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Ayuune Sule - What A Man Can Do A Woman Can Do More Better

21/4/2015

Ever since I reviewed the Prince Buju album, I've been fascinated by this kogolo music from Ghana. So when this 7" by Ayuune Sule reached me, I couldn't really wait to check it out. 'What A Man Can Do A Woman Can Do More Better' is a song about gender equality, accompanied only by the kogolo. Both songs on this single are quite similar, which is not really a surprise, but they really are amazing.

The style of Ayuune Sule isn't easy to describe but maybe this will help: take some roots reggae vocals over a beatless trance song, played by only two snares. That might be the most accurate description because the way Ayuune Sule plays his instrument creates a very trance-like atmosphere that really captures the listener's attention.

I like...

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Drew Lustman - The Crystal Cowboy

20/4/2015

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Planet Mu

It was a warm spring day when I received this album in my mailbox. It was the official release day of 'The Crystal Cowboys' and it was something different from what we usually review on Merchans Of Air. We don't get a lot of electronic dance music around here, but I do like the genre. In fact, I got a huge playlist with drum & bass, techno, IDM and other EDM styles, including several Planet Mu releases. So, I loaded the album in my media player and set the volume on 'relaxing summer day'.

Aah, perfection.

Drew Lustman is a producer from New York, also known as FaltyDL. This new album, under a new moniker, somewhat differs from his usual work. In some way you can say this album is a bit lighter, more relax. There are influences from drum & bass, hip-hop, garage house and nineties techno but the whole breathes a lounge-like atmosphere, warm and easeful. Often I'm reminded of acts like Funki Porchini or Amon Tobin. The music has similar qualities than those acts, mainly being both danceable and placid.

Crystal Cowboy opens with a highly energetic drum & bass track, named 'Watch A Man Die'. The beats and percussion remind me of early Prodigy but less heavy and less obtrusive. 'Time Machine' gets a bit heavier as it follows a similar structure and drums. On 'Wolves' we hear analog beats and trance elements combine into a raw version of Kiasmos. 'Onyx', featuring Le1f on vocals, is a solid hip hop song like The Herbaliser makes them. 'The Hatchet', one of my favourite tracks, drives on an almost industrial beat.

To some extent, it's as if Lustman wanted to make an overview of electronic dance music throughout the past few decennia. 'Angel Flesh' is a lounge/trip hop song with dreamy female vocals and a downtempo beat. The previously mentioned 'Time Machine' uses typical nineties sounds and 'Green Technique' is a weird breakbeat tune with a sense of experimentation. So is 'Blueberry Fields', which nudges towards old school hip hop.

All these influences make The Crystal Cowboy extremely varied, although the songs clearly have a distinct, inborn sound. This music is perfectly suited for the dancefloor and for the living room, or better yet, for the sunlit garden on a warm spring day. The quality of the music is quite what you can expect from a label like Planet Mu or Ninja Tunes and fits perfectly among the well-known acts in these stables. So yes, this is just a very good EDM album and an excellent addition to any collection.

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Prince Buju - We Are In The War

19/4/2015

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Makkum Records

Ever since this album reached our headquarters, it's been played and stopped, played and stopped, played and stopped, time and time again. Not that I didn't like the music on this album but mainly because I really didn't know what to write about this. Then, suddenly, in a flash of 'just-write-the-damn-thing' I decided to play the entire album, sit down and just write whatever I was thinking and feeling while listening to Prince Buju. I've rarely encountered traditional African music and I'm completely unacquainted with the kologo. Anyway, here we go.

Prince Buju is a kologo player and singer from North Kanishie, a neighborhood on the north side of Accra (Ghana). A kologo (also known as Xalam) is a lute-like instrument with two snares. The sound is raw, a bit shallow and sharp. Combined with the equally grinding voice of Prince Buju, you might somehow compare this music with old school punk. Simple, uptempo riffs are being accompagnied with crude vocals to create a number of protest songs. Prince Buju claims that all of us are at war and that we need to change our ways to make this world a better place to live in. These elements of protest, harsh but rhythmic music and raspy vocals give the whole an incredible punk attitude.

But there's no drums, no bass, no backing vocals. This is traditional kologo music with an impressive ethos. Fans of world music will absolutely love this but other, open minded music lovers should give this a chance as well. I'm sure a few of these songs, mainly 'Afashee', 'In The War' and 'I Am Accused' will often find the way to my speakers and one of them will definitely be on one of our next podcasts. Above all, this is music from the heart and from the soul. This is an artist expressing himself with a determination that is becoming very rare these days.

So I can only express my deepest respect for Prince Buju and his work. It's a remarkable piece of deeply personal music that we at Merchants Of Air can only applaud. I also would like to thank Arnold de Boer, who made this album possible. Maybe it's time for a crossover between traditional African music and Western experimental music by artists with the same beautiful work ethos and determination. At least, it's time to respect hard working artists, no matter where they come from or what kind of music they play...

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Ashtoreth / Helios ONE - Split

19/4/2015

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Dark ambient is one of the most intimate, mysterious and ritualistic musical genres in the world. It's a perfect way for artists to express their obscure or depressive side and to cope with the agitated society we live in. It's not really a surprise that thousands of people create this kind of music. They use analog instruments, vocals, field recordings and software to emit their deepest emotions. Dark ambient is also a deeply personal matter for many people, resulting in a massive number of one-man projects and duos. A well prepared and talented person, or duo, can create something amazing, even live.

Live recordings are a huge part of Ashtoreth's oeuvre. Combined with home recordings and some programming, this one-man project delivered an epic track that drives on something that sounds like the haunted bell of the endtimes. Somehow, while listening to this track, I imagine a vision of a deserted battlefield where the dead and wounded are being gathered after another war ended with no winners. The deep drones represent the echos of the many explosions and the cold, eerie atmosphere of the whole track breathes a sense of solitude and desolation. In 28 minutes, Ashtoreth proves why he is a rising star in the Belgian, and European, dark ambient scene.

Helios ONE is a duo from Italy, creating dark drone ambient with synths and guitars. Here too the overall feel is gloomy, driving on a number of soundscapes and drones. However, unlike Ashtoreth, the Italians incorporate some depressive black metal or power electronics vocals in their music, reinforcing its malignant nature. The experimental urge is also more present in this track than in the previous one. Helios ONE seems to fill a niche between ambient and noise by making their sounds uneasy and otherworldly. This is definitely not easy-listening music, although is slow, dreamy and calm.

In all, this is an excellent split album, and it's completely free as well. All you have to do is go over to the bandcamp page and download the hell out of this thing. Just promise me you won't play this when children are playing in the same room. Before you know it, they spin their head around a few times and spew vile yellow vomit allover your living room floor. You have been warned...

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Deadspace - The Promise of Oblivion

17/4/2015

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Oh yeah, time to boost the volume and explore the darkest regions of Australia, Perth to be exact. Now, personally I have no idea how dark Perth can be but somewhere in or near that city dwells a group of youngsters who do some pretty awesome and surprising things to black metal. So, mortal, prepare to be amazed by these grotesque and bizarre invocations.

Deadspace is a young band, founded in 2014. At first this was a solo-project by Chris Gebauer (Earth Rot/Sensory Amusia). As many one-man black metal bands, this project was formed to create an outlet for his continuous feelings of depression. However, soon after the project arose, Gebauer seemed to realize that his music deserved a full band. Other members were brought in, making Deadspace a solid act in the Australian underground.

Typical for this type of black metal albums, the atmosphere is grim, eerie and downright ireful.
Guitars create a blackened wall of sounds while drums accompany the intense rituals. The tempo usually is pretty slow. Because of this slowness, a song like 'The Clouds Won't Share The Pain' becomes an epic depressive black metal ballad, borrowing elements from post-rock to enhance the upcoming sonic burst of energy.

Yet, this is not really post-black metal, or how people want to define a subgenre these days. This is haunting, extreme, but most of al deeply personal music, focusing on the darkest regions of the innerself. You can almost feel the nihilism, the growing insanity and the hopelessness that eat away nearly everything that is positive in the worldview of this band.

Comparing Deadspace to other bands if difficult, mostly because this band incorporates elements from gothic rock, noise and ambient. The piano in 'Schadenfreude' makes the music almost accessible, almost. Yet the vocals display an immense sense of terror, unbearably for most of mankind. 'Pain's Grey' nudges towards sludge and is one hell of a song, so evil, so intense, so grievous.

'In The Coldness Of The Darkest Night' is the final track on the album and, like most tracks, this is a perfect example of powerful depressive black metal. To some level, I'm even reminded of Pink Floyd, mostly in the dreamy guitar solo. Other bands that come to mind are Tiamat, Vinterriket, Summoning, Nortt and Xasthur. Yet, Deadspace gives the whole it's own, personal, spin and does it with an impressive attitude. By all means, as far as I'm concerned, this is the future of black metal...

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Deathisfaction - Neverending Maze

17/4/2015

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(Aah, home alone. Time to listen to some extreme music while eating home made spaghetti bolognese. I made the damn sauce too spicy. It's like I'm eating fire over here.)

Anyway, back to the music. A while ago I received an email from Deathisfaction, asking we we would like to review their 'Neverending Maze' E.P.. Since we're a music webzine, writing reviews, that seemed like a very good question to ask us. However, after going to Spotify and clicking on 'play', I suddenly found myself back in 1989, yelling along with 'Elimination' by Overkill and banging by growing hair. Usually, that shouldn't be something to worry about. However, the song was blasting through my headphones while I was riding my bike to school. I nearly got into an accident on a busy intersection. I was centimeters away from being torn apart by a tourbus.

That really happened.

Deathisfaction is a Dutch thrash metal band, formed in 2012. With 'Neverending Maze' they delivered a powerful and highly effective business card. This is thrash metal at its best, furious, highspeed and hammering. It's a full-on assault on your sanity and on the muscles in your neck. At a certain point, I compared Deathisfaction with an Overkill/Obituary hybrid, the last one mainly because of the vocals.

However, this quartet takes the genre to a higher technical level, without losing the sheer
brutality. To hell with intros and atmosphere, this is high quality moshing. The song structures are quite complicated, continously changing both tempo and riffs. Yet, each part, as slow or fast as it might be, invites the listener to a firm headbanging session.

There is no other way to describe this music than old-fashioned thrash metal, ready to conquer stages far an wide. From the intense hyperspeed in title track 'Neverending Maze' to the epic opening riffs of 'Warmachine (For the Fallen)' this breathes the late eighties and early nineties atmosphere where Nuclear Assault, Death Angel, Anthrax and Testament were headliners.

My personal favourite on this album is 'Deathisfaction', a song with some of the most amazing drums I've heard in a while, combined with glorious guitar solos. Yet, the whole E.P. is awesome and comes highly recommended for every thrash/speed metal fan. For me, it's now time to extinguish the fires in my mouth with a huge can of cold beer...

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My Grimace - Grim Serenades

15/4/2015

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Let's start with a fun fact (because there's little 'fun' on this album itself): on Last.fm someone
actually tagged this 'pop' and even 'Britney Spears'. Some metalheads have a weird taste of humor if you ask me. Nothing about this album is poppy or 'spearsy' but I'd love to hear My Grimace do a Britney cover. It would effin' rock!!!

On to the album then. Grim Serenades is the debut for this Finnish sextet. Now I know I said there's little 'fun' on this album but I meant that in the most positive way possible. This is a monstrous album, filled with crushing yet melodic death metal. It sounds as if it comes directly from the nineties, when Arch Enemy still had a male vocalist and In Flames had just signed with Nuclear Blast. Get ready for a headbanging rollercoaster you won't easily forget.

My Grimace has little use for intros, after a few keyboard notes the blastbeats and highly intense
riffs immediately grab your attention and lure you in as if you're their prey. Believe me, in some
way you are prey to these Fins. However, in stead of slowly attracting you, they drag you into their battlefield and unleash every weapon they have in order to achieve complete annihilation. We're dealing with some very skilled musicians and songwriters here, taking influences from a number of styles and blending them into a highly effective weapon.

There's elements from old school death, thrash and black metal but also some progressive passages and even some atmospheric pieces. These elements make Grim Serenades an extremely varied album, coming very near some of my favorite albums in these genres. Even in the vocals there's plenty of variation, from death growls over clean vocals to eerie shrieks and screams. Yet, the clean vocals aren't often used, only when they fit in perfectly. In 'Reveal Nothing', for example, this combination of vocals truly reaches perfection.

Besides the previously mentioned bands, I'm often reminded of Children Of Bodom, especially in 'Drink Of Death' and Dimmu Borgir, but there's clearly some influences from Napalm Death and Hypocrisy here as well. Remembering that these are all pretty big bands in their respective genres, might give you an idea of the quality of the songs on Grim Serenades. This is indeed melodic death metal at a very high level. Anthems like title track 'Grim Serenade' (which sounds exactly like it promises) and 'Dire Need' are simply awesome.

Now, in all honesty, I didn't see the true genius of My Grimace only after a few songs. This album
seems to start out as a pretty decent one but quickly starts growing onto the listener, tightening its grip. I'm very surprised by this effort, in a good way. Grim Serenades is a dangerously addictive death metal trip, using every possible weapon in its arsenal to make My Grimace a big name in this genre. So, fans, buy it. Festivals, book them. Earth, fear them...

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Arson Under The Sea / Stolen Kidneys - Split

15/4/2015

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Bandcamp Arson Under The Sea
Bandcamp Stolen Kidneys

It's a searing hot day here in Antwerp. Everything is bright with sunlight. Birds are either trying
to get laid or building a nest and girls walk around in very short skirts. Children are playing in
the playground and adults are sitting on a bench, drinking beer, disguised as iced tea. So yes, today is a perfect day to crawl inside, close the curtains and blast some crushing sludge metal through the speakers and drink some iced tea, disguised as beer.

Arson Under The Sea and Stolen Kidneys are two Finnish bands, combining sludge, doom and hardcore. Both bands have a strong DIY-attitude. They released this 12" without a label because they could. The similar style of the bands make the album sound like a full album in stead of a split, which is a pretty interesting observation. Not that the bands sound exactly the same but they do have the same elements and influences. However, don't think this split is boring, there's a lot of stuff going on.

Arson Under Sea The delivered four tracks, all pretty slow but massive steamrollers with fuzzy
guitars, pounding drums and some brutal vocals. However, they don't shun the blastbeats and the high speed guitars. These make a song like 'Chains Of Oblivion' nudge towards black metal, featuring the same bleak and apocalyptic atmosphere. The vintage DIY sound quality helps a lot with that overall feel of total annihilation. Favorite track: 'The Observing Self', a highly destructive song.

The three songs Stolen Kidneys delivered are in no way less scathing. On average the songs are a bit longer and they have a stronger punk-sound but the sound quality and the overall intensity are quite similar. Another difference might be the fact that Stolen Kidney incorporates a bit more instrumental noise-rock passages. In fact, noise-rock might be a better term for this band than sludge. However, any way you name it, this is still some powerful, almost savage music. Favorite track: 'Dethrone the Fear'.

To conclude, this is an interesting 12" (or digital download) for everyone who's into sludge, noise-rock, doom, hardcore and other aggressive genres. Both bands prove their worth on this split by playing some intense music and leaving an impressive amount of wreckage behind them when they're done. Most of all, of course, this is something for the live stages and I would highly recommend checking them out. Maybe you won't survive but at least you've been crushed by some very decent skilled bands...

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Psychedelic Witchcraft - Black Magic Man

12/4/2015

Taxi Driver Records

When I was a kid (and believe me, that was a long time ago), I used to listen to the strange sounds emerging from the speaker of my small radio. I had won that radio on the local fair and I was extremely happy with it, because I could listen to new music instead of the fifteen records my parents owned. One of the songs that often played on the radio, was 'White Rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane. I loved it and it follwed me throughout the next years of listening to music. These days, there's a sixties and seventies revival and some of the bands in that revival make me smile like that little kid again.

Yes, you've guessed it. This is one of those albums.

Psychedelic Witchcraft is an Italian band led by vocalst Virginia Monti. Heavily influenced by the seventies and the occult, this band takes the listener right back to the era of Iron Butterfly and Jefferson Airplane. In today's scene, they would perfectly fit in with bands like Jex Toth and Blues Pills. The four songs on this e.p. are prime examples of occult or psychedelic rock, rarely nudging towards hard rock. The whole breathes that vintage and straightforward sound. A sound that will maintain its warm feel in any format and on any device.

Several female fronted psychedelic rock bands have a problem with vocals, or at least that's my opinion. Virginia Monti doesn't. Her voice is a bit raw, pretty warm and has enough power to blend in perfectly with the music. Strangely, she also gives a modern touch. In the vocal parts of 'Angela' I'm often reminded of Anouk, which isn't bad at all. This album truly has a sense of timelessness.

The album is available as a digital download on their bandcamp page and is to be be released on limited edition 10" vinyl by Taxi Driver records. If you are a fan of anything vintage, stoner, occult and doom from the late sixties until today, you really should check this out. This is simply a marvellous e.p. with some very sexy rock music...

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Abysmal Grief / Runes Order - Split

12/4/2015

Italian Doom Metal

Here is something for all of you who adore the darkest of the dark, those who are obsessed with the occult and the strange worlds hidden beyond ours. This 12" is a guarantee for sleepless nights and a perfect soundtrack for those bizarre role playing games some people play. Italian Doom Records, who we know from Fangs Of The Molossus, delivers this surprising split with two acts I know for a while now.

Side A belongs to Abysmal Grief, a doom metal band formed in 1996. In this track however, the band transform themselves into a full blown dark, ritual ambient ensemble. 'Hymn of the Afterlife' is exactly what it sounds like, a dark journey into places unknown, driving on a slow rhythm and a multitude of soundscapes and guitars.

Runes Order takes care of side B. This one-man project, founded in 1988 (and renamed in 1992) uses an array of synths, soundscapes and guitars to create a dark hymn about pleasure and blasphemy. Alex De Siena is both the singer and the priestess performing this ritual. This track is divided into five different pieces and often reminds me of underground avant-garde acts.

In all, this is a surprising but interesting 12". The two songs don't differ that much from each other. Both drive on slow drums and deep, drone-like sounds fading in and out. Both carry a similar dark and creepy atmosphere that is quite mesmerizing. However, there is a lot of variation, plenty to keep every fan of dark music interested.

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Space God Ritual - Eldritch Tales

12/4/2015

Bilocation records

When a band names their album after the writings of H.P Lovecraft and has the words 'Space' and 'Ritual' in their name, you usually know what to expect; occult and vintage horror loaded classic doom rock. That was exactly what I was expecting when I saw this album for the first time, and I was absolutely right. However, predictability isn't always a bad thing, especially not if the album itself is excellent.

Space God Ritual is a trio from Arkham, Oregon who have been focusing on traditional doom metal since 2011. And it actually doesn't get any more traditional than this. These doomsters have no need for modern day arrangements, elaborate psychedelic passages or grunts. Nope, this is straightforwarded doom rock, coming directly from the darkest realms of the seventies and preparing to blast a scorching hot summer through your speakers.

Of the eight songs on this album, I think 'The Doom Of Sarnath' and 'The Weeping' are my favourites. Somehow you can compare this to Black Sabbath or Candlemass but quite different and somewhat unique. There's darkness in this music but also a warm sense of freedom. The whole breathes a mysterious, almost wicked atmosphere, similar to Electric Wizard. No doubt the distinct vocals add a lot to this weird feeling. These vocals often even remind me of the Virgin Prunes.

So if you're a classic doom fan, hurry up and get your hands on this one. You can't get more vintage and traditional than Space God Ritual. For the record, this album has been released digitally in October 2013 but will see a re-release on vinyl by Kozmik Artifactz & Bilocation records. This label is very right to do so because this album really deserves a vintage, high quality format. Vinyl fans can choose between a black, a red and a red/black marble edition, all stricktly limited.

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Rydberg - Rydberg

11/4/2015

Monotype Records

Nicholas Bussmann & Werner Dafeldecker have been experimenting with music for a long time, both in their respective genres and instrumentation. Dafeldecker is an Austrian double bass player who composes music with an array of instruments. He's also influenced by the possibilities of electro-acoustics. Bussman mixes traditional composition with club music production techniques and concept art.

Both musicians love improvising over a prefixed composition, a technique that has an enourmous number of possibilities. So, you might wonder, how did these two spend the hot summer of 2013? Well, appearantly they went up on the upper floor of a recording studio where it was even hotter and started recording the album I'm listening to right now.

Ok, I admit, I don't think a lot of people wonder what anyone else is doing on a hot summer, but for this album it makes sense. Imagine two producers working in a scalding hot studio with a number of instruments that blast out heat while trying to stay cool. Image the sweat dripping in their eyes with every single effort, almost blinding them at times. Now imagine the result of these sessions. They won't be very energetic. There won't be a lot of activity and certainly no intense climaxes.

But it is quite stunning...

There's three pieces of music on this album. Opener 'Elevator' is a long, experimental ambient track, driving on a deep, dark drone. Variations are subtle but continuous. You can almost feel the heat in the warm, gentle sound. 'Gardening', with 7.27 the shortest track on this album, drives on a slow beat and a strange bassline, distinguishing itself in minimalism. Final track 'And The Science' offers the same deep, warm sound as its predesessors while it drives on a bassline that sounds both repetitive and, well, broken. This is also the most danceable because of the analog beats.

Bussman & Dafeldecker have been working together a lot before they recorded this album so they are definitely well-attuned to each other. However, the intense heat in the recording studio clearly had its effect on the music they created, in a good way. The album is a great example of experimental ambient. It can go into any direction but still holds on to a sense of minimalism and a warm sound. This is something for the scorching summer nights...

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Gabriel Ledoux - Le Vide Parfait

11/4/2015

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Well, since we're indulging ourselves in weirdness today, we might as well check this new Gabriel
Ledoux album. I have to admit, judging from the biography I was a bit sceptic. I mean, jazz isn't
really my thing and experimental jazz even less. Dark jazz, that's a different story, I love dark
jazz. However, we're not really dealing with that here, we're dealing with something way beyond jazz.

I'll try to explain...

Gabriel Ledoux is a Montreal-established composer, producer and arranger. His music is characterized by its expressiveness, contrasts and integration of spoken words. Most of all, on this album it's characterized by an unstoppable urge to experiment. Le Vide Parfait, which translates as 'The Perfect Emptiness' is a strange, unsettling world of sounds, written by Ledoux and performed by about ten musicians and vocalists. There are violins, guitars, drums, vibraphones, horns and several other instruments but none of them are used in a conventional way.

Electronics are another important part in the work of Ledoux, as well as spoken word samples from a number of events in the recent past, including a mass suicide and 9/11. Along with the highly unpredictable appearances and disappearances of the diversity of sounds, this creates an uneasy, almost nervous atmosphere. Clearly, this is not easy-listening music, this is sound art, created with a passion that is downright bizarre to most people.

Personally, I don't think I will listen to this album very often, although some tracks are very nice
hybrids of dark jazz, experimental ambient and noise (I do love the song 'He's wounded, fuck' by the way). Yet, I don't think Gabriel Ledoux makes this music for the big audiences. This is something for the chosen few, mainly active in the world of performance art and film-noir. For others this is a strange mix of contemporary, electronics and free jazz music.

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Whorion - The Reign Of The 7th Sector

11/4/2015

inverse records

Symphonic metal, a subgenre with intense and elaborate use of keyboards and arrangements. According to some die-hard metal fans, symphonic metal is something for the beginners, the rookies who are just starting to listen to this style of music. Real metalheads look for the distrurbed, wicked and immensly heavy stuff, at least that's what some of those die-hards say. They should start listening to Whorion, a band that combines all of the above in a highly destructive way.

Whorion hails from Finland and have been working their way up the death metal ladder since 2009. In 2014 they released an e.p., named 'Atlas'. Since then they have been practicing, writing, improving and experimenting until they felt the time was right to record a beast that would surpass 'Atlas' in every way. Now, I have never heard their previous work but judging from what I hear on 'The Reign Of The 7th Sector', this is one hell of a death metal band, ready to crush Europe.

When I read the biography, the first band I thought about was Dimmu Borgir. Now, after listening to the album, I have to admit that Whorion has a lot more power and intensity. Many of the extra
arrangements breathe an eerie atmosphere, complete with the creepy violin shrieks similar to those in the movie 'Psycho'. While other bands create a certain bombastic sound with these arrangements, Whorion uses them to emphasise the chaotic and frightening nature of their music.

The rest of the music is equally wicked. With highly technical riffs, fierce drums and a deep
guttural voice Whorion seems to have found a niche between mathcore and death metal. This is not an easy-listening album, not even for experienced death metal fans. The experimental yet brutal approach is astounding and provides absolutely no rest for the wicked. This is an intense trip through an unsettling warzone where anything can happen at any given time.

So yes, Whorion seems to be one of the most innovative death metal bands I've encountered in a while. With 'The Reign Of The 7th Sector', an album that's filled with highlights, they will release an absolute beast upon the world that will shock and awe the metal community. This is symphonic death metal at its most crushing, most brutal and most idiomatic. Whorion wanted to make this a more devastating album than the previous e.p. Thinking about that, the follow-up to this album might just become unbearably wicked for mankind...

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Ruby The Hatchet - Aurum

10/4/2015

Kozmik Artifactz & Bilocation Records

Aah, riffs, on warm spring days like these I can't get enough of them. This is the time of year when my preferences change from intimate ambient music to distortion loaded guitars and pounding drums. When the first blossoms appear on the trees, the first solo's blast through my speakers and I start longing for the greasy hamburgers, the warm beer, the wet soil and the sonic blast of the summer festivals. And as far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't mind watching Ruby The Hatchet a few times in the next few months.

Ruby The Hatchet is a female-fronted rock band from New Jersey, influenced by psychedelic and classic rock and inspired by vintage horror movies and the occult. Now, usually, 'female-fronted' is almost a synonym for 'goth metal' but no sir, there's nothing goth about this. This is old fashioned hard rock in the vein of bands like Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, Jex Toth and many others following or leading the succesfull seventies revival.

The album is contains remastered versions of their favourite songs from the debut 'Ouroboros' and two songs from the single 'The Eliminator' who both have been unavailable for quite some time. The band and label decided to improve the sound quality for this vinyl/CD release. A good decision if you ask me, because the sound is pretty massive, sounding both very present day and vintage at the same time. This creates a unique, mystical atmosphere, loaded with witchcraft and sorcery.

My favourite songs are the opener 'Paralyzed', which is an epic riff-based rock song that Black Sabbath forgot to write. 'Can't Get Him Away' is an uptempo rock 'n' roll track, dressed in a psychedelic blues outfit. 'Holy Father' sounds as if it came directly from a 'greatest rockhits of 1975' compilation. 'Good God Damn', as many of the other songs, sounds dirty, dark and powerful, just like rock music used to be and should be. On the final track, 'Eliminator' things even get a bit darker.

In all, this is a great classic or psychedelic rock album from a highly talented band. If Ruby The Hatchet can bring this quality on stage, they might become one of the most outstanding bands on many desert and stoner festivals this summer or autumn or whatever. Aurum is definitely worth checking out if you are discovering the current revival.

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Hypnodrone Ensemble - The Shape Of Space

10/4/2015

Calostro
Little Crackd Rabbit Records

Hypnodrone Ensemble - The Shape Of Space

Aidan Baker must be one of the most active people in the music industry. If he's not recording or touring with Nadja, Caudal or solo, he's seeking new ways to explore his drones and soundscapes. Take this new output for example. Two guitar players, a bassist and three, yes three, drummers creating two lengthy and epic pieces. The idea grew from several performances Aidan Baker and Thisquietarmy did together. It was, partially improvised, recorded at Golden Retriever Studios in Berlin.

The names on this album are not to be underestimated. Besides Baker we see Eric Quach (Thisquietarmy), Gareth Sweeney (Caudal), David Dunnett, Jeremie Mortier (Alice In The Cities) and Felipe Salazar. The multitude of drums gives the album some extra power, in the beginning even to the extent of overruling the infading drones. Yet, when the tempo goes up, the music turns into some highly atmospheric space rock which is pretty amazing.

The two pieces last about twenty minutes each but are divided in two parts each. Part two of the opening track is a lot slower, coming close to a blend of post rock and Bakers work with Nadja. Yet, both parts are part of one long piece so they seemlessly blend into one another. Each piece can stand perfectly well on its own but when you listen to the whole, the skillfully attuned magic of this album comes shining through.

Part 2, named 'Euclidian / Dodecahedral' starts out with a jazzy bassline and quicky becomes a solid post-rock track again. About halfway, the volume goes up again, bringing back that amazing space and kraut rock. Somehow, Hypnodone Ensemble makes all this sound so easy. You can almost hear the musicians having loads of fun with these elaborate jamsessions. Close your eyes and you can often see them smiling at each other, happy that this is turning out perfectly. The album even ends perfectly, noisy and heavy.

Personally, I think this is one of the best works of Aidan Baker's carreer. The constantly changing and altering soundscapes keep this record well-varied and extremely enjoyable. Plus, the calm and friendly atmosphere of this album keeps shining through, even in the heaviest passages. The Shape Of Space is a must for every drone, space rock and post-rock fan. The album is available on vinyl and CD, so get your hands on this jewel as quickly as you can...

Serge

Lucuma - Destruye La Ciudad Psicologica

10/4/2015

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Question: what do you do as a reviewer when a band reminds you of Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Mastodon, Tool, Pink Floyd, Primus, Baroness and some present day alternative rock bands, all at once? Buenos Aires based Lucuma does exactly that, blending a lot of different rock styles into their own disctinct sound. The fact that all lyrics are in Spanish add a lot the unique sound of this quartet. For the most part however, this album rocks!!!

Destruye La Ciudad Psicol?gica is the second album by these Argentinians. It's a powerful, modern sounding piece of work that hints to the glorious history that rock music has had in the past few decades. Yet, Lucuma gives the whole a progressive and technical touch by including almost atonal riffs and intense guitar solos. There are regular shifts in tempo, power and heaviness, making the album varied enough to remain entertaining.

'Mulciber' is my favourite track on the album, not because it's instrumental but because of the massive, noisy and overwhelming sound. The songs with vocals are in no way less interesting by the way. At first it seems a bit weird with the Spanish vocals but we're dealing with a very good singer here. 'Destruye La Ciudad Psicol?gica' is another one of my favourites because of the bizarre guitar play (and sound). It's quite amazing how this can sound so out of place and so perfectly into place at the exact same time.

The complex and highly technical songwriting shines through throughout the entire album. It seems like Lucuma are obsessed with contradictions. On one hand they want to be a progressive, almost experimental band and on the other hand they want to rock your socks off. Somehow, they succeed in doing both, making this a pretty interesting album. It's these contradictions that make a song like
'Nuevo Gris' stand out in the present day rock genre, that's for sure.

So, to conclude, Destruye La Ciudad Psicol?gica (which translates as Destroy The Psychological City and accompanied by the quote "...This "Babylon" that is inside the human mind, this "psychological city", inhabited by demons of anger, greed, lust, envy, pride, sloth and gluttony, should be destroyed...") is a heavy rock album with a high technical level and a dark atmosphere. It's perfect for experienced rockers of any age...

Serge

Shivers & Shakes - Circle

8/4/2015

Shivers & Shakes is a Polish singer-songwriter duo, balancing on the edge between ambient, noise, pop and folk. This e.p. is their very first effort since the installment of the band in 2012. Circle contains four homerecorded tracks, each of them a beautiful ballad, dressed in some layers of drones and soundscapes. The result is actually very nice, minimal dreamy pop with a raw edge.

The songs drive on a few simple guitar chords, guiding a fragile, subdued voice. Often soundscapes and guitar drones are used to enforce the atmosphere but the minimal approach of the whole is what makes this e.p. quite interesting. It sounds very intimite and very warm. 'Circle' and 'Waterfall' allow some, be it minor, noise elements to shine through while 'Colours' and 'Melancholy' mainly focus on an enchanting sound.

In all, this really is an interesting e.p. because it shows fragments of what Shivers & Shakes are capable of. Given enough time and experimentation, this could be something for the quiet festival stages and, why not, jazz clubs. There is definitely some talent in this duo, that's for sure.

Serge

Suffering - Chaosatanas

7/4/2015

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Suffering - Chaosatanas

'No Morality, No Tolerance, No Human, No God', that's the credo of this Polish black metal act. Fueled by nihilism, misantropy and occultism, this trio has released a crushing debut e.p. According to the biography the album was recorded during the full moon nights in June and July of 2012. This can actually explain the aggressive and dark nature of this album. If people really are more aggressive during full moons, metal bands should follow Suffering's example and record only then.

The band exists since 2007 but faced a few creative differences with former members. This resulted in a delay in recording and releasing this debut. After the problems were dealed with, founding and remaining members Armagedon and Astaroth decided to finally get this stuff on CD. They were absolutely right to do so because this has become one hell of a debut.

Suffering offers no intro, they just start blastbeating the hell out of the listener and that eternal damnation lasts for almost half an hour. They don't seem to care about a modern sound, lengthy instrumental passages or elaborate keyboard soundscapes. No, they want your soul and they're smashing your head to pieces to get it. Blastbeats are more furious and guitars are colder than in most black metal bands these days. Vocals are awesome, perfectly mixed into the music.

'I'm the existence' takes a step back. It's a slow song but in no way less intense. The double bass is vicious, drilling bleeding holes in every body part you can imagine. The atmosphere is bleak and frightening. The drums are amazing on this album, very intense and powerful, at moments almost mechanical or at least inhuman. The whole really reminds me of the Scandinavian scene of the nineties with bands like Impaled Nazarene or Beherit. Yet, the sheer speed of most of the tracks is astonishing.

If we have to talk about influences, well, let's just say the only influence seems to be old school black metal. Suffering takes the genre to an even more extreme level than I'm used to and it's simply stunning. Picking favourites is not easy, I love the previously mentioned 'I'm the existence' for its atmosphere but 'Essence Of Sin' and 'Frozen Faith' are equally awesome. I'll just go with the closer 'Ofiara', an epic piece that combines all the qualities of the other songs.

This has got to be one of Satan's favourites....

Serge

Dasha Rush - Sleepstep (Sonar Poems For My Sleepless Friends)

7/4/2015

Raster-Noton

For some people, including me, good albums are muses. They spark creativity by creating unique atmospheres and elaborate worlds where one can build entire imaginary landscapes. Especially ambient albums have that quality, probably because ambient has the power to become an otherworldly genre where everything can happen. It's an enourmously varied world and some of these albums truly are masterpieces of minimalism and ethos.

I think this is one of the first times I've used the word 'masterpiece' since we've started this website, and to be honest, I feel that it's appropiate to call this work a masterpiece. Sleepstep is one of the best contemporary ambient albums I've heard in a while. It perfectly combines the original lengthy soundscapes with a present day electronic setting. At times it nudges toward the intelligent dance music of Autechre or the proto-ambient of Bioshpere.

After the intro, the album starts with an eerie cabaret-like song, 'Dance With Edgar Poe'. This is probably the strangest track on the album. All of the songs do have quite a gloomy atmosphere, like dreams that are not nightmares but still a bit ghostly. Some songs, like 'Abandoned Beauties and Beasts' drive on some odd electronic percussion. Others, like 'Scratching your Surface (Revisited)' come very close to trip-hop. Here and there vocals are used, both in French and English, giving the songs an eighties darkwave feel.

The sixteen pieces on this album are miniature compositions and sound collages with an intense soothing and dreamy effect. At times electronic percussion offers an abstract sense of rhythm. When vocals are used - mostly as spoken word passages - they reinforce the alienating atmosphere of the pieces. Another reinforcing element is the presence of sounds that usually only belong in the world of techno and house. However, Dasha Rush succeeds in keeping them at a controlled level. On '100 Hearts' this results is an amazing trance piece without beats.

The most surprising aspect is the organic feel of the tracks. Though nearly everything is created, or modified, electronically, they stand out in being unpredictable. Not only within the songs but also as a whole there's plenty of different elements and sounds to create an impressive amount of variation. It's almost as if Dasha Rush created musical foundations on which the songs themselves can play and alter. As if they are live beings.

So yes, you guessed it. This is an oustanding ambient/electronics album wherein Dasha Rush aligns herself with the pioneers of modern day electronic dance music. I highly recommend this album, that's for sure. I'm going to stop writing about it and get my ass over to my terrace to enjoy the sun and this CD a little more...

Serge

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Ayuune Sule - What A Man Can Do A Woman Can Do More Better

Drew Lustman - The Crystal Cowboy

Prince Buju - We Are In The War

Ashtoreth / Helios ONE - Split

Deadspace - The Promise of Oblivion

Deathisfaction - Neverending Maze

My Grimace - Grim Serenades

Arson Under The Sea / Stolen Kidneys - Split

Psychedelic Witchcraft - Black Magic Man

Abysmal Grief / Runes Order - Split

Space God Ritual - Eldritch Tales

Rydberg - Rydberg

Gabriel Ledoux - Le Vide Parfait

Whorion - The Reign Of The 7th Sector

Ruby The Hatchet - Aurum

Hypnodrone Ensemble - The Shape Of Space

Lucuma - Destruye La Ciudad Psicologica

Shivers & Shakes - Circle

Suffering - Chaosatanas

Dasha Rush - Sleepstep (Sonar Poems For My Sleepless Friends)

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