Blog Archives

Threestepstotheocean - Migration Light

31/5/2015

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Whatisitwithpostrockbandsrefusingtoaddspacesbetweenthewordsintheirbandnames? It doesn't really bother me (why should it?) but it's something I noticed a while ago: Sleepmakeswaves, 65daysofstatic, Maybeshewill, Thisquietarmy (not really post-rock I know, but still),... I don't know about you, dear reader, but I often wonder about things like that. Anyway, we're not here to talk about bandnames. We're here to write a review about the new Threestepstotheocean album.

Threestepstotheocean is an instrumental rock band from Milan, Italy, founded in 2006. 'Migration Light' is their fourth full-length and it's completely free for everyone to download. Of course, I suggest spending a bit of digital cash on it. Not only because it's definitely worth it but also to 'support the scene'. After all, these guys have spent countless of hours to get this music together and their DIY-attitude is loudly applauded at Merchants Of Air. The album is also available on CD and LP, but they're not free (duh).

Migration Light incorporates all the right elements to make this a quality post-rock album. Lengthy soundscapes, alternated with fericious metal riffs and blasting drums. Yet, these Italians seem to go even further. They are not shy of using blast beats and other black metal influences, raising the level of intensity. Here and there some Americana rock comes shining through and post-hardcore or sludge references are never far away.

What I like most about this album, is the immense level of stage-capacity. Although the album is very enjoyable in the comfort of my living room, I can image this blasting at live performances. Apart from the quiet pieces, this is pure metal, especially if played loud. This is one of the many possible directions that post-rock has been evolving in over the past few years and it's simply amazing. I can clearly see myself making an attempt at headbanging at one of their concerts.

With complex songstructues and a lot of variation, Threestepstotheocean have recorded an excellent post-rock album in the vein of bands like Pelican, Year Of No Light and The Ocean, or something in between them. The fact that there's no vocals, makes it even better. Who needs vocals, right? Anyway, if you're a post-rock/metal fan, get your hands on this release. No way in hell you will regret it...

Serge

Heitor Alvelos - Faith

31/5/2015

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Sound composers, or audio-visual artists are a strange breed of people. They seem to live in their own world and create things that are simply unimaginable to others. These artists have a special gift: the ability to hear music everywhere. Busy roads become drones, pouring rain becomes percussion and empty buildings become temples of resonance. There is indeed music everywhere, but to be able to experience it, you need to extend your definition of the word 'music'. Many people have been doing that during the past decades and a lot of brilliant albums have been released, bringing joy to thousands.

Heitor Alvelos is a name that might ring a bell. Besides his own projects like The Tapeworm, Autodigest or Antifluffy, he cooperated with the likes of Biosphere, Fennesz & BJ Nilsen, mainly providing photos and stage visuals. This latest release, the first one under his own name, is a very personal and autobiographic album. 'Faith' is the result of many years of field recording and sound manipulation. It's a strange album, excelling in minimalism.

The best way to listen to 'Faith' is not to listen to each song individually but to see it as a whole. The tracks vary from a bit under one minute to about ten minutes. The oddest thing is, nothing really happens. In fact, to the untrained ear, this sounds like one long, prosy drone. Within the elaborate soundscapes, there is little variation, no percussion and no melodies. However, I
deliberately avoid the word 'boring' because this is far from boring.

I admit, I had my doubts during the first few minutes of this album. Yet, this kind of music is not really to be just heard. This goes a lot deeper than most music does. It affects the brain and the body. The sounds resonate through the listener's intestines and calms them down. I know because of how I feel after listening to this album. Before I played it, I didn't feel so good. I ate (and drank) too much at a family reunion and my stomach was upset. However, two doses of 'Faith' and I'm feeling a lot better.

So yes, this is a class of music that many people will ignore, but those who know a great deal about ambient will realize that this is an excellent example of minimal experimental music. It also proves that we don't fully understand the true power of sound, at least not yet. This goes way deeper than your eardrums and most of it doesn't even enter your body there. (But don't think about that for too long). This is minimal ambient at its best, period.

Serge

Benjamin Finger - Motion Reverse

31/5/2015

Shimmering Moods

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A few months ago, I reviewed the brilliant experimental ambient album 'Pleasurably Lost' by Benjamin Finger. Now he already returns with a follow-up. It's clear that this artist continuously looks forward and keeps experimenting with sound. He always seems to find new ways to explore the wonderful world of music and non-music, ever balancing on the edge between the two. I'm not really acquainted with his previous work so I can only focus on his last two albums. However, I loved 'Pleasurably Lost' and I love 'Motion Reverse'.

The first thing that came to mind when I started listening to this album was: 'this is either uptempo ambient or techno-trance without beats'. The uptempo part is quite interesting. It pushes the ambient genre into a very playful and enjoyable direction. Quite like on the previous album, Benjamin Finger loves to experiment and deviate. If you put analog beats under this music, some of these songs might become summer-hits for Ibiza discotheques but he refuses to do that. In stead, he focuses on a dreamy atmosphere.

It's not that there's absolutely no percussion present on this album. It is there but it's a lot deeper. Besides, it's distorted, delayed and takes on some very unexpected forms. Over these bizarre rhythmic elements a number of soundscapes, vocal samples and strange musical elements float freely without ever resulting in chaos. Here and there, especially in 'Dubstore Light' I'm reminded of the Berlin School where Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schülze were headmasters.

'Motion Reverse' can indeed be seen as a throwback, where Finger shows his rough side but on the same time this album is a step forward into the world of obscure and strange ambient music. Where the previous album showed some signs of radio-friendliness, 'Motion Reverse' shows little of that. Also the dark jazz or film noir references I mentioned in the previous review are completely gone (except maybe in 'Spacecore Dust', which is an amazing track). Although I liked these elements, I don't really miss them.

Another desciption I just made up: 'In-your-face-ambient-music'. Many ambient albums focus on a smooth, soothing and calm sound with elaborate soundscapes and little to no rhymth. 'Motion Reverse' grabs your attention, takes you on a strange, often uneasy journey and lets you experience unimaginable things while still offering a save haven for the listener. 'Sunny Echoes' is a great example of this uneasiness. It combines two very different rhythms, leaving the listener a bit confused.

The world of Benjamin Finger is definitely one I'd like to dig into. We're dealing with an exceptional musical mind here. One that refuses to follow rules and guidelines. One that constantly finds new ways to express itself. Like I mentioned in the previous review I wrote for this brilliant artist, this is a process that I can only applaude. To take the glorification of Benjamin Finger even further: this album will probably become a big influence on my own next release...

Serge

Tristana - Virtual Crime

30/5/2015

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It's been a while since I've been this conflicted by an album. A part of me wants to turn this off but another part is very curious about this bizarre mix of old school heavy metal and present day alternative metal. That's not all, there is so much going on in this album, it's hard to classify this. So let's not classify, let's just try to be objective about it and describe this album.

Tristana is a metal band from Slovakia, founded around the turn of the century. Initially the band played hard rock and heavy metal in the traditional way of these genres. However, during the years, Tristana adopted several other influences like the screaming vocals of (post-) hardcore, the melodic elements of power metal and the electronics that some modern (or less-modern) rock bands like Enter Shikari and Senser incorporate.

It's exactly this strange mix that makes Virtual Crime quite a difficult album. At some points Tristana sounds like a big arena rock band like Bon Jovi but then, suddenly, it all turns into a violent hardcore piece in the vein of Thrice or Escape The Fate. Other bands that come to mind are Masterplan, Evergrey and Nevermore, especially in the parts with clean vocals. At times, this album sounds like an overview of metal styles throughout history, leaving out the extreme subgenres.

So, is Virtual Crime a bad album? No, it isn't. This is actually a splendid model for present day metal. The fact that it mostly incorporates styles that I don't really listen to, doesn't change the fact that this band might be on their way to the top of today's alternative scene. There's a lot of melody, fantastic guitar solos, catchy tunes and some excellent songwriting. This will please a lot of young metalheads and can definitely make a lot of people interested in the genre.

I'm sure that Tristana contains highly talented musicians who know a great deal about writing powerful music. I'm also sure that they can deliver the same quality in a live setting and play some very convincing concerts. So, don't let an aging reviewer stop them from doing what they are good at. After all, we might be dealing with one of this generation's classics, just like Korn, Slipknot & Linkin Park are classics for the third generation, Metallica, Iron Maiden & Slayer for the second and Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin & Deep Purple for the first.

Rock will never die, and Virtual Crime proves that.

Serge

Unmercenaries - Fallen In Disbelief

30/5/2015

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This is a coincidence. A few days ago I was reading an article on facebook about young people loosing their faith in a 'higher power'. At the exact same moment this album reached my inbox, entitled 'Fallen In Disbelief'. Now, sometimes I don't really believe in coincidences. So today, when I encountered that article again, I remembered this album and decided to give it a go. This proved to be an excellent choice because this is an earth shattering funeral doom debut.

Unmercenaries is an internation trio, with members from Russia and Germany. All members have been active in a number of bands before (Who Dies In Siberian Slush (Rus), Decay Of Reality (Rus), Forbidden Shape (Rus), My Shameful (Fin / Ger), Absent / Minded (Ger)) so it's safe to say that we're dealing with some experienced musicians here. Furthermore, they got a little help from I. (keys) and Daniel Neagoe (Eye Of Solitude - additional vocals at “Circles Of Disbelief”). So this isn't really a debut, it's a gathering of likeminded people, creating something brilliant.

There's four tracks on this album, the shortest one lasting for a bit over eight minutes and the longest one for fifteen minutes. These lengthy songs are quite typical for the world funeral doom, and that is exactly where Unmercenaries belong. Slow, elaborate songs, filled with distortion and keyboards to create a bleak atmosphere, faineantly roll through my speakers, accompanied by death growls (and clean guest vocals in 'Circles Of Disbelief') and some very strong drums.

Fallen In Disbelief breathes hopelessness, despair and solitude in perfect funeral doom tradition
It's no wonder I'm often reminded of bands like Esoteric, Evoken or Thergothon. This is simply a high quality doom album that never gets dull, not even after a few consecutive listens. There's a lot of variation and a decent amount of keyboards and piano to maintain enjoyable for several hours. At times the vocals even nudge towards grindcore, being low and unintelligible, which enhances the dark, mysterious feel of the album.

The only thing that seems a bit odd is the ending of some songs. 'A Portal' seems to end in some
blackened noise and 'Circles Of Disbelief' ends quite suddenly. Closer 'A Beggar's Lesson' on the other hand ends in a brilliant piece of dark ambient folk. This however doesn't harm the overal quality, at all. Every doom fan should have this in his collection since it's probably one of the highlights in this genre in 2015. There's simply no better way to express the bleakest and loneliest feelings a person experiences these days.

Serge

Deuil - Shock/Deny

29/5/2015

Consouling Sounds

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Consouling Sounds owes me a new set of speakers.

As some of you may already know, I often listen to an album while doing some chores in the house. To be able to do that, I installed some speakers in the kitchen. It looks like crap with all the wiring but it sounds awesome. So today I received this new Deuil album, which is actually released today, and loaded it into my media player. Mere seconds after I pressed 'play', one of the kitchen speakers started cracking and eventually it died. Now, I do like Consouling Sounds but albums like this should come with a warning "can seriously damage your equipment"...

Anyway, enough fooling around. We're here to review the second album by Belgian blackened doom quartet Deuil. Ever since their previous album, Deuil has become one of the major players in the new Belgian wave of extreme music. They're in good company too, belonging to a 'stable' where AmenRa, Wiegedood and Sardonis define the new extreme. This is definitely where Deuil belongs, combining sludge, doom and black metal into two devastating songs.

What Deuil does is very intense and clearly not for the faint-hearted. Crushing riffs are being alternated with ferocious blastbeats and intense screams, far beyond what most bands do. This is not a band to start listening to when you 'want something else'. If you're into sludge or black metal and quite used to the genre, you might want to give it a shot. Let's just say you have to be initiated in these genres before your heart and mind can cope with the sheer nihilism, brutality and misery this quartet spawns. This music hurts, and it should. People should experience some sonic insanity once in a while.

Shock/Deny, and especially the second track, is one of the bleakest pieces of music I've ever heard. This music is capable of crushing every last bit of joy out of a person and devour all hope. The sludge passages makes most bands in that genre sound like poprock bands. The black metal passages send Immortal, Darkthrone and Behemoth back to the kindergarten. Just like our species is now named Homo Sapiens Sapiens, this genre should be called Extreme Extreme Metal.

So, to conclude, Deuil has delivered a scathing album which can blast them right into the top of present-day extreme metal scene. I can only hope the audiences are ready for this because when this bulldozer comes at you in full force, nothing will remain standing. Damn, this is intense...

Serge

Giulio Aldinucci - Spazio Sacro

29/5/2015

Time Released Sounds

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I really don't know why so many of our colleagues focus on a certain style of music. Today, I've been listening to a lot of black, death, crust and other forms of metal and there's lot more headbanging pleasure in my inbox. However, after several albums and the recording of a podcast, I welcome a change of sound. While browsing through my downloads folder, I selected this album and I was very right to do so. This is beautiful...

Giulio Aldinucci was born in 1981 and has been working with electro-acoustics and field recordings for several years now. This latest album, Spazio Sacro (Secret Space) contains seven tracks, based on human religious rites. The tracks are field recordings, taken from places which all have a certain ritual connection. From processions to ruins of ancient sanctuaries, humans have created many outlets for their religious and spiritual behaviour and that has had its effect on the sounds of our planet.

Aldinucci manipulated these field recordings and turned them into strange but minimal pieces of ambient. The atmosphere is dreamy but not really dark, although there's a huge sense of mystery in these soundscapes. Far away voices seem to try to narrate the musical path we follow but they're not clear enough. These voices give the whole an otherworldly dimension, as if they are the voices of the deceased, who we are trying to reach with the rituals we perform.

The minimalism in this album is striking. Ambient has rarely been so drawn-out from one, or a few, single notes. This doesn't mean the album is boring, not at all. There's plenty of variation, continuously alternating the music but in a very subtle way. This aspect makes the album enjoyable for several consecutive listens. Something new floats in every time I play this album, which is truly remarkable.

The combination of experimental, abstract ambient, drones and soundscapes with very minimal percussion or sounds of rain, makes this a very beautiful trip throughout these sanctuaries. This is some high quality sound manipulation with a firm focus on atmosphere and mystery. I recommend this album to all ambient fans, although you'll have to get used to this one when you're into 'popular' ambient like Biosphere, Gas, Brian Eno or Laraaji. This is a different level of minimalism and it's brilliant.

Serge

Sågverk - Sahataan Ne Kaikki

29/5/2015

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Once upon a time, in Finland, there were some friends who decided to start a band. While they were discussing the genre they would play, one of them said 'punk' and 'crust', another one yelled 'sludge' while a third member screamed 'black metal' or 'grindcore'. Someone else said 'rock 'n' roll', followed by 'noise rock'. In stead of picking one of the genres, all members unanimously outed 'yes' and started playing some unforgiving noise.

I'm not sure if that really happened but I can imagine it when I listen to Sahataan Ne Kaikki by Finnish combo Sågverk. I can't find a lot of information on the band, at least not in a language I can understand. My Finnish is as good as your Swahili, unless you speak Swahili. However, that doesn't mean I can't write about what I hear on Sahaatan Ne Kaikki. I also don't know what the title means but I don't think it's about flowers, rainbows and cheesecake.

The music of Sågverk is brutal. It's a mix of all the genres I mentioned in the first paragraph. Crustpunk with blackened thrash influences that rocks you out of your tearing flesh. Off course, for many people this is just plain noise and chaos but for fans of extreme music, this is a merciless slap in the face of everything that's wrong in this world, an half hour assault on your eardrums, sanity and stamina.

Yet, it isn't just uncontrolled noise. Beneath the layers of punishing sounds, there's clearly some musical craftsmanship. Some of the solos easily reach thrash-quality and the rock 'n' roll capacity is amazing. Somehow it reminds me of black 'n' roll bands like I, Chrome Division or Khold. Yet, Sågverk clearly walk the crust path where bands like Discharge and Doom have been dwelling for years. This mix makes this album stand out in the noisy stuff I've been checking out lately.

Anyway, whatever genres are mixed into the highly energetic blend that Sågverk has created, this obviously remains a brutal, powerful and crushing album, capable of starting moshpits where-ever this music is being played. In the end, I think Dead Center Prods said it best 'Just a rude, merciless and
fucking killer!'

Serge

Tormention - Chaotic Delusions

29/5/2015

Murdher Records

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It's early in the morning at the Merchants Of Air headquarters, which are located in my home. I just got up, still sleepy. My first cup of coffee is delicious, and so welcome at this inhuman hour. I guess this is the perfect time to blast some some flesh-ripping rancidiy through my speakers. If I'm awake at this early hour, so should my neighbours!

Tormention is a death metal band from Sweden, founded in 2008. Like many others, they spent some time in the local underground before finally completing the line-up. A first e.p. was recorded, followed by a debut full-length in 2012. Gigs followed, making the band stronger and the members well-attuned to each other. During 2014 they started recording the new album, Chaotic Delusions.

It immedately strikes me that Tormention doesn't seem to be 'just' a death metal band. Somehow I'd like to believe that the members have been active in other bans before this one, and not per se in the metal department. Here and there I hear flashes of noise-rock, woven into the brutally distorted fabric of guitars, growls and drums. I'm not sure if Tormention did that on purpose but the dissonant guitar noises in 'Burn' and 'Legion' remind me of bands like Sonic Youth.

Also some other (minor) influences come shining through once in a while. There's definitely some black metal riffing and some of its bleak atmosphere is also present. 'Legion' opens with something that reminds me of Sepultura's 'Kaiowas'. On top of that 'Schizophrenic' shows some industrial metal elements. However, for the main part, this is an intense extreme metal album, fitting perfectly on any death metal shelve. Most of the songs remind me of a blend of old-school death metal bands. A bit like a decent blended whiskey that matured for seven years.

Except for the breather 'Chaotic Delusions', this album is filled with crushing guitars, blasting drums and sick vocals, brought together in perfect, ferocious harmony. Although the bandmembers seem technically skilled, I don't think it's completely correct to categorise this music as 'technical death metal'. The level of complexity in the songs is high but the focus is clearly on sheer brutality and savage headbanging.

Chaotic Delusions is a very decent death metal album with all the necessary elements and enough variation to entertain the listener for the full duration. My personal favourite tracks are 'Lust' and 'Not My Hands' but the other songs are just as crushing, destructive and vile as these two. Death metal fans can't go wrong with this one, that's for sure.

Serge

Skymme - Huone

28/5/2015

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Life has to be amazing when you're a talented experimental musician. When you can read any instrument and create something magical and original with it, exploring many different genres. Often 'experimental' is a synonym for 'noise' but this is completely undeserved. Experimental musicians are present in every genre, crossing the borders between them and recording something unique. Personally, I love these experimental tendencies and I can't get enough of them. This tape-release is a perfect example of talented artists creating something unique.

Skymme is a new project, founded by Peter Johan Nÿland (Distel, Hadewych) and Bert van Beek
(Scheerling). They have been working together for many years but this new project takes them to a different level, a new way of exploring sound and music. Huone is a two-track cassette single (also available as a digital download), released by Barreuh Records from Eindhoven (NL). If you're into experimental electronics, rough nineties industrial or repetitive ambient, this is something for you.

'Huone' (the track), drives on a repetitive, mechanical rhythm on which analog soundscapes seem to float freely. In time, the track grows darker and get somewhat thundery. Somehow it reminds me of acts like Throbbing Gristle or SPK. 'Kraton Kosong' is a bit friendlier, at least for a while. It begins like something inspired by the Krautrock or 'Berlin School' scene but also becomes gloomier halfway through. Both tracks are completely different in a way but still match perfectly together.

The greatest thing about this single, is that this might actually be 'future-music'. By that I mean that artists like this continuously alter the limits of (popular) music in such a way that it is them who eventually pave the way for pop artists in the future. Just like early electronic pioneers are somewhat resonsible for the EDM scenes today, Skymme might one day become the predecessor of a brand new musical style.

I'm really looking forward to more music, not only from Skymme but also from Barreuh Records. This looks like an interesting new label which might come up with some very refreshing music.

Helfir - Still Bleeding

27/5/2015

My Kingdom Music
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Well, this wasn't really what I was expecting when I read the bandname for the first time. 'Helfir' sounds like it could be a black metal band, but it's not. It's not black, it's not really a band and it's barely metal. However, metal fans, don't click to another review yet. This just might be something up your alley, at least if you have albums from Anathema, Tiamat and Porcupine Tree in your collection.

Helfir is composer and multi-instrumentalist Luca Mazzotta from Monza (Italy). After playing in several rock bands, the classically schooled artist decided to create this solo-project in order to give voice to his own emotions and passion. His genre of choice is dark, melancholic metal, mixed with acoustic rock and a touch of electronics. The result is this album, named Still Bleeding and it's an interesting debut.

Still Bleeding is a collection of powerful rock ballads with a very modern edge. Apart from the bands I mentioned earlier, I'm sometimes even reminded of The Scorpions, or a least a present day, progressive version thereof. Personally, I adore the little electronic elements in the percussion, especially in 'In The Circle', which is an amazing song. These electronics give the album and extra edge and a nice variation in the rock rooted music.

Another surprise is the trip-hop like 'Where Are You Now', driving on keyboards and electronic percussion. It's not really a song but it's a very nice piece of music. In fact, I'd like to see Helfir make an ambient/trip-hop/downtempo spin-off. 'Portrait Of A Son', a brilliant song Anathema forgot to write, mostly drives on piano and brilliant vocal lines and the guitars in 'Dresses Of Pain' somehow remind me of Amorphis' 'Black Winter Day'. These are just a few songs of a high quality collection.

The overall tone on this album is low, slow and gloomy. These keywords are present throughout the entire duration and in every song. Sometimes, this might result in a onesided album without a lot of variation, and I would indeed suggest raising the tempo once in a while. However, the level of songwriting is very high, resulting in a number of solid rock ballads or arena rock songs with a raw edge.

The best thing on the album is the fact that it shows a big part of the talent that Mazzotta possesses. He is a brilliant guitar player, capable of making elaborate solos that remain enjoyable. Often guitar soloists drown into a 'look what I can do' pose which eventually gives them a huge 'cunt' image. In this case, the solos remain a part of the music, enhancing the gloomy atmosphere. There's a sense of modesty within the bombastic sound, which is just awesome.

So in all, this is a very decent debut, promising a pretty solid carreer in the world of progressive metal. Yet, I remain a bit hungry and I feel that Helfir's best work is yet to come. Some uptempo
parts or songs would do the project a lot of good. Highly recommended for both classic and
progressive rock fans (and that's something you don't hear every day, right?)

Serge

Kruor - Nightmares

27/5/2015

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Usually, activities like torture, slashing of skulls, dismemberment, impaling and desecration of corpses are preceded by a minacious atmosphere, an ominous but tight grip on your throat, serving as an omen for impending doom. In other words, usually, a death metal album comes with an intro. This one doesn't. The moment you press 'play' on whatever medium you use, you will be dragged into the inhumane nightmares these Fins have created.

Kruor is a quintet from Finland, formed in 2005 and dedicated to true death metal. Nightmares is their second effort, after Origins in 2011. The new album is recorded in the rehearsal rooms, without any outside intereference. Only the band was allowed in the process of making the album, except for the artwork. I quite like this approach because it keeps an album pure and completely in line with what goes on in the band at the time of recording. I just love the DIY-attitude.

Nightmares immediately brings out the blasting drums, growling voices and fiercely distorted guitars. However, it doesn't really stay that way, which is a good sign. This is a damn good death metal album, reaching back to the old school while incorporating some highly destructive grindcore elements and a touch of doom. There's a tremendous amount of technical riffs as well as sheer brutality and the songwriting is pretty amazing.

The old-school references are as varied as the album is. I can hear influences from (early) Metallica, Napalm Death, Deicide, Dismember and Arch Enemy as well as some ancient punk influences. Yet, the way in which Kruor blended it into their own style is quite stunning. This makes it hard for me to pick a favorite track, but I think I have to go with 'We Are Abomination', probably the slowest and most atmospheric track on Nightmares.

I'm quite sure most death metal fans can just pick up this album in their local record stores (or download it), blindly trusting it will be as good at they expect it to be. Kruor is not a surprising band. The music they bring is nothing new but that's perfectly fine. This is a very solid death metal album, well worth your attention if you're into that stuff. If not, well, you have been reading the wrong review...

Serge

p.s. maybe something's wrong with me, but this album really got me into a good mood today...

Erik Friedlander - Illuminations

25/5/2015

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Music is a highly inspiring medium. Many musicians started out because they heard someone else create magic with a certain instrument. Others use music as a muse for paintings, books and performance art. Music reflects emotions like no other medium can, not even film. When music is really good, or at least highly approved by the listener's taste, it can spark mental images and take the listener on elaborate journeys to times and places unknown. That is actually exactly what happened to me after I listened to this album for the first time.

I got up from bed at around three o'clock at night. I don't think the gentle cello play in the background woke me up but is surely got my attention. I decided to look it up and went outside,
following the directions my ears sent to my my brain. I was wearing something white and a bit baggy, like a long shirt. It fluttered in the warm summer wind. I approached a castle at the end of my village and started climbing the stairs towards the entrance door. The sounds of the cello became stronger and louder.

In the main hall, I heard an overwhelming array of soothing strings, seemingly coming from behind the doors on the first floors and upstairs. The pale white moonlight lit a piece of the beautiful mosaic on the floor. It was the face of Bach who was staring at me, smiling in approval. It smelled like ancient stones, leather and incense in the castle and a vague light of candles came from under some of the doors. I opened one and saw a man playing a cello in a room, lit with only a few candles. In another room I witnessed the same man, playing another, beautfil song. This continued for a while until I realised this was just a dream and there was no young maiden to rescue.

The next morning I decided to record this dream in a review about this album because it represents the overall atmosphere perfectly. These are indeed beautiful pieces of classical music, combined with a hint of jazz. Erik Friendlander does all of that with just one cello, what makes it even more stunning. The presence of Bach was no coincidence too, the composer has been a big influence on Friendlander and on this album. The 'suite-form', which is present in most of Bach's music, is also the basis of Illuminations.

The title of this album actually comes from an exhibition of ancient texts and books which Friedlander graced with his music. In his own words: "I found myself in this darkened room surrounded by these gorgeous books and manuscripts that seemed to be talking to me. They were telling me a story of patience and craft, ritual and dedication that was inspiring." The result is a dark and mysterious album that truly represents events and personalities of our far away history.

So yes, this is quite a brilliant suite, brought by a highly experienced musician/composer. Throughout his carreer, Friedlander spent some time with people like John Zorn and The Mountain Goats, but most of all he is an improvisor and an excellent instrumental storyteller. I enjoyed Illuminations a lot and I'm sure many other people (who are not necessaryly classical music connaisseurs) will be amazed and inspired by this piece of work.

Serge

Dirk Serries - Unseen Descending And Lamentations

25/5/2015

Consouling Sounds

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Do we really need to introduce Dirk Serries? In fact, do we have to write a review about his latest
release? After all, Serries is almost a deity in the ambient and drone genres. His projects Microphonics and VidnaObmana are known allover the world for creating high quality music and sound art. Everybody who's into this kind of music knows you can expect no less then a brilliant album when Dirk Serries is involved. He simply never disappoints...

A few days ago I reviewed his latest colleboration with Rutger Zuydervelt, another excellent album. However, on the same day Unseen Descending And Lamentations was released, also by Consouling Sounds. This album shows the naked, minimal approach of Dirk Serries, alone on a chair with his guitar and a huge array of effect pedals. I've witnessed this set-up many times and each time it has the same enchanting atmosphere.

This album, containing two lengthy parts, is more of the same goodness. This is music to enjoy with your eyes closed, in a very comfortable position. Just let your mind wonder off, along with the drones and soundscapes. Somewhere along the line you will reach a point where the reality of the music meets the imagination of your brain to create a beautiful, dreamlike state. Even though you will be awake, you will dream. 'Part 2' does that even better. These are probably the best twenty minutes I've ever heard of Dirk Serries solo-work.

In fact, for me personally, Dirk Serries is one of the people who are best at creating that wonderful and intense atmosphere and on this release it's exactly the same. Although I get a bit confused by the drilling drone at the end of 'Part 1' (it resembles a unknown mechanical drone I often hear around this house). Unseen Descending And Lamentations clearly is another high quality album that every drone/ambient fan should have in his collection...

Serge

The Ugly - Decreation

25/5/2015

ViciSolum Records

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What I like most about this job, is the huge amount of variation I get to hear every single day. Completely different musical styles pass my media- or cd player, constantly shifting the atmosphere in this household. It's quite amazing that music can have this effect and that is exactly why I love it. I don't even really care what genre turns up next, although there are some exceptions. For now however, we'll be trapped in a vile puddle of black metal from Sweden.

The Ugly was formed as a duo in 2004 in order to create a band that honours the ones that put Sweden on the black metal map in the early days of the genre. That intention raises names like Bathory, Dark Funeral, Marduk and Dissection. This actually seems to have gone pretty well since Marduk drummer Fredrik Widigs now also plays with The Ugly. Besides, Decreation was mixed by Devo, current bass player for Marduk.

"Yeah yeah, stop throwing big names around and tell us how this album sounds already'.

Decreation is actually an excellent black metal album in the tradition of the bands I mentioned earlier. Yet, before I dug into the Swedish black metal bands, the first band I thought about was
Immortal. The fierce guitars of The Ugly remind my of the Norse black metal heroes/jokes (delete as appropriate). With lyrical themes of cosmicism, the destruction of the universe and Lucifer, The Ugly came up with a highly convincing album.

After all, all the elements for an excellent black metal release are present and presented to the listener in a wide variation of tearing riffs, blast-beats and brutally screaming vocals. There's
little to no place for atmospheric passages. Instead, The Ugly focuses on intensity and a massive headbanging capacity. In title track 'Decreation (of the Universe)' this results in a stunning black metal song that even has a bit of a sing-along possibility.

So there you have it, another prodigious black metal album from Sweden that truly honours the ancient Scandinavian way of writing and recording extreme music. Yet, as good as the album is on first listen, it grows better and better everytime it meets my speakers. I gave The Ugly the benefit of the doubt in the first minutes but now I see this band growing to the top of the present day scene. This is simply a colossal piece of extreme metal...

Serge

Nightslug - Loathe

25/5/2015

Broken Limb Recordings

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If music albums were dogs, we would be dealing with Cerberus here, the multi-headed hound who guards the underworld. This is an album that takes victims, disembowels them slowly and takes a bath in their blood and intestines. If you like happy music, run, run as fast as you can because this is one of the sickest, most vile and crushing albums I've heard in a while. 'Loathe' is what happens when sludge metal turns into harsh noise.

Nightslug is a German band, formed in 2011. 'Loathe' is their second album, blessed with a perfect title to describe the music. The band is firmly rooted in the punk and hardcore scene but expanded their nihilistic and hateful world view into an even more aggressive style of music. There's an overwhelming amount of crushing riffs, punishing drums and pissed-off vocals. The vocals sometimes seem to fade away behind a thick wall-of-noise (not sound, noise).

Now I've heard a lot of sludge metal since I started this website but none of them were as brutal as this one. Nightslug incorporates elements from industrial, doom and even black metal into their music, but only the most wicked and agonizing ones. The result is a steamroller of downtuned madness, preparing to leave absolutely no survivors. For the main part, the music is slow and bleak and only welcoming if you are prepared to go through hell.

Yet, I actually like this album more than I like most sludge-vehicles and it's mainly because of the vocals. Some readers may already know that I have a bit of a problem with sludge vocals. Often
they're mixed way too much into the foreground, overruling the music. On Loathe they're not. Here the vocals are somehwere in the back, providing the music with an extra instrument of destruction and an even more intense feel. In a way you can compare them to basement black metal albums from the nineties.

So, to conclude: sludge-fans all over the world, get your hands on this album, or at least try because it's quite limited. This just may become one of the pinnacles of your collection. Play it loud too, it's meant to blast, crush, destroy and conquer. Other people: there's a three-headed, sticky monster on it's way and there's simply no escaping...

Serge

Blanck Mass - Dumb Flesh

24/5/2015

Sacred Bones Records
bandcamp

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Is it any coincidence that Blanck Mass' latest album is out on Sacred Bones? The same album that is home to John Carpenter's Lost Themes album? I think not. And I'm pretty sure that Benjamin John Power, otherwise known as half of electro-ambient punks Fuck Buttons, will agree on that. Power has never hidden his admiration for John Carpenter and never was it more apparant than on his this new album. 2011 saw the release of his eponymous debut album, a departure from the rhythmical work of Fuck Buttons, creating his own brand of blissed-out ambient. Inspired by artists like Brian Eno, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Jean Michel Jarre, Klaus Schulze and at the same time retaining a lot of that epic sound of Fuck Buttons. And to use an understatement: that record didn't go by unnoticed. In fact, it gained worldwide fame when the track 'Sundowner' was used for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Power released a 12", 2012's White Math/Polymorph, where a glimpse of things to come was to be heard. Full-on beats, big rhythms colliding with analogue synths to create a truely old-school techno feel. Leaning much more soundwise to the Fuck Buttons material, while still sounding undeniably unique like Blanck Mass. And now it is time for the second full-length, entitled Dumb Flesh, with a fleshy album cover and a fleshed out sound (that's all for the flesh metaphors, promised) where everything seems to fall into place.

Opening track 'Loam' starts the album on a very creepy/weird note, with slowed down, warbly, backwards vocals layered on tape hiss and a warm fuzzy synth drone. After a stuttering end to that song, we are thrown on the dance floor with 'Dead Format' where the similarities between Fuck Buttons and Blanck Mass become really apparant. Big (and I mean BIIIIIG) sounding analogue synths, accompanied by undeniable classic techno beats and distorted voice/singing samples. I'm not much of a dancer, but I would definitely go to a club that plays this kind of techno. 'No Lite' is next and here's were the Carpenter influences become really obvious. It plays out like a dark, brooding '80s sci-fi/horror soundtrack, albeit more glitchy and way more epic. His love for Jean Michel Jarre (who is a big Fuck Buttons fan himself) comes out of hiding in 'Atrophies' and remains apparant throughout the rest of the album. There's even some synthesized guitars rearing their heads every now and then, sheer brilliance. And on the final track, 'Detritus' we find Robert Lowe of Lichens on guest vocals.

There's no questions that while the debut album focussed on your mind, Dumb Flesh focusses on your entire body. There is no way that you can remain still when this is played in a dark club, stroboscopes and fog machines working overtime.. To wrap things up; if you feel you need a mix of everything that's great about Jean Michel Jarre, John Carpenter, Fuck Buttons, with the bliss and epic dials all the way to eleven (and trust me you do) you best pick up what will most likely be one of the best, if not THE best electronic albums of this year...
Bjorn

Child Of Ceasar - Love In Black

21/5/2015

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Love In Black? That sounds like something HIM fabricated when that band was still relevant. However, we're not talking about HIM here and I promise I'll try never to do that again, at least not in this review. Ok, maybe just in this paragraph. I've always considered HIM to be a bit of an insult to the gothic metal scene, maybe because they were too soft or maybe because their lyrics sounded a bit like the ones Katy Perry spawns today. I want my rock to rock and my goth to goth!

So, long live Child Of Ceasar! This German gothic metal band has clearly captured my attention since I started writing this review on the very first listen. This is something that only happens when I really like the album. So yes, I do like this album, especially after I pronounced the scene dead in a column I wrote earlier this week. It gives me a bit of new hope, just like Velvet Six did some months ago.

(stop writing intros and get on with the review already)

Love In Black is mainly a collection of heavy rocking gothic metal songs in the vein of 69 Eyes, Paradise Lost, Moonspell and Tiamat. With powerfully distored guitars, typical keyboard passages and clean, dark vocals, Child Of Ceasar is planning on taking their spot in the world of dark rock. It sounds so good that it doesn't even matter that the vocalist has a bit of a German accent sometimes. In opener 'Defector' there was even a moment when I doubted the language. But it doesn't matter. In fact, it makes the whole even more convincable than it already is.

Songs like 'Red Sun' and 'Gates' bring me right back to my days at Graspop where I used to dance in a pretty typical goth-way: face down, eyes closed and no more than one square meter of movement. The other songs are in no way inferior. 'Long Live The Night' is a very strong piece of songwriting that Paradise Lost could have written, but didn't. So now it's one of the best songs on this album.

What I love most on this album is the sound of the guitars. To me, this is the perfect dark metal sound which made many bands great. It's distorted but not over the top and it has a gloomy feel, loaded with bass. Yet, the true value, of course, lies in the excellent songwriting abilities of this band. Songs about love, lust, life and death follow each other in a continuous flow of musical nostalgia.

Let's just conclude that Love In Black is a prime example of a modern day gothic metal album and actually a worthy tribute to the genre. No doubt some of the songs will appear on several dark parties all over Germany and the rest of Europe. I can only hope the band follows an appear on stage here and there. So rejoice, zwartzakken (ask a Flemish friend what this means), there is still hope...

Serge

Økapi - Pruffoli

21/5/2015

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Sometimes I think there aren't many households like this one, at least not in the musical department. Here, it's not uncommon that a black metal album is preceded by a post-rock album and followed by some trip-hop or punk or reggae or industrial or whatever. It's like a neverending jukebox where all kinds of new music are inserted and listened to at any given time. If we set the jukebox to shuffle, we're in for a longlasting rollercoaster of genres, atmospheres and emotions. Being a music collector is somewhat comparable to going insane, that's for sure.

Enough about me, let's talk about Okapi for a while because it's definitely worth it. This Italian turntablist and producer has brought us something we just can't resist. By blending a number of highly danceable 'down-tempo' musical styles he has created one of our soundtracks for this summer. Hip-hop, dub and a range of electronics are being mixed into a highly enjoyable album that sometimes reminds me of acts like Gonjasufi, The Gaslamp Killer and The Herbaliser. So you get the idea now, it's time to start some serious head-nodding.

The quality of this album proves that it's not really a surprise that Okapi collaborated with people like Mike Patton and Peter Brotzmann and with bands like Zu, along with his own groups, Metaxu and Dogon. We're dealing with an experienced producer who knows a little something about musical history and is not afraid to incorporate some these elements. There's almost crooner-like vocals, ranging back to the twenties in the opening song. There's a touch of funk, 'island music' and dubstep, all pressed into one song, 'Bad Bee'.

Title track 'Pruffoli' shows a dark dub atmosphere like Scorn could have made, mixed with some roots reggae. This mix is extremely warm tempered an surely brings a smile on my face. In 'Monastic Bingo' there's even a hint of drum & bass. This song also reminds me of Funki Porcini and even a bit of bands like Tortoise or Kreidler, at least in terms of the overall 'chill' feel. Of course ambient never is far away and it's always supported by smooth rhythms and percussion.

So here we have it, another review with a lot of big names thrown in to give you an idea of what this album sounds like. However, aside from all these influences, I feel that this is a very personal and quite unique album, created with a lot of pleasure and enthousiasm. To be honest, the whole review was written before I even reached 'Sheep News' and that only happens when an album truly inspires the reviewer. This reviewer is quietly going to enjoy the rest of this splendid release a few more times now...

Serge

Massenhinrichtung - Zakon Zbroi (The Order Of Force)

21/5/2015

Darker Than Black Records

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Wow, this isn't what I expected when I first encountered this album. When I saw the band picture for the first time, along with the name and logo, I thought I was in for some brutally raw black metal in the vein of Marduk or Darkthrone. The biography confirms that this band from Belarus started out as an aggressive and primitive black metal band but slowly evolved into what they are now, an atmospheric pagan metal band, firmly rooted in black metal but no longer limiting themselves to that.

The band seems to honour the wave of the nineties, incorporating a similar style to bands like Children Of Bodom or Cradle Of Filth. The album opens with an impending, ambient-like intro. Then Massenhinrichtung blast out their powerful metal in a highly convincing style. Regular shifts in tempo, vocals ranging from screams to clean, folk arrangements and fierce riffing: all the right elements are present, except for the over-the-top production (which turned the black metal scene into a bit of a joke in the late nineties).

'The Ghost Of Devastated Motherland' turns Massenhinrichtung in a full-blown folk metal band while 'The Blizzard' reaches (old) Immortal-style black metal magnificence. It's quite clear that these guys have a tremendous feel for songwriting, hidden beneath crushing layers of guitards and blast-beats. These songs are strong examples of extreme music and create a unique concept. After all, this is a concept-album about the violent political history of their country. For people who don't speak German, 'Massenhinrichtung' translates to 'mass execution'

In all, I think this is an awesome extreme metal album, incorporating elements from folk, black, doom and progressive metal. Besides raw force, Massenhinrichtung uses a massive amount of melody and harmony, at times reminding me of bands like Evergrey or Nevermore. This combination makes 'The Paths Of Stellar Swamps' my favourite track on this album and an absolutely epic piece of musical story telling. We really are dealing with a brilliant band of highly skilled musicians.

Majestic

Serge