Monday, July 29, 2013

various artists - through the gate of the silver key.



Various Artists - Through The Gate Of The Silver Key

59:40

112.46 MB

Side Of First Death
1. Warkilled - Decapitational Lems
2. Offerkult - Then We Ate Them
3. Black Mastrobation - Mastrobation In Black Vomits
4. Captain Syphilis - Eaten
5. Nocthornialh - Dolbsdug Rendår
6. Repulfixion - Clit Ripper
7. Grigorien - De Knuste Søjler
8. Gastabloss - Helhjem
9. Fallen Angel - Shepherd Of The Hopeless (Rehearsal)
10. Goatfallos - Ghastly Hornsumption
11. Purification Kommando - I Am The Hammer (Of Satan)
12. Rigor Feaces - Infuckable Missbuidence

Side Of Second Death
1. Helsot - Profane Necrosabbath
2. Narcorgasm - Boiling Heroin Cauldron
3. Deform - Parterede Præster
4. Luciation - Drunk In Phlegmatic Vomitjuice
5. Manholm - Grass Æ Kierk (Impro-Fuck Version)
6. Udgaard - Unreleased Rehearsal 1
7. Udgaard - Unreleased Rehearsal 2
8. Nastran - Black Goat Ritual
9. Goatfago - The End Of Nuclear Goat Reign
10. Draupner - Veins Forsaken
11. Prhorxnyox - Satanic Warcult
12. Vissen Pind - Jeg Er Bange For Folk Med Store Næser



yeah, that's quite the tracklist....probably the longest (and filthiest) I've actually written out on here. and the music contained within is just as filthy and grimy as those band names and song titles would lead you to believe.

released just a few months ago by silver key records and phlegm productions, this tape compiles some of the most raw, depraved, and brutal acts in the danish underground.

I picked it up simply for the tracks from luciation and nastran, both of whom have multiple releases on posh isolation, but there's a ton of quality material here from other bands I'd previously never knew existed.

the music on here ranges from black metal to noise to death metal, not to mention combinations of all three, so I'm sure you'll all find something here to enjoy. the recording quality varies wildly from track to track, but I think it adds a kind of an "old-school mixtape" feeling that's missing from a lot of compilations today.

stop by analog worship via the link below to pick up your own copy and definitely be on the lookout for other tapes by silver key and phlegm productions. discogs is probably your best bet, as most releases are already sold out from the labels themselves.



(buy a copy from analog worship.)


(for preview purposes only.)




Wednesday, July 24, 2013

an innocent young throat-cutter - gli occhi dentro.



An Innocent Young Throat-Cutter - Gli Occhi Dentro - Tribute To Bruno Mattei

29:04

63 MB

1. Eyes Without A Face
2. Eyes Without A Face Pt. 2


released in 2009 via nil by mouth recordings, "gli occhi dentro" is thirty minutes of harsh noise wall from richard ramirez and his fellow throat-cutter cristiano renzoni. I'm still waiting on a package from analog worship so in the meantime, since I haven't seen any currently-active links for this one, I figured I'd post it.

richard ramirez is the man behind black leather jesus, werewolf jerusalem, and too many others to count. visit his bandcamp page to hear a variety of different releases the man has put out over the last twenty years.

this is a half-hour of harsh, slowly-shifting tones and textures that any fan of the genre will appreciate. a handful of copies are still available on discogs, so grab one if you like what you hear.

hopefully that package will arrive soon....



(for preview purposes only.)




Saturday, July 20, 2013

vomir - en dehors, en rien.



Vomir - En Dehors, En Rien

38:51

72.71 MB

1. Untitled
2. Untitled


I've said it before and I'll say it again - total black is the best. between his own releases and the distro items he obtains, brett has impeccable taste and his customer service is fantastic. every order ships out in a timely manner and arrives in great condition.

this tape, vomir's "en dehors, en rien," was released this year by NSN and went up for sale on total black a week or two ago. the black pro-printed tape comes in an oversized box with a hand-numbered insert and a black-on-black "HNW" patch, which alone is worth the price of admission. on the reverse side of the insert is a lengthy manifesto penned by romain perrot, the man behind vomir.

although this translation is admittedly not perfect, the manifesto reads as follows:



"the individual has no alternative but to refuse en masse contemporary life promoted and advocated. the right behavior in the noise and fall. a refusal to surrender to the handling, the socialization, and entertainment. 
"the noisy wall does not promise to give meaning and value to the existence lived. the opaque sound, dull and continuous allows complete phenomenological reduction, a way against the existential interpenetration: disengages in pure, unadulterated bestial appeasement. 
"the noisy wall is pro anomie, voluntary anomie. he questions the institution of any relationship, destroys everything that happens in a threatening rest. 
"the noisy wall is a social disqualification. he recuse any notion of a group, community, organization, and admits the alternative postmodern hikokomori confinement. rejection and in the fold as an act - it is considered futuristic, dada, situ, anarchist, or straight edge - has become incapacitated. sagging actionism can not cope with the fake recovery, to prostitution, derivitive of our civilization. 
"observed outside abject should be a last reminder of the human nonsense before epoche protest. everything and be everything becomes meaningless. 
"the noisy wall is an unconsciousness time to live in the abyss and let it sink in now. 
"the noisy wall is the physical loss of consciousness. 
"the noisy wall is the constant practice of mental noise. 
"the noisy wall is the active purity in non-representation. 
"vigilant of last convulsions, adopt a new posture in the fold - or submission, leakage, or sag - the power to say "I've never been" in the desert created by deleting our surroundings. lost hope is freedom. 
"in isolation from the noisy wall, the cell of nothingness becomes his shadow - impassive self murderer - and becomes the shadow of the man, unknowable, impersonal. 
"in the noisy wall, aggravate your being aware and keep ignoring all the downturn required for the development of a pure indeterminacy that is forged in the oblivion of elements, binding the emotional and intellectual. 
"the noisy wall, a dark spiritual ordeal, is the non-opposition between being and nothingness. a lullaby without end. 
"the noisy wall spreads its occult virtues by the humming and buzzing of its hermetic formulas. it disintegrates and calls for the irrevocable decay."



well, that's certainly some food for thought. I used google translate and my own rudimentary french knowledge that I've somehow managed to retain since high school, so I apologize to any native french-speakers out there who may be offended and/or disappointed by my work above. that said, if anyone wants to submit a better translation, well, feel free to send it over.

regardless of the translation specifics, romain perrot is obviously a man who knows his philosophy - anomie, hikokomori, actionism - these terms were all new to me, but nonetheless provide an interesting look inside one man's motivations for creating such harsh soundscapes. with this type of sound being as nebulous and amorphous as it is, any insight into intention is always interesting.

as for purchasing a copy, total black's stock is sold out. the label, NSN, has a message on its website saying that mailorder has been put on hold due to a medical emergency. so....yeah. I don't know what else to tell you. try contacting romain via his own website, maybe he has a few copies for sale.

but definitely try to pick this one up - there are two epic twenty-minute slabs of harsh noise wall, a thought-provoking manifesto, and a patch, all in a great little package.



(for preview purposes only.)



Wednesday, July 17, 2013

skin graft - far worse.



Skin Graft - Far Worse

23:00

46.26 MB

1. Untitled
2. Untitled
3. Untitled
4. Untitled
5. Untitled
6. Untitled
7. Untitled
8. Untitled
9. Untitled


here's another monorail trespassing release, skin graft's "far worse." wyatt howland, the man behind skin graft, has been churning out harsh noise since at least 2006, and is also a member of the hardcore band apartment 213. as skin graft, the cleveland-based howland's material has been released by labels including hanson records, chondritic sound, nostilevo, urashima, and many more.

released in early 2011, this album is just as great as one would expect a monorail trespassing release to be. the artwork is minimal and falls right in line with the rest of the monorail trespassing catalog. the music itself is alternatively harsh and ambient, filled with a much wider variety of tones and moods than most harsh noise releases. it also isn't overly dense and at just twenty-three minutes, should be no problem to get through in one sitting.

copies are still available directly from the label for only $7.50 including shipping, so grab one now. and if you've been sleeping on other monorail trespassing releases, now is as good a time as any to remedy that - with releases ranging from dreamy ambience to harsh noise wall, there's something for everyone. the packaging and sound quality are first-rate and they ship orders out in no time at all.

what are you waiting for?



(buy a copy from monorail trespassing.)


(for preview purposes only.)




Sunday, July 14, 2013

kêres - the wanderer's path.



Kêres - The Wanderer's Path

20:26

37.66 MB

1. Escaping Waters
2. Two Cores Unite
3. Monastic Spirit Torture


since the blog's been a little light on the black metal front lately, I figured I'd throw this one up. released this year by versets noirs, a label that's also released albums by circle of ouroborus, drowning the light, and venus star, this is a solid slab of mid-tempo black metal.

hailing from finland, this is (ostensibly) kêres' twentieth demo recording, and I've been hard-pressed to find any of the others, even in digital form. but one tape is available from fallen empire, so grab it if you like this one.

the whole recording is very lo-fi, but not too much - it's still very listenable and you won't be wading through a murky mix to hear the instrumentation. I don't have much more to say about this one, but if you've enjoyed the other black metal I've posted, you'll probably enjoy this one too - it's twenty minutes of furious blast beats and hypnotic riffs.

the tape itself is pro-printed and comes with a wraparound cover with lyrics printed on the inside. I got mine via fallen empire, but they seem to be out of stock there now, so you'll have to look elsewhere.



(for preview purposes only.)



Thursday, July 11, 2013

youth code - keep falling apart.



Youth Code - Keep Falling Apart/Tiger's Remorse

7:09

17.86 MB

1. Keep Falling Apart
2. Tiger's Remorse


picking up right where their demo left off, youth code is back with a new, short but sweet two-track seven inch to tide us all over until the release of their full-length later this summer on dais records.

hailing from los angeles, youth code's sound is hard to describe - there are elements of industrial, techno, noise, and darkwave, everyone's current flavor-of-the-month. but everything melds together so cohesively that genre tags quickly become irrelevant.

the first track, "keep falling apart," can also be found their first demo tape, and the second track, "tiger's remorse," is brand new.

by purchasing this you not only get two excellent tracks and help a completely independent band pay their bills, you also get an absolutely stellar package. everything here is hand-crafted - the logos have been hand-stamped, the zine with live pictures and lyrics has been hand-stapled, and each one has been hand-numbered. plus, you also get a nice little logo patch to add to your collection. and there are at least four different color combinations, so even the vinyl itself will be a surprise.

grab this one fast - according to the band's facebook page, copies are in short supply and will be gone soon. los angeles-area residents can try to grab one at vacation vinyl, but their supply may be gone by now. unfortunately all the band's other merch has sold out too, including that first demo tape, but keep an eye on discogs and the youth code store - it'll probably (hopefully) be repressed at some point soon.



(buy a copy from the band.)


(for preview purposes only.)




Tuesday, July 9, 2013

formative films - 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days.




when I graduated from college and began working at hdnet films full-time in mid-2007, the talk of the cannes film festival was a small, low-budget romanian film featuring a cast of unknown actors called 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days - and it went on to win the palme d'or.

I couldn't wait to see it based on early buzz, and when it got american distribution via IFC, I was ecstatic. at hdnet, we tried our best to be on the cutting edge of filmt via concept, production, and distribution. but here was a film that straddled the line - on one (old fashioned) hand, it was shot on 35mm film and made the rounds at festivals in order to secure foreign distribution. on the other (newer) hand, it was done on a shoestring budget using a cast of unknown actors and featured agonizingly long, experimental shots.


as evidenced by winning the palme d'or, the incredible work of cristian mungiu and his team paid off with a film that is simply stunning in every way. it's heartbreaking, anxiety-ridden, and tragic - often all in the same shot. the camera work, acting, and direction are all incredible technical feats, but thankfully they're backed by an equally intelligent, timely, and well-told story that still resounds today.

and if I had to choose, I'd say it's one of, if not the, best film of the last decade.


technically, the entire film is astounding. nearly every shot is a long, extended take, some of which go on for more than eight minutes without a single cut. there are occasional moving shots but generally the camera is very inactive, almost a passive observer to the hardships the girls are struggling to comprehend and triumph over. there are no extreme close-ups, no fast edits, no action scenes. just observation and dialogue - absolutely expert dialogue.

and as the compelling story, pitch-perfect dialogue, and honest performances coalesce, you forget about the long takes. you forget that you're even watching a movie.


the whole film is so entrancing that not only is it easy to forget that you're watching a film, it's even easier to forget that the place is romania, and the time is early 1987. based on the cursory research I've done, this point in time is generally regarded as the worst, most oppressive time in romania's time as a socialist nation. infrastructures were crumbling, food was rationed, and the police force had frightening levels of power. of course, the revolution of 1989 would bring an end to nicolae ceauşescu's reign, but during the time in which the film is set, there's barely been a hint of the upheaval to come. civil liberties have been slowly stripped away over the years and with no end in sight, people are desperate.

while the characters' own desperation to get the abortion can be looked at as a history lesson and parable to the romanian people's desperation to get rid of their socialist government, we can also look at the film through a slightly different lens and see a startling omen of what the future could hold for not just america, but any country around the globe.


instead of tale from the past, what if we look at this film as a document from the future? a future where the government of any country, america included, takes too much power and implements too many policies to police the actions of its' people. society crumbles and despite an upper class that continues to prosper, the reality for the vast, vast majority is a daily struggle to survive.

a reality where medical procedures that require sterile instruments, sterile surroundings, and trustworthy doctors are relegated to cheap hotel rooms, performed with dirty instruments, and patients that are taken advantage of in the worst ways possible.

that's one terrifying reality.


but the point mungiu makes is that whether or not you're in favor of abortion, it's always going to happen. a government making something illegal doesn't stop the flow of that thing through society; it merely drives it underground and into the hands of less-than-upstanding individuals who end up using and often hurting people. another important point the film makes is that when it comes to a hard issue like abortion, people are happy to preach about how wrong it is until they're the ones in need, then suddenly it becomes acceptable. and it's precisely this type of hypocrisy that needs to be kept in check and balances against the realities of the world in which we all live.

4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days is a perfect example of an incredible writer/director starting with one strenuous day in the lives of two girls in socialist romania and transforming that simple story into something that can speak to anyone, from any time, in any part of the world. it's so complex and powerful that it just boggles my mind and any artist able to elicit even one-tenth of the emotion that this film does should consider him- or herself to be as successful as any artist could ever imagine.

it's just that good.



(buy the dvd from amazon.)



Saturday, July 6, 2013

the rita - retrospective two.



The Rita - Retrospective II

4:01:18

116.96 MB + 156.65 MB + 81.64 MB + 118.11 MB

1. Wolf Pack
2. Blechholler [featuring Mania]
3. Wild Woman (Dzunuk'Wa)
4. Two-Headed Serpent
5. Dogfish
6. Standing Water
7. Kali Hansa (FX59 X 2)
8. Barbara Rey (FX59 X 3)
9. Maria Kosti (FX59 X 4)
10. Loli Tovar (FX59 X 5)
11. The Driven - Dedicated To Werewolf Jerusalem
12. Line Cutting Part 3 (Les Bas De Soie Noire)
13. Untitled
14. Untitled



did you really think I wouldn't post this?

the second retrospective for sam mckinlay's the rita is exactly as brutal and unrelenting as you'd expect. after all, this is roughly four hours of the best harsh noise wall on the planet. and since it's sold out, how could I resist putting it up?

released by total black and limited to 100 copies, these are all long-gone, so congratulations to anyone who managed to snag a copy. inside the leather-textured box are four cassettes, a poster of the cover artwork, a booklet with info on each album, and reproductions of a few gig flyers. it's an absolutely incredible package, but what else would you expect from total black? if you somehow get a chance to pick one up second-hand, don't hesitate.

with that out of the way, on to the "music." I had only heard three of the six albums included here before and with the remaining albums going for astronomical prices on discogs and no rips anywhere online, I was excited to hear them for the first time.

and they don't disappoint.

I'd have to say that "koskimo house post" (tracks three - five) is my favorite album in the collection. it's so raw and jagged, but with such a deep, multilayered sound, that I hear new details every time I put it on. "village of holfen" (tracks eleven and twelve) and parisian dancing girls (tracks thirteen and fourteen) are highlights, as well.

do yourself a favor and buy something, anything, from total black. brett not only puts out fantastic releases, he also gets incredibly hard-to-find distro items that you'd be a fool to pass up.

and keep an eye out for total black's version of the rita's "the nylons of laura antonelli" eight-cassette box set that's coming soon. it's sure to be incredible.



(buy something from total back.)


(sides a and b.)

(sides c and d.)

(sides e and f.)

(sides g and h.)




Wednesday, July 3, 2013

navicon torture technologies - viktimisation.



Navicon Torture Technologies - Viktimisation

1:03:28

118.37 MB

1. Tears Of Fear
2. Tears Of Frustration
3. Realising The Inevitable
4. Relinquishing All Control
5. Extermination Of The Brutes I
6. Perfect Salvation Initiation
7. Extermination Of The Brutes II
8. Ghetto Blaster


here we have a reissue of two very early navicon torture technologies tapes, viktimiser (tracks one - four) and extermination (tracks five - eight). I'm sure most of you are familiar with NTT and lee bartow's other work as theologian, the later of which has been getting rave reviews over the last few years with releases like, "the further I get from your star..." and "the chasms of my heart" on the always-amazing crucial blast.

not that it matters because the audio is the same, but this is the black version limited to just 16 copies. due to the overwhelming demand, annihilvs ended up printing thirty copies of a white version with slightly different packaging.

despite the music being more than thirteen years old, it still holds up remarkably well - lots of the droning, swirling electronics and repetitive samples that lee bartow (a.k.a. leech) is still known for today. a lot of them are little too ambient and droning for my tastes - I prefer his more violent and harsh material - but it's still interesting to hear the evolution of his sound over the years. and there are still plenty of harsh elements here, so every NTT fan will find something to love.

although this black version is long sold out, there are still copies of the white version bundled with a t-shirt at the annihilvs store. grab one while you can and bear witness to the beginnings of one of today's most prominent industrial/power electronics artists.



(buy a copy of the white edition from annihilvs.)


(for preview purposes only.)




Monday, July 1, 2013

cremation lily - drug trafficking case histories/photography ring.



Cremation Lily - Drug Trafficking Case Histories Greek Island Yellow Sand

I recently received two cremation lily tapes in the mail (always a good thing) and I figured I'd write about them here. I guess this is all a bit of a tease since I can't post them, but with his new bandcamp page, zen zsigo is finally taking steps to get his cremation lily music to the audience it truly deserves. he's been creating some of the best power electronics recordings in the genre for a while now and it's tragically difficult to track down rips, let alone physical copies, unless you're willing to pay discogs prices. but with his new bandcamp page and recent represses of a couple cremation lily and natural assembly tapes, the music has a chance to get out there and be discovered by people who've undoubtedly been in the dark.

anyway, the first tape I received was the blue version of drug trafficking case histories greek island yellow sand, a confusingly-named c20 that was printed up as special edition of a dozen to be sold at a show with consumer electronics this past march. fortunately for me, it didn't sell out and I managed to snag one from the strange rules shop.

it's certainly a more straightforward and traditional power electronics recording than the next tape we'll be looking at, but it's also exactly what I want from cremation lily: harsh, squealing analog noise that twists and turns and always keeps you guessing.







Cremation Lily - Photography Ring

the next cremation lily tape to discuss is photography ring, which also happens to be the fiftieth release on zsigo's strange rules label. I wasn't able to snag the version that included a bonus tape, the photographer, but that one has fortunately been made available separately, so be on the look out for it, too.

like the previous tape, this one is also a c20. but it features a very different, much warmer sound more akin to uncomplicated explanations than some of zsigo's more harsh early work. the first track begins with a brief intro, then the warm synth textures begin, slowly rising and falling for the remainder of the track. the effect is very hypnotic and almost soporific.

the second track begins with a little muffled static that quickly cuts out before more synths slowly fade in. but underneath the synths, there's more muffled static that leaves a feeling of uncertainty, a feeling of foreboding despite the warm tones on the surface. then the vocals come in, sounding like desperate calls from someone trapped beneath the static. this track is an interesting compliment to the first - lots of similar tones and sounds but with an entirely different mood and emotion, all thanks to just a few new elements. it really demonstrates zsigo's ear for composition and juxtaposition, and his understanding of how drastically mood can be changed with seemingly small alterations.

overall, photography ring makes for a great fiftieth release from a label that will hopefully be home to many more in the future.


------


although the cremation lily bandcamp page is sparse right now, many other strange rules titles are available via the webstore, and you'd all be fools if you didn't purchase it's ok to say no. it is, in my opinion, the best cremation lily release, and although you'll be missing out on the amazing packaging, the music is absolutely worth it.

I couldn't be happier that zsigo is making his music more readily available to fans and newcomers alike. although he only seems to be testing the waters right now, check out the bandcamp, stream some tunes, and purchase some digital copies to let him know that you want to see more.

so now you have no excuse - if you're not already familiar with cremation lily, that's easier than ever to remedy.