again. I noticed this band a day earlier and listened to one of their songs. On the exact same moment I clicked on the link on their facebook page, I received an e-mail. It was one of the bandmembers, asking me if I wanted to write a review about their latest album. So here we are...Caves Of Steel is an instrumental rock band from Norway. They have been around for a few years now

and recorded an e.p. and a full-length before Revisioned. The music on Revisioned can best be
described as a post-rock/metal hybrid with a mathrock attitude. Most of the songs are uptempo or at least have some serious rock 'n' roll passages. However, they maintain a minimalistic approach to this music. There's no need to overcomplicate things or to put immense layers of soundscapes over one another.

The album opens with 'Parallax', a nice piece of rock music that actually has little to do with post-
rock. Yet, it really is a great track. In 'Dunning-Kruger' the band starts showing their post-rock
talents, something they continue doing during the songs that follow. What strikes me the most about these songs is the naked feel, as if they are stripped down after being written. Even in the heaviest parts, the songs don't 'blow-up' in a wall-of-sound. Instead, they maintain well varied pieces of music without the need for a sonic assault.

This sober and modest approach makes Caves Of Steel a very refreshing band. The songs are highly enjoyable pieces of music, played with a lot of enthousiasm and a lot of musical craftsmanship. However, besides the usual post-rock elements (the exact same elements that made Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky and God Is An Astronaut into the headliners they are today) these Norwegians aren't afraid to experiment a little with their sound. Here and there I head some industrial influences as well,mainly in the song 'Codeine'. On other occasions, there seems to be a hint of jazz ('The Kentucky Derby' and progressive rock ('Silver Bullet').

Caves Of Steel worked hard on this album and they were right to do so. These days, in the post-rock scene, you have to do something to stand out between the thousands of other
bands. This trio does that by reaching back to the early beginnings of the genre, when it was just evolving from shoegaze. From there they build their own style, calm but with a raw edge, exactly like we love it in this household. As mentioned in a conversation just now, this sounds like a heavy version of Alice In The Cities, another band we adore.

In short: Revisioned is an excellent post-rock album, well worth your attention. It has enough
variation to keep it interesting, even for a few consecutive listens. So, welcome this gem into your collection. You won't be disappointed...

Cloud Rat - Qliphoth

26/4/2015

Halo Of Flies
Dead Tank Records
bandcamp

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Wake up!

And if you have trouble waking up on this lazy sunday, it might be worth blasting Cloud Rat through your speakers. You will awake, and so will the 3000 people living around you. They will probably be pretty pissed off since you destroyed their homes with this brutal sonic assault, but who cares about neighbours anyway, right?

Cloud Rat is a female fronted band from Mount Pleasant, Michigan (US). However, female fronted does not mean fairytale gothic rock and Mount Pleasant doesn't seem to be very pleasant at all. What we're dealing with here is a furious grindcore punk attack at an immense paste and a violent atmosphere.

This is sheer brutality.

Qliphoth constists of seventeen songs that only the most extreme music lovers will appreciate. I
consider myself a bit of a connaisseur of the heaviest genres but even I feel quite uncomfortable
listening to this album. That's ok by the way, not all music has to be soothing and relaxing. Some music should bite, punish and crush people in an effort to...

...wake them up!!!

Now, within the brutality there is actually a lot of variation to be found. Besides elements from
punk and grindcore, there are a few influences from sludge, hardcore and even a few breathers. Yet, all these influences are buried in a deep layer of chaos and abhorrence and blasted towards the listener at a highly destructive velocity.

Grindcore fans will absolutely love this, and live this will undoubtedly be stunning. I can image the moshpits and walls-of-death forming from the very first second of a show. But, be warned, Cloud Rat leaves no survivors and knows no mercy.

Serge

Weltensprung b Kaiserwetter - Prag

25/4/2015

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Prague, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and maybe even in the whole world. For those who don't know the city: Prague is the historical capital of Bohemia, and the capital of the Czech Republic. It has a very rich history and culture and is over a thousand years old. Many people have written and composed music in honour of this great city, including Bedrich Smetana, Damien Rice and now also Weltensprung b Kaiserwetter.

Weltensprung b Kaiserwetter is the latest project by Marcus Populi, who resides in Berlin. For this project, a number of releases containing tributes to different places in the world, he worked with several other people from the Quartier23 organisation. Quartier23 basically is a gathering of dark ambient artists, including many projects from the Sombre Soniks label. So you know what to expect: high quality dark ambient music.

This release contains one track, the long and atmospherical 'Prag'. This piece lasts over twenty minutes and incorporates all the classic elements for a decent dark ambient track. Drones, soundscapes and often haunted voices fill the room. The overall feel is perfectly dark and gloomy, exactly as we like it. There's never a dull moment, everything constantly alters and changes while keeping the same basic emotion.

As a tribute to a city, this might look a bit too dark and macabre for some people. So let's see this release as an ode to the obscure side of Prague, unknown to most tourists and city dwellers. This music represents it very well: ever changing while preserving a certain mystical atmosphere and charm, that's exactly what Prague has been doing over the past 1100 years...

Serge

Abrahma - Reflections In The Bowels Of A Bird

24/4/2015

Small Stone Records
bandcamp

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'Reflections In The Bowels Of A Bird' is a title that immediately reminds me of pagan and voodoo
rituals. I admit, it's a bit gross but reading intestins has been a tradition in many cultures and
religions throughout the entire history of mankind. And maybe they were right, think about it. Tiny mutations in animal bowels could be early symptoms of environmental changes. It was very well possible that shamans, voodoo priests and druids used these observations to predict what was about to come and act on what they saw.

Well, it looks like my mind is wandering off again. It often does that and is had been doing that for decades. Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine. I'm just enjoying this superb album by French stoner
rockers Abrahma while I indulge myself in their mystic themes. Actually, if you're a stoner rock fan, or if you like the old grunge gods like Soundgarden or Alice In Chains, you should to. This is probably one of the most mature heavy rock albums in years, sounding both complex and brisk.

There are ten tracks on this album, each representing a hynpotic ritual where voices spawn from deep within the high priest, or whatever you like to name the performer. The music is loaded with fuzzy riffs and psychedelic passages. This is almost an historic overview from Led Zeppelin over the previously mentioned bands to Monster Magnet. Evolving ever further away from the loud stoner rock scene, these Frenchmen have mastered the art of rock into a new wave of classic rock.

Mentioning Monster Magnet wasn't really a coincidence. Ed Mundell plays guitar solos on “A Shepherd’s Grief”. Another guest appearance is Vincent Dupuy, who plays saxophone on "Omens Pt. 2". Thomas Bellier (Blaak Heat Shujaa, Spindrift) was resonsible for the production. This might give a clue about the overall sound, a clue that should make many rockers run to their local record stores and get a hold on this epic album.

'Kapal Kriya' absolutely is my favourite track, almost hypnotic and intensly psychedelic. However,
Abrahma doesn't shun tempo. 'Square The Cirle' is a very powerful rocker, combining a vintage sound with modern alternative rock elements. The album continuously varies and alternates and never goes wrong. Here and there some minor country influences are present as if the ghost of Johnny Cash made a guest appearance as well.

In all, after a few listens I think this album will go right into my 'rock & metal masterpieces' shelf, next to some Pink Floyd, Sleep, Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Black Sabbath releases. Abrahma will fit right in with some of these classics with their perfect combination of powerful rock
and a complex and mature sound. Stunning piece of music...

Serge

Druhá Smrt - Occurrentium

24/4/2015

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Many people have an almost unconditional trust in certain labels. I remember the time when Cold Meat Industry stood for a certain quality, just like Denovali Records does today. To me, Sombre Soniks is one of those labels as well. I've heard many of their releases in the past few years and they've never disappointed me. Second, Druhá Smrt never disappoints either. I know this act from compilations where both our projects were represented. So yes, I was really looking forward to hearing this album.

Druhá Smrt is a project from the Czech Republic, fouded by Jindřich Spilka and Lucie Spilková. During the past years they have been active in the dark ambient underground. They have been a part of a huge number of compilations and released several albums. This latest album, Occurrentium, contains four pieces with a very surprising timespan. The first three tracks last 7.40 (each) and the last one 8.00. However, it's not really important how long the songs last.

My expectations were correct. These are indeed four high quality dark ambient tracks, driving on lengthy soundscapes and drones, often accompanied by church bells and other subdued percussion. These are dark paths, like a walk through an abandoned graveyard on a stormy night. The overall atmosphere is grim and foggy and loaded with otherworldly sounds. Somewhere, hidden in deep layers of drones, there's a hint of some rhythm, which makes the whole even more impressive than it already is.

I cannot pinpoint a favourite track on this album, probably because it's the whole concept that
strikes me the most. The tracks fit perfectly together, breathing similar emotions. In some ambient albums the songs differ too much, making them sound like a compilation. Occurrentium does the exact opposite. It is a concept, sounding like it was recorded in one session, or 'ritual'. This results in something mystical and magical, and above all, beautiful.

I wouldn't be surprised if Sombre Soniks becomes a major player in today's dark ambient scene with Druhá Smrt being one of their main acts. This is a high-quality album that easily reaches the same level as many old CMI acts and even some Denovali projects. Every single dark ambient fan should have stuff like this in his collection, period.

Serge

Tyranny Is Tyranny - The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

24/4/2015

bandcamp
pre-order vinyl

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A lot of bands have distinct political views. In fact, whole genres have been associated with certain political uproars and protest. Punk is a perfect example, and so is the white supremacy hardcore scene that opposes to the origal punk ideology. In 1979, a label was founded by punk legend Jello Biafra who was (and is) also an activist and a provocateur. Alternative Tentacles, as the label was called, quickly became a household name in the punk and noiserock scenes. Personally, I always associated Alternative Tentacles with fighting for freedom, and protesting for a better life for all of us.

It's not really a coincidence that I'm reminded of this legendary record label when I listen to this
new Tyranny Is Tyranny album. This might as wel have been released by Alternative Tentacles, both for the music and for the message within. This quartet from Madison, Wisconsin (USA) delivers a stunning combination of post-rock, noiserock and hardcore, loaded with activism and a healty dose of distrust towards their own government.

There are five songs on this album, respectively lasting for seven, seven, seven, four and fourteen minutes. This length is mainly due to the elaborate post-rock passages. Without these, this album would be a brutal, devastating sludge and noiserock album that would be very hard to digest (for most people). The heavy parts are intense and drive on riffs that often remind me of several mathcore bands. But it is the combination of these genres that keeps the album interesting.

When I close my eyes, I can see these guys playing a very intense set at Cul-De-Sac during the annual Incubate festival in Tilbrg (NL), entertaining a rampageous crowd. Not everybody knows this bar so I'll explain. During this festival mostly noiserock bands play in that café and it really looks like the perfect setting for this raw, raging sound by Tyranny Is Tyranny. A track like 'Or Will It Explode?' will definitely explode in that venue (as well as many others).

Each song is built with a combination of calm passages and violent outbursts. My favourite track 'She Who Struggles' is no exception but the build-up is perfect and the climax is stunning. The long closing song 'Victory Will Defeat You' contains some of the most impressive post-rock passages I've heard in a while. Besides, this song will be in my 'best-songtitles-ever' list. Think about this sentence for a while. It's genius.

Anyway, the sun is shining today and tomorrow will be a cold, rainy day. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the local park to scream at pigeons for a while. They deserve it. Noiserockers of all ages, check out Tyranny Is Tyranny. They made an excellent and highly enjoyable album that is well worth your attention. If you have the chance, see them live, you'll be amazed...

Serge

Curse Upon A Prayer - Rotten Tongues

23/4/2015

Inverse Records

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I've been reviewing a lot of black metal album lately, and I've listened to a lot of black metal
albums in the past. In recent years, it seems like the modern, hardcore inspired version of the genre is the most dominant. At least, it's the harsh wall-of-sound creating bands that reach me the most. So I was a bit surprised when I listened to Curse Upon A Prayer for the first time. Here is a band that says 'to hell with trends' and goes way back to the melodic yet chaotic nineties.

Curse Upon A Prayer saw the darkness of life in 2010 when the band was founded by two brothers. They wrote songs by themselves until they decided to expand in 2014. Now, being a four piece they were ready to record their debut and perform live. Appearantly this was all pretty succesful because now these Fins are back with a stunning new album, loaded with dark, melodic metal that reminds me of bands like Hecate Enthroned, Cradle Of Filth or Dimmu Borgir.

For a black metal band, there's very few blastbeats but that doesn't make the music less powerful. The album opens with a high energy rocker 'The Distant Chaos', which drives on typical black metal riffs but incorporates a dark (gothic) metal tempo and atmosphere. This song is the perfect opener for this album. Follower 'Death Sentence' is a lot slower and reminds me of old Tiamat. In merely two songs this album clearly grabbed my attention, and there was even more variation and surprises to come.

On 'Third Day Of Creation', the blastbeats suddenly appear, placing Curse Upon A Prayer directly in line with acts like Old Man's Child and several other melodic, apocalyptical black metal bands. Perhaps this sounds as if Curse Upon A Prayer is not a very original band but: 1. Actually they are and 2. Does that matter? In this age of hardcore inspired black metal, this nineties sound is extremely refreshing and indeed somewhat original. Besides, it doesn't matter whether it's original or not, this is simply a brilliant album.

'Red Room' brings back the 'ancient' type of this genre, making this one of the most varied black
metal albums I've ever heard not even being even halfway through this thing. Besides, I haven't
mentioned the vocals yet. These, too, vary from harsh whispers over dark growls to frightening
screams and fit perfectly with the music. In 'Devil On The Churchyard', another awesome downtempo song, these vocals often sound like they belong to the demonic creature in the title.

The rest of the songs are up to you, if you're interested. All I'm going to say is that you can
expect the same high quality and the same amount of variation as the previously mentioned songs. I am going to finish this review by mentioning that I've found one of my favorite black metal albums today and I'm extremely enthousiastic about it. Curse Upon A Prayer, my respect, you made a dark heart jump with joy...

Serge

Lighteater - Antique

23/4/2015

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When you read through the reviews I've written for this webzine, you might have encountered the word 'dishes' several times. Well, I'll explain why. When I'm home alone, I often load a few releases (to be reviewed) into my media player and play them while I do some very manly chores like the dishes or vacuum cleaning (black metal is excellent vacuuming music). This is usually the first time I listen to these albums. After that, I go to my desk, play the album again (and sometimes again) and start writing the review.

This works most of the times but with this release it didn't. In stead of finding a good beginning
for this review, my mind wandered off, along with the music and before I realized it, I found myself
imagining vast green, beautiful landscapes where every day is a joyful music festival. Suddenly, four tracks and half an hour later, part one the dishes was finished and the album started playing again.

So let's forget about the introduction and just introduce this brilliant band from Brooklyn, New York. Lighteater is an instrumental rock band, which usually translates into post-rock and post-metal. This quartet is no exception. What I hear on Antique is high quality post rock, often going in overdrive to please the (slow) headbangers. The four tracks on this album contain all the required elements for a decent post-rock album. A slow tempo, layers of soundscapes, clean and distorted guitars with often awesome riffs and strong drums.

If you force me to compare Lighteater to other bands, I would probably name bands like Monkey3, Maybeshewill and God Is An Astronaut. However, I'm not sure if comparing this music is a good idea. Lighteater sounds like a band that doesn't really care what music they play, as long as they love what they're doing. They sound like they want to experiment, grow and evolve, both as musicians and as a band. And I can only applaud that attitude.

The music on this album is beautiful and very atmospheric. Undoubtedly this will please every single post-rock fan around the world. Though not necessarily original, Lighteater succeeded in creating a perfect debut with an enchanting, almost magical sound. So it's no wonder this comes highly recommended.

Serge

Jussipussi - Greatest Tits

22/4/2015

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Believe it or not, but Jussipussi really is a type of Finnish bread, and not a cat in a bowl of gravy or whatever you were thinking when you saw this bandname. Jussipussi is also an Italian rock band with a decent sense of humor, and bread. Since we're already talking about the band, we'll just skip the intro and go right ahead with the review of this dirty little debut of these dirty little stoner rockers. After all, I want to get this over with, play the album again and annoy my wife with my silly air guitar moves...

Jussipussi was formed in 2013 and proved to be very productive. In only seven rehearsals they layed the foundations for this debut album. That tempo is only possible when you have rock 'n' roll flowing through your veins and these guys clearly have it. This album rocks! Highly energetic rock songs in the vein of Queens Of The Stone Age, Stone Temple Pilots and Mastodon blast through my speakers at high velocity. Somehow, Jussipussi does everything right, from the powerful riffs, over the awesome drums to the perfect use of vocals.

My favourite tracks are the opener 'The Bliss Of A Black Dawn' and 'Vultures', which are uptempo rock songs that often remind me of Warrior Soul. 'Explant' shows the punkrock side of Jussipussi, while 'Surrounded By Cowards' and 'Warning Signs' are solid modern rock songs. 'Bury You Deep' is a heavy blues song with a hint of psychedelic rock. These combinations of rock styles from the late sixties until now make the album very interesting and highly entertaining.
So, rockers of every age, check out these highly talented Italians, preferably live. This is rock 'n' roll with a tremendous party capacity, perfectly capable of setting every venue on fire. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to turn up the volume and annoy my wife with my silly airguitar moves, like I promised in the first paragraph...

(buy this album...)

Serge

Attilio Novellino & Saverio Rosi - Lanificio Leo

22/4/2015

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Machines are fascinating musicians. Tirelessly they can produce the same rhythm for years on end. Sometimes I wonder about the first machines and the noises they made. Didn't people recognize the repetitive cadance? Did they dance to it? Did industrial music originate from, well, the industry? Over the years field recording and experimental artists have been recording and looping mechanical sounds from machines all over the world. Often, the results are stunning in all their simplicity.

From the biography: Lanificio Leo is the result of field recording sessions made by Attilio Novellino
and Saverio Rosi in August of 2013 at the woolen mill, “Leo”, the oldest textile factory active in Calabria (Italy). This factory is equipped with several 19th century machines. Being this old, the machines have tiny flaws and produce some little variations in their timbre and rhythm. Yet, it's these little errors that make them sound like musicians.

This release actually constists of two parts. Part 1 shows the raw, unedited recordings of the machines themselves. Somehow you can compare this with the tracks on 'Symphony For Dot Matrix Printers' by The User and even some 'sounds of industry' sample cds. The overall sound is quite industrial, repetitive and mechanical, which is not really a surprise of course. However, as an industrial ambient release, this is quite pleasing to listen to.

Part 2 is a composition using the same recordings as a basis. These elements are being processed, both analog and digitally, to create one long track. Surprisingly, part two is a bit noisier and creepier than its predecessors. Yet, it too has this allround experimental ambient feel that is always welcome in this household. Even more, it inspires me to use similar sounds for ambient productions myself.

To conclude, this is an interesting album for anyone who's into experimental ambient, field recordings and other weird genres. The repetitive nature of these machines makes this music a nice rhythmic background sound for everyday activities. However, I guess, as a listener, you have to possess an experimental character to truly enjoy this album. Most people will probably never notice the musical genius in other things than instruments but if you do, the world sounds a lot more interesting...

Serge

Ya Tosiba - Mollah the Machine Remixes

22/4/2015

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Here's a nice little addition to any electro-EDM collection. This little gem is a remix single with two (7") or three (digital) remixed by German artists. Each made a version of the single “Mollah The Machine” (2014) on Pingipung which quickly sold out. The three songs are completely different from each other, even to the extent of being completely new tracks.

The first remix is a downtempo, almost dubby but still highly danceable electro version, made by RSS Disco. The second (by Candie Hanks) is an amazingly entertaining mix, very jumpy and happy sounding. According to the biography, it represents the original Skweee sound (a Scandinavian music style that I'm not really familiar with). Track three (digital only) is remixed by Schlammpeitziger. It maintains a similar Skweee sound while incorporating a bit more harmony.

So yes, again this is something different from our usual material but we don't mind. This is very energetic, uplifting music that brings a smile to our faces. For the DJ's among us, this stuff will guarantee a full dancefloor on those summerfestivals you are about to play on. Maybe, just maybe you might see me in the middle of it, shaking my butt off...

Serge

Wolf Counsel - Vol 1

21/4/2015

Dead Center Productions
Website

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While I was browsing a local record store on Record Store Day I encountered a 2LP by Type O Negative, a band that I've actually missed these past years. Peter Steele and his men were unqiue and could be seen as the pinnacle of the ninenties doom scene. Ever since Steele died, I never heard a band with that exact sound and atmosphere. I also started understanding that doom metal wasn't just one genre or one sound but an immense array of influences, combined into a slow, cumbersome sound. In fact, the doom genre is arguably one of the most diverse sub-styles ever.

Anyway, enough about the genre, let's talk about one of the most recent releases. This one come to us from Wolf Counsel, a heavy quartet from Zürich, Switserland. Of all the doom bands I've heard in the past few years, they are the one that finally reminds me of Type O Negative, but we're not finished there. This debut album is crammed with roaring guitar riffs that seem to pay hommage to the grandiose sounds of the seventies, eighties and nineties. Bands like My Dying Bride, Candlemass and Electric Wizard also often come to mind, as well as some vintage hard rock bands, like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.

The album opens with 'The Gathering', which actually really is a gathering of howling wolves. Somehow this seems like an odd way to start an album but it works, it grabs the listener's attention immediately. And if that doesn't do the trick, 'Visions' will. This track, along with most of the following, is a prime example of crushing yet melodic doom metal. As usual, they drive on a massive set of groovy riffs and pummeling drums. 'Wolf Counsel', the song, sounds as if it has travelled from decades ago to teach us again how this music should be played.

Vol 1 offers almost fifty minutes of pure doom pleasure, dark enough to put a grin on every fan of the genre. My favourite track is 'Battles', which somehow makes me a bit melancholic and a bit nostalgic towards the summer festivals I used to visit back in the nineties. Both in the music and in the vocals Wolf Counsel delivers a tremendous amount of variation. The vocals remind me of old Tiamat, another band that I used to adore back then. 'Now Is Here', another favourite, is a absolutely devastating song with some of the scariest vocals on the album.

I admit, all these references don't really make Wolf Counsel sound very original but somehow it is this combination of various doom subgenres and mild predictability that make this an outstanding and highly enjoyable album. In all, Vol 1 is clearly one of the highlights of 2015. In all its heaviness this music is very refreshing and a welcome addition to the contemporary doom metal genre. I can't wait to see these guys on stage...

Serge

Capricornus Tenebrarum - Et Demonivm At Aeternvm

21/4/2015

Dead Center Prods
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Capricornus Tenebrarum - Et Demonivm At Aeternvm

Fans of certain specific musical genres are very lucky people. They just have to walk into a record store, look at the artwork, bandname and title and decide to take the album for a spin or even buy it without ever regretting it. For example: someone with a green and red mohawk looking very angry and wearing torn jeans? Punk. Someone with dreadlocks, a weed leaf and the word 'Jah' on the cover? Reggae. A barely readable logo and Satan himself on the artwork? Black metal. Life can be simple sometimes. Bleak, desolate and depressive, that's true, but oh so simple.

Capricornus Tenebrarum is an old school inspired black metal band from Mexico. Everything about this band breathes the same virulent air as bands like Marduk, Gorgoroth or Immortal. So it's no surprise that they sound very similar to these and other black metal bands. However, in todays modern black metal world, it's quite refreshing to encounter a band that still walks the old school paths with pungent riffs, punishing drums and an impressive array of hellish vocals, from gutteral growls to malignant screams.

Tradionally, the album opens with a keyboard intro, which made me think about Cradle Of Filth. Keyboards are often used to enhance the atmosphere of the songs but they rarely get the upper hand. These passages offer a very welcome breather once in a while. In 'A Sacrifice Of Useless Souls', one of the best songs on this album, the keyboards function as an ominous omen for what is about to come. And what's about to come, isn't very listener-friendly.

Another favourite is the epic 'Unholy Night Of Torment'. This song is one of the most evil and ill-natured things I've heard in a while. Driving on nearly perfect riffs and intense blastbeats, this song squirts every last piece of sanity out of the listener. In fact, listening to this song again, I'm starting to realise how damn good this album actually is.

So suddenly my mind takes me back to that one day at the end of the nineties when I listened to M?rk Gryning's 'Tusen Ar Har Gatt' and to Unlord's 'Schwarzwald' for the first time. I was amazed and mesmerized by these pieces of work and immediately bought them. Then, they were in the secondhand bin. They're classics now. 'Et Demonivm At Aeternvm' reminds me of these albums a lot. It's easy to classify this as a secondhand bin album but that would be very undeserved.

Musically, this is an outstanding black metal album with enough variation to keep the listener entertained for the full duration and even for a second spin. These Mexicans have succeeded in surprising me in a very good way and are well worth a chance. So, black metalheads from around the world, check this stuff out and meet me at the gates of hell so we can finally start dominating this despicable gathering of worms we call mankind...

Serge