The Inarguable

Vaura - "Selenelion" (2012) [Wierd Records]

2012-02-22T23:35:00.000-06:00

Elegance isn't a quality one would normally associate with metal. A genre with roots in spandex and weapons-grade hairspray, "heavy metal" has proven itself as more of a source of fear for parents rather than a haven for the artistically inclined. Elegance, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language, is "the quality of being graceful and stylish in appearance or manner." Of course, as a person who actually enjoys music for its ability to hold my interest rather than artistic merit, "elegance" isn't a deciding factor in whether or not a band is good, though its place in metal is a worthwhile topic in our modern age. Yeah, yeah, there are bands like Opeth and Alcest whose "heightened harmonic awareness" have brought about "art metal"'s undeniable peak. However, in my opinion, neither Opeth's hellbent-for-vintage sound nor Alcest's childlike nostalgia truly exudes what I feel is elegance. Though some bands and releases demonstrate qualities of elegance, the inherent maturity and grace found within Vaura's debut album, Selenelion, acts as a doorway through which elegance, in my opinion, at the very least, has found its way into metal's swarth.*

Selenelion is one of those albums which proves itself to be exceedingly difficult to place on the "genre scale." An artistic union between the minds who brought you Kayo Dot, maudlin of the Well, Dysrhythmia, Gorguts, Religion to Damn, and lots more, Vaura's intelligent, flowing, unique approach to metal utilizes a myriad of styles as vast as the visible light spectrum, which is proudly displayed on the album cover. Based around a core of shimmering, atmospheric metal, Vaura fearlessly incorporates elements of expansive post-rock, forward-thinking black metal, 70s psychedelia, and even post-punk, resulting in a far-reaching, fresh-sounding fusion which could please Mono and Cynic fans alike. Frontman Joshua Strawn's haunting, pure voice is the perfect companion to Vaura's eerie-yet-chiming music and esoteric subject matter, ranging from the "Drachma" coin, which was used in Greek mythos to raise the dead, to a few Jorge Luis Borges references.

A selenelion occurs when both the sun and moon appear as one entity just after a full lunar eclipse. The best way to describe the phenomenon is if someone lit exactly half the moon on fire and hung it low in the sky, which is the absolute perfect visual representation of Vaura's sound. Rooted in sonic equality between light and dark, Selenelion pits Joshua Strawn and Kevin Hufnagel's chiming, at times almost cheerful guitar work against rhythm section Charlie Schmid's cataclysmic drumming and Toby Driver's deep, dark bass, all while Strawn croons and howls like a possessed Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg somewhere in space. One can only witness a selenelion a few times a year at best, but one can experience the selenelion's astral juxtaposition through this elegant record.

Vaura's Selenelion is currently available for preorder from synthwave/post-punk label Wierd Records and will be officially available on CD and super luxurious 2LP on February 28th. Order this one, you won't regret it.

-Jon

*Yeah, I said "elegance" in some shape or form six times in the intro, but using synonyms would have made it confusing. Deal with it.

Owlscry - Owlscry (2012) [Self-Mutilation Services]

2012-02-19T21:33:00.002-06:00

Owlscry has been around for a few years, but this is their first full-length release. I have no idea why they've been sitting on the recordings for over a year, but it's good to see them finally available.

Owlscry have some affinity for their neighbors in Wormsblood. While producing something distinctly recognizable as black metal, they don't embrace all of the standard sounds as necessary techniques. The most obvious is the heavy inclusion of "clean vocals," or as the rest of the universe calls it, "singing." Owlscry aren't afraid to build on timbre-and-rhythm-centered minimalism or use clean guitars and musical chord progressions. Owlscry certainly don't go for the continuous blasting and trem-picking of many of their counterparts, but instead frequently achieves a sort of rocking vibe somewhat reminiscent of Lifelover.

In fact, Owlscry resemble nothing quite as much as a blacker, heavier Lifelover with a more large-scale concept of songwriting. Like perhaps a meeting of Lifelover, Bethlehem, and the lengthier works of fellow Americans (Nightbringer, Sutekh Hexen, Weakling).

I don't think I've ever dropped so many names in a review. Don't for a second think that it's because Owlscry sounds like anyone else. If you want to hear creative black metal with no Satan, Hitler, suicide, or flowering trees, look no further. Owlscry continually explore new and relevant musical approaches without incoherence or gimmick.

Now where's the Owlscry merch?

-V.

Goliathon - Without Further Ado (2010) [Self-Released?]

2012-02-19T20:05:00.002-06:00

I . . . this is like they listen to classic rock radio all the time, but really like Porcupine Tree and some stoner rock. I'm sure that's not as weird or unusual as I think it is, but my god if they haven't hacked out their own niche (possibly by beating one into existence with a saxophone). In literally every song, I'm reminded of mainstream-groupie-70's and 80's hard rock (Guns 'n' Roses, Led Zeppelin, Sabbath), the rattle and atmosphere of The Jesus Lizard noise rock, and the heavy-rock-prog-modern off-kilter riffing of Porcupine Tree. And Mastodon/High on Fire.

I know I don't normally namedrop like this, but it really sounds like all of those things at once. I've always hated the self-assured, soulless hard rock sneer that their singer wails, but with all of the music Goliathon brings together and with the intricacy of their songs (no "Riff A 4x, I IV V" here), I kind of have to keep listening. I have to. Because if I stop, I'll miss something insane they did.

What.

Cornfields and Black Lace: The Midwest Post-Punk Resurgence

2012-02-16T23:51:00.000-06:00

When one thinks about the Midwest, only two things come to mind: Chicago...and endless cornfields, because apparently that's all that happens to be out here. If that isn't bad enough, the general consensus about music out here runs the gamut from Nachtmystium to Slipknot. Yes sir, we Midwesterners sure have an outstanding reputation. Deep beneath the wallet chains, Tripp pants, and drug addictions, something much more glorious (and legitimately downtrodden) in seedy late bars and warehouses throughout our fair land. Call it post-punk, peacepunk, goth rock, or one of its many other names, it is impossible to deny the presence of such new greats as Cemetery, Anatomy of Habit, Population, and Kam Kama (more on the last two later), among many others, in this burgeoning Midwest scene.

In post-punk's early '80s heyday, the Midwest United States proved to be one of the most reserved regions in the country. With the no wave scene to the East, deathrock to the West, and darkwave's earliest beginnings with San Antonio's Lung Overcoat to the South, Middle America found itself in the position of the middle child: appreciated, but only in passing. Though success found itself by way of notable Lincoln, Nebraska act For Against, the first to blur the line between post-punk and "dreampop," many groups like Chicago's short-lived DA! ended up swept under the proverbial rug.

After years of relative silence (For Against still regularly put out albums in the '90s, but it was never the same), the late 2000s showed the Midwest's love affair with gloomy, 80s-inspired music in full swing, bringing about the beginnings of most of the aforementioned bands. After a celebrated demo cassette release in 2010, Chicago post-punk quartet Population joined the likes of legendary shoegazers Astrobrite as part of the BLVD Records family, home to some of Chicago's finest esoteric pop. The Population 7", BLVD's fourth release, is a shining example of powerful, true-to-style revivalism. Armed with hook-laden basslines, the most Curtis-ian of baritones, and instantly memorable choruses, Population tranports whatever room in which your record player resides back in time to late 1970s Manchester. Ranging from Bauhausian romp to Joy Division gloom, any "closet goth" with common sense will listen to this 9 minute, three song 7" over and over again. You won't find any major label phonies here; Population are the real deal.

Operating on the opposite side of the spectrum is Bloomington, Indiana's Kam Kama. With an internet-only demo and a "digital 7"" under their belt, Kam Kama made their entrance to the realm of physical releases with Sister Cylinder Records's gorgeous The Tiled House 12". Utilizing a similar, dreamy style to For Against, Kam Kama's scope strays from post-punk's usual "doom and gloom" outlook for something much more...nostalgic, which is exceptionally fitting for Middle America. I don't know if many of you have ventured outside the Chicago area, but most of the Midwest hasn't been able to keep up with its concentrated metropolitan areas, leaving most places somewhere in the mid-to-late 1980s, complete with bright, albeit fading, neon clothing, boom boxes, and headbands. Sounds straight out of a John Hughes movie? Well...it kind of is, and Kam Kama's The Tiled House carries that sort of happy, albeit faded feeling which accompanies those sorts of memories. The Tiled House's ethereal, subdued guitars and nasally, endearing vocals (courtesy of bassist and Fosdyk Well member Scott Ferguson) echo the sort of nostalgia one feels when flipping through their high school yearbook's yellowed pages or watching a dusted VHS of home movies. It's a happy sort of sensation, but with a longing for times past.

Though we're about thirty years too late, it looks like the Midwestern United States finally has a fighting chance in the battle against happiness. "Post-punk revival" has been a semi-"big deal" in some circles, with some newer acts like Editors, O. Children, and Interpol receiving critical acclaim, though, thanks to the hard work of the aforementioned acts, along with labels like BLVD and Wierd Records, among many others, the music of the 80s goth will always be a staple of the underground. At the rate bands are popping up in my home region, 30 years might turn Chicago into a Manchester-like punk angst Mecca.

I can dream, right?

-Jon

Servile Sect - "SVRRENDER" (2012) [Handmade Birds]

2012-02-14T23:43:00.001-06:00

Outer space is fucking frightening. I know, it's weird, but hear me out. Most people romanticize and even find comfort in Carl Sagan's "pale blue dot" speech, but, for some odd reason, the concept of extreme nothingness is absolutely horrifying. It seems sort of silly, but when looking into the night sky, there is infinite horror in attempting to comprehend that the stars which appear millimeters apart are actually billions of lightyears from each other (and, chances are, they've also gone out by now, as well). Aside from some cosmic dust, the vast expanse of space's overlapping endlessness is almost Lovecraftian in nature; impossible to describe and as maddening as it is empty.

Released companion piece to their previous album, the critically acclaimed TRVTH, Servile Sect's SVRRENDER seems to double as a complement to its predecessor, both in performance and atmosphere. As awesome as TRVTH is (I still feel stupid for not including it in my "Best of 2011" list), it does sort of take on the "romantic deep space" character which seems to confuse me. The pensive, melodic black metal and lush, alien synthesizers found on TRVTH, however perfect and grandiose, didn't really fit into my fear-shaped definition of space. Though the atmosphere of TRVTH does not negate the album's brilliance, the agoraphobic, hellish sounds presented on SVRRENDER definitely cater more to my "there is infinite nothing out there and it is horrifying" view of outer space. Much like TRVTH, SVRRENDER's two sides are completely different entities, one more caustic and traditionally bent, and its opposite an experiment in sound, seeing how far they can stretch the definition of "black metal." Unlike TRVTH, however, this album starts off with a metallic punch. After a short introduction of theremin sounds and rumbling synthesizer, the ambiance seemingly explodes into thick, terrifying, orthodox black metal, only to subside into ambiance once again. Side A speeds forward through expansive drones and black metal supernovae, searing the listener's ears like moon dust (apparently moon dust was so caustic NASA was afraid it would eat through Neil Armstrong's space suit). Though the metal presented on this first side isn't as...adventurous as Servile Sect's previous outputs, the almost atonal approach, coupled with inhuman feedback and strange interludes, almost perfectly outlines the sort of fear I feel when trying to comprehend the infinite, albeit compressed so as to bring the stars closer together.

Side B, on the other hand, is an absolute monster. I never really expected Servile Sect to throw their collective hat into the drone/doom metal ring, yet they pull it off flawlessly. Like a lo-fi cousin of like-minded experimental masters Locrian, the three tracks on side B lurch forward at the rate of Neptune's solar orbit, stacking layers of field recordings, synthesizers, and treated vocals over a steady base of plodding drums and steady bass. As unexpected as it is incredible, Servile Sect's take on drone/doom has been one of the coolest surprises of the past year.

The nightmarish sounds of SVRRENDER will come as a surprise to recent Servile Sect fans, but for the few who longed for an album to rival Stratospheric Passenger, it is time to get excited. A much more "orthodox" (I use that term loosely) companion to its predecessor, SVRRENDER's frightening depiction of deep space and madness is the perfect companion to your favorite 1950s "They Came From MARS" film (or for the extremely stupid weather we've had here in the Midwest). Out of the 250 copies made, I believe there are only a handful left, so be sure to grab one for yourself from Handmade Birds Records before they're gone for good.

-Jon

Eolomea - "Eolomea" (2012) [Brave Mysteries]

2012-02-12T01:47:00.000-06:00

Eolomea is a demonstration of the best of the non-noise artists grouped in the noise scene. Like Locrian, it's Andre Foisy playing guitar (in a way not remotely resembling any of that silly "riff" and "solo" garbage) and someone else--this time, the legendary David Reed of Envenomist--building sound with synthesizers.

Reed is not, however, Terence, and Eolomea is hardly likely to be confused with Locrian. While centered on the expansive sounds of droning keyboards, they resemble more the calling of semi-angelic horns across empty space. They (and Andre) scream of loneliness, of the secrets made by the complete absence of anyone who might know.

If the 1972 East German science fiction film of the same name is anything like this, it's probably a good watch. The world is over. I'll see you among the stars.

-V.

Locrian and Mamiffer - "Bless Them That Curse You" (2012) [Utech/SIGE/Land of Decay/Profound Lore Records]

2012-02-09T20:40:00.000-06:00

This release has been a long time coming, or at least it certainly feels that way. Recorded last Summer around Utech Records Music Festival (when Locrian's collaboration with Horseback was released, no less!), the unbelievable collaborative effort between personal favorites Locrian and Mamiffer, both of which graced at least one of our year end lists, was bound to be a defining effort in the modern wave of experimental music. The possibilities were endless, as infinity is the only truly plausible outcome when one puts the minds of Andre Foisy, Terence Hannum, Steven Hess, Faith Coloccia, Aaron Turner, and Travis Rommereim in a recording studio.

When considering Locrian and Mamiffer's previous releases, one would almost expect collaborative effort Bless Them That Curse You to exist somewhere between Locrian's doomed, blackish dreamnoise and Mamiffer's intricate, piano-based modern classical, but it's not that simple. What we see here is a perfect melding of styles, making Bless Them That Curse You not so much a sum of its parts as it is something entirely new. Yes, there are still elements indicative of each performing artist, be it Coloccia's chiming piano, Hannum's dense analog synthesizer work, and so on, but there have been many occasions when listening to this record where I almost forget that I'm listening to either Locrian or Mamiffer. Though dreamy at times, like piano led tracks "In Fuliminic Blaze" and "Lechatelierite," Bless Them That Curse You possesses an underlying, Cold Spring-like terror which rears its ugly head unannounced, only to descend into heavy percussion or chaotic noise. A dark offering comprised of contemplation and bombast, Locrian and Mamiffer's seamless blend has brought about some of the best in new experimental music.

Bless Them That Curse You is actually taken from the King James version of the book of Luke, which fully reads "Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." Though the title is tasteful and rather fitting of the equally blessed and cursed music put forth on this album, I wonder if either Locrian or Mamiffer will ever have to worry about "despiteful use" anytime soon. Bless Them That Curse You will be available as a deluxe, double LP from both Utech and SIGE Records later this month, followed by a cassette release on Locrian's Land of Decay Records and a digipak CD on Profound Lore Records. With so many options available, there is absolutely no reason why you should skip out on such a magnificent collaboration. Word has it that Mamiffer has a few other collaborations slated for release later this year, as well.

-Jon

Pharaoh Overlord - "Lunar Jetman" (2012) [SIGE/Ektro Records]

2012-02-02T20:20:00.004-06:00

Repetition is a difficult beast to wrangle. From the premier of Steve Reich's Music for Eighteen Instruments, the new wave of post-modernity screamed "excessive minimalism" in praise of its stylistic progenitor. Of course, not many people could perfectly emulate Reich's pulsing, shifting, harmonically dense style, opting for a more pure, hypnotic, unfortunately monotonous route of execution. That isn't to say the monotony is inherently bad, however, twenty-minute krautrock epics which never stray from one single bassline sort of peeves me, which is the exact problem I've had with the rest of Pharaoh Overlord's discography. These Finns, who share members with the critically acclaimed Circle, recorded some great ideas, but "Devastator"'s 9 minutes and 33 seconds of one singular classic heavy metal riff seemed a little off. I was a little apprehensive when approaching Pharaoh Overlord's new record, named after the classic video game "Lunar Jetman," though the inclusion of a seasoned member of Faust definitely piqued my interest.

I really am glad I gave this album a fair chance, as Lunar Jetman shows immense growth in the Pharaoh Overlord camp. Moving away from their "consistent, hypnotic repetition" route of execution, Lunar Jetman follows the example set forth by the Reich-ian school of thought. As layers of sound are stacked on top of the repetitive base, it begins to shift under the weight, and upper echelons follow suit as they begin to buckle under the sheer weight of sound above them. Eventually, you arrive at an entirely different conclusion. This sort of transformation is always a treat, especially given the trance-inducing nature of the music (and perfectly embodied in the two-part "Cave of Hair"); you snap out of it and find yourself in different surroundings. Looking down, you'll notice I imbued this album with the all-encompassing "krautrock" tag, but don't expect your standard Neu! or Amon Duul (one or II, take your pick) thoroughfare. Unlike other emulation-based "krauty" acts, Pharaoh Overlord isn't afraid to meddle in free jazz and Sabbathian doom metal, as seen in the "Cave of Hair" diptych and "Black Horse" respectively. Don't let Lunar Jetman's inherent "headiness" deter you, as it is actually a "fun" sounding record. Yes, there are long bouts of free-jazz inspired psychedelia and neo-Hawkwind noise generator meditations, but there is a sort of joyous, Springlike warmth that plagues this record, making it both infectious and memorable.

Fittingly named, Lunar Jetman's cosmic scope takes the listener to the Moon and beyond. With a skyward gaze, Pharaoh Overlord fills their gas tank with groovy riffs, nebular psychedelia, and tons upon tons of hallucinogens. Be sure to pre-order this one from Aaron Turner and Faith Coloccia's (yes, the ones you are thinking of) SIGE Records ASAP, as there are only 530 copies being pressed.

-Jon

Windy & Carl - "We Will Always Be" (2012) [Kranky Records]

2012-01-27T21:46:00.001-06:00

Dreamy drone duo Windy & Carl are truly one (two?) of a kind. Where so many shoegaze-inspired dronescape bands have fallen flat, Windy Weber and Carl Hultgren have soared ever higher. With an incredible amount of full-lengths, collaborations, 7"s and so on, a two year silence after Instrumentals for the Broken Hearted, a tour-only LP featuring instrumental takes from their Songs for the Broken Hearted album, created a horrible illusion of doubt as to whether or not Windy & Carl would return from their slumber. Emerging from the great beyond sometime last December, this sleepy Michigan duo announced their stance with the title of their magnificent new album, We Will Always Be.

Windy & Carl's music has always existed somewhere high in the stratosphere, where the sun shines with extra brilliance and the moisture in the air begins to crystallize, bending the light into gorgeous arrays of perfect color, and We Will Always Be continues their glorious tradition. Hultgren's pillow-soft washes of guitar find themselves at their absolute finest, and when coupled with Weber's "cough syrup-drenched pop" bass lines and hushed voice (which almost sounds like she's whisper-singing directly into your ear) seemingly echo thick, cottonball clouds on the sunniest day of the year. We Will Always Be's sunny disposition could be perfectly summed up as that perfect moment after a picnic when you lay down on your blanket, surrounded by fluttering dandelion fluff, and look up at the sky, only to notice that it is the most beautiful shade of blue you have ever seen, and even the clouds and birds seem to be in awe of the sheer perfection this atmospheric anomaly has given. You then remember you are not alone on this blanket, and you spend the rest of the day picking out shapes in the clouds above. Sappy, I know, but We Will Always Be is filled with this sort of unconditional, loving adoration; a perfect "pick-me-up" after the lovelorn shimmerballads of Songs for the Broken Hearted.

Windy & Carl's long-awaited (well, not "long" awaited, but it certainly seems that way, return) is nothing short of sonic perfection. We Will Always Be is a testament to sheer contentment with one's life, a state where one does not need any more than his or her mate and the world around them, which makes me begin to wonder. Maybe We Will Always Be is more than just an album title...maybe it is Weber and Hultgren's own love letter to each other, with the music acting as the world's most glorious post-script. We Will Always Be will see it's release on Valentine's Day (how fitting) via the excellent Kranky Records.

-Jon

Jason Urick- "I Love You" (2011) [Thrill Jockey]

2012-01-27T12:40:00.000-06:00

As you awaken inside of your own head, you realize you haveno recollection of who you are and what you are doing. Your identity has beenerased from history and you now possess the freedom to roam unbothered withinthe realms of your mind. As you traverse across the universe reconstructing howit is you interpret life internally and externally you begin to recall who itwas you once were. The freedom you possess within yourself has realized yourfull potential and you fear returning to your conscious world. It is here whereyour fate begins and ends and it is beyond the day to day repetition, endlessstreams of questions, and looking towards the future that perpetuate our lives.It is about simplicity within yourself and your relationships with people andnature that breathes life into all of the things you do. You awaken to realizethat you have nothing to fear consciously because here you have the same powerto control yourself entirely and nothing from the past, present or future cantake that away.

Jason Urick’s I Love You sounds like journey of self realization, using heavy ambiance to set adream like mood to the entire trip. The album is composed of five average tosemi-long tracks of low ethereal drones with small explosions of heavenlydisembodied tones scattered amongst the clouded layers of sound. Urick hasmanaged to incorporate influences from what sounds like eastern music withoutsounding like it has been done before by maintaining the primary atmosphere setat the beginning of the album. Although the songs drone a single idea for theirentirety, the idea is rephrased throughout the song in hundreds of ways so youare never quite listening to the same section over and over.

This is the kind of album one could put on repeat for twelvehours and just think endlessly of all the possibilities the universe has tooffer. Jason Urick fills all the corners of your speakers with gorgeous loopafter loop, painting murals of sound that are entirely open to interpretationby any listener. Within the space created in your speakers, please get lost.

-Julian

Sigillum Diabolicum - "Chroniques de l'infamie" (2010) [Thor's Hammer Productions]

2012-01-24T19:35:00.001-06:00

I originally came across this by browsing around and finally coming to this awesome album art. I am a huge fan of the whole woodcut/etching styles and found the art to be quite appealing. That, and they're French. French black metal has a good track record with me.

So, I did what any normal person with a semi-decent salary and bizarre interests does... I made an impulse buy. I judged this one by its cover.

After receiving this album in the mail today, I am absolutely floored by how incredible it is. And boy, did it take me for a spin.

The intro to the album is an actually humorous and twisted circus-like soundscape of machine guns going off while goofy music is playing in the background. Quite a surprising start. One would think the rest of this album would be as 'laidback'.

Second track? MINDBLOWING. I wasn't even done with the song before I decided that I wanted to listen to it again. With throat-ripping vocals pouring themselves out into an ominous echo, melodic and perfectly-layered guitar passages, and drumming that keeps the rhythm 'hooky', I was pleasantly surprised with every turn.

Oh, there's bass, too. Imagine that.

The consistently glorious nature of this album continued throughout the entire freaking disc. With original musicianship, blisteringly fast technicality, melodious and memorable riffing, and very scarcely a dull moment, this entire album is nothing short of inspiring.

This is the epitome of what I look for in an album... underground, overlooked gems with a wonderful visual and audial presentation. I may have no idea what the lyrics are, in all humility, but the nihilistic, yet melodious nature of these recordings speak well enough to me in a language I can understand. That and the medieval-modern crossover artwork bring out the visual leniency that brought me to this album in the first place.

Not even my biased review can do it justice. Just order it.

...Not on eBay, though... as indicated on the back cover with an x'ed out eBay logo next to their label information.

-Elan

Prurient - "Time's Arrow" (2011) [Hydra Head Records]

2012-01-22T14:39:00.000-06:00

It’s good to see an artist that’s known for a more traditional approach to noise branching out into something that undoubtedly flies in the face of all noise conventions. But, when does a trope become a schtick? With the release of Bermuda Drain, I was really excited to hear a piece of music that was simultaneously intimidatingly melodic and fearsome. This ethos is carried over in to Time’s Arrow well, but in a way that makes me fearful of what the future holds for Fernow and his compositions. This EP feels like studio B-sides for Bermuda Drain, in that the first few tracks could have come from that album and I’d know no different. I guess it’s just my appreciation for the approach that’s evinced on both albums that makes me apprehensive.

Time’s Arrow is a solid listen for an EP. While you won’t sit down to read and drink tea or have a nice conversation over Maskless Face or Slavery in the Bahamas, other tracks on the EP provide a more structured counterpoint that makes the hammering industrialized noise stand out as an excellent genre example. While I can see a method to Prurient’s madness, I can only hope that it doesn’t devolve into a copy and paste effort that lays down hefty synth lines over metallic drumming and spoken word abstractions.

-Brandon

Adrian Aniol - It All Falls Apart (2011) [Utech Records]

2012-01-22T13:12:00.000-06:00

To be honest, I've heard a lot of "dark ambient," and it's a genre that really tends toward the mediocre and the nondescript. It can still be nice, but it's not impressive. Worse yet, half of it sounds like half-assed sound design from a computer RPG. Adrian Aniol's on top of the game here, though.

It All Falls Apart has all the important hallmarks of a fairly traditional dark ambient record. It's huge, amorphous, and threatening, like a nightmare you can't explain that leaves you shaken half the day. While there's a feeling of pitch, it partakes more of Ligeti's pitch-saturated sound masses than anything like melody or harmony.

And just when that, wrapped around disconnected rhythms and waves of intensity, becomes grey, Aniol moves to the piano and begins to evoke.

It All Falls Apart doesn't quite escape being dark ambient, but it does a fine job of expanding the horizons and nailing the atmosphere.

Then (at the risk of fawning), Steven Hess comes along. Side B of It All Falls Apart is a Steven Hess remix. So what, you say, anyone with a name can throw together a quick rearrangement on a laptop and make some cash. Sure, and most of them do a fucking fine job too. Hess, however, opted for the tape machine.

The tape machine.

We might have to do an entire interview based on that sole fact. The sheer amount of time, work, and potential for complete fuckup of doing a remix with pieces of tape is a perfect reminder of why there weren't five hundred records of inept loners every day until everyone could do everything on a home PC.

I'd also like to add that Hess takes the material and makes a completely different track with all of the same atmosphere intact and still engaging. Each half of this tape could stand on its own, and I'd buy it. Seven bucks for two great releases, just go do it. Go.

-V.

Gnaw Their Tongues - "Per Flagellum Sanguemque, Tenebras Veneramus" (2011) [Crucial Blast Records]

2012-01-20T17:13:00.001-06:00

A combination of unemployment and a month and a half long school break means one thing: slasher films. Though I'm not a violent person by any means, I've always been drawn to them. Maybe it's my own way of confronting silly irrational fears, maybe I enjoy the schadenfreude of knowingly watching a D-list movie, rifled with ketchup and "flesh-colored" putty galore, but, either way, from the first time I knowingly viewed "Friday the 13th" at the tender age of 11, I was hooked. My one consistent annoyance with these films are the abundance of less than satisfactory. I know, I know, B-list movies warrant a terrible soundtrack, but when watching something as demented as the original Last House On The Left, I was sort of expecting something a little more faux-chilling than goofy, lighthearted Casio etudes. The closest to "oh wow, that's kind of eerie" horror has ever gotten is definitely Harry Manfredini's "ki ki ki ma ma ma" from the Friday the 13th series, but that was even done to death. Horror needs something...fresh, something truly horrifying to fit the nightmarish intent of these movies. Has anything brought enough intensity to a film since Kubrick's brilliant adaptation of Bartok as a soundtrack for A-lister The Shining? No. Never. However, maybe filmmakers should start turning to Dutch madman Maurice "Mories" de Jong for a new, much more fucked sound direction.

Even with twenty-eight releases under his belt (for this project alone), Gnaw Their Tongues still hasn't lost it's horrific edge. A noise-inflicted, sadistic nightmare of blood-soaked sexual freedom and hedonism, snuff film and gore-obsessed Mories drags his listeners further into his tormented mind. Heralded by demonic orchestras, thick, eardrum-stabbing bass, free-jazz inspired percussion, and the most harrowing of torture samples, the religiously inclined (Gnaw Their Tongues is taken from a rather masochistic bible verse) Per Flagellum Sanguemque, Tenebras Veneramus is a meditation in unspeakable, de Sade-esque horrors, whether it be "Urine-Soaked Neophytes," "Bonedust on Dead Genitals." The tormenting, droning doom metal found on this album, by far Mories's crowning achievement thus far with the Gnaw Their Tongues moniker, are rife with haphazard atonality, carefully crafted textures, and an expansive, Lustmordian gait that previously had yet to be achieved with such a minimally-inclined genre. This is true horror.

A testament to the ever crumbling psyche of a sexual sadist, Per Flagellum Sanguemque, Tenebras Veneramus is one of the most chilling, mind altering albums I have ever heard. Though Mories has yet to release any lyrics at all, there is no doubt that this phantasm of an album is rife with rape obsessions, immense gore, and the stream-of-consciousness ravings of a madman. Fuck your movies, if you want to experience true fear, true madness, take Gnaw Their Tongues for a spin. Soon enough you'll be making snuff films of your own.

-Jon

Taake - "Noregs Vaapen" (2011) [Dark Essence Records]

2012-01-17T21:17:00.004-06:00

In my opinion, Taake has always been one of those bands that releases albums that are either huge hit or moderate miss. Every few years, Hoest seems to come up with something that is musically fascinating.

Never faltering, though, is the spirited nature of his music and the 'audial patriotism' which ensues.

Thankfully, the latest offering is more 'hit' than anything I have ever heard from him.

In what I'd like to note as his most majestic, powerful, and original work yet, Noregs Vaapen has it all and then some.

Featuring a solid and unwavering mix of melodious guitar hymns and primitive riffs, this is what I believe to be Hoest's magnus opus.

And you know what? There is a banjo in some of the music. I'm serious.

A banjo. I was just listening to the music and then all of the sudden....

"Hellig skit!

Hva faen?!?!

A BANJO."

I'm not entirely sure who played it, but it flowed perfectly.

Also appearing is a plethora of musical guests, including the prolific Nocturno Culto from Darkthrone.

This album has verified to me that black metal has solidified itself into the history and facet of Norway in today's international society. Like it or not, the world has no choice but face the fact that the very spirit of their country is being represented and distributed in the form of this esoteric sort of music.

And what way to represent that but with the mark of a monolith of a memorable album?

- Elan

The Ruins of Beverast - "Enchanted By Gravemould" (2011) [Van Records]

2012-01-17T21:15:00.002-06:00

Alright, I know you all have probably noted my most recent reviews and think I have this unshakeable bias toward Van Records, and think that they cannot release a bad black metal album.

You are absolutely right.

The Ruins of Beverast is a band which holds special room in my disturbed psyche.

Mr. Meilenwald's apocalyptic and gloomy sound has engraved itself into my brain. This new EP is a collection of his more obscure works of his from split albums and includes covers of some very surprising tracks.

Listening to the differing production styles, it is apparent that his musical voice is very clear despite any vessel he utilizes to manifest it.

With all that being said, I know many of you are adamant about not buying compilations, EPs,

'best-of's, or the like.

But I must tell you... the variety and importance of this man's music is well worth any investment. Buy this album.

This man is making black metal better than 90 percent of bands today, and The Ruins of Beverast is an undeniably important name in underground music today.

-Elan

Sutekh Hexen - "Larvae" (2012) [Handmade Birds Records]

2012-01-16T20:51:00.002-06:00

San Francisco trio Sutekh Hexen has received quite a bit of praise for their more than steady output of indecipherable, incredibly harsh black metal. Beneath walls of stagnant noise harsh enough to make even the mighty Vomir cringe, Scott Miller and Kevin Gan Yuen spun audio nightmares told at a speed almost as fast as their release output. Looking back on my review of their last release, the blistering Luciform, I had made a comment about Sutekh Hexen's brilliant decision to keep from evolving their sound, as their talent in this specific field needed no tweaking, and yet, with new addition Lee Camfield and a wildly progressive new album on the way, I find myself proven wrong.

After two years of grating gestation, Sutekh Hexen has emerged from the womb, and this new form is as glorious as it is horrifying. The newly birthed Larvae shows Sutekh Hexen moving out of the downward spiral that is "black noise" and bringing something new to the table; something ugly. While staying to their ruthless, churning, "more noise than metal" roots, Larvae marks the inclusion of something completely unheard of in "black noise" circles: musicality. Unlike previous albums, whose almost inhuman, mechanical performance was as expected as it was consistent, Larvae's embrace of brilliant, albeit subdued melodies, and chiming acoustic guitars offer a respite from the chaotic, tortured madness of their back catalog. This new found sense of epic melody does not keep Sutekh Hexen from their signature harsh sound, often pitting layers of noise against harmonic bliss, whether it be the heavy, metallic guitars and harsh noise walls of "Isvar Savasana" or the quiet, meandering neofolk and found percussion of "Let There Be Light"; Larvae is best visualized as a two-headed beast, each mouth ravenous for sustenance and dominance in a constant, all out war with no end in sight.

Sutekh Hexen have really come into their own with the simultaneously inviting and revolting Larvae. A brilliantly composed juxtaposition between the crawling chaos of noise and the brilliant luminosity of modern black metal, Larvae is not only a step forward for Sutekh Hexen, but for raw black metal as a whole. Larvae will be up for pre-order soon from the always stellar Handmade Birds Records.

-Jon

Thou & The Body Live Review - Las Vegas, NV

2012-01-16T01:18:00.000-06:00

The sludge/doom onslaught in Las Vegas which had been going on last year returned for another night at Las Vegas’ metalheads favorite taco shop last weekend, this time featuring the likes of Thou and the Body, who are currently touring throughout the US.

And like the other shows (Atlas Moth, Batillus etc) this one featured a great lineup through the night. The gig started out with Bloom out of Riverside CA, who headlined at Yayo’s a couple nights prior to this show and set the tone for a growing crowd. The most amusing part of it though was the homeless dude who started watching the show from right outside (and who ended up getting right up front a few bands in).

Next up was God’s America aka Seeds of Rape, who are some of the best grind/powerviolence around, not just Vegas, but probably the whole of the US. Their set was only about 10 or so minutes long, but it was blistering, intense, and filled with crushing dual vocals. I was lucky enough to find a somewhat safe spot on the side with my camera and managed not getting caught in the amalgam of bodies and hair flying around.

Shoppers followed up the raging violent frenzy with some great female fronted punk out of Syracuse NY. Due to my In N Out run, and their quick set changes I didn’t catch all of their performance, but what I did see I liked quite a bit, and listening to their EP right now, I wish I caught it all!

Finally, it was time for the first headliner of the night, The Body. I had caught them back at Scion Rock Fest March of last year, where the two piece put on a pretty devastating performance. Recently, though, they toured with a choir (which is present in some of their recordings), though sadly that was over. Anyways, it started out relatively quietly, but then the sound turned up and proceeded to blow the venue away – well, almost. I don’t think I’ve ever felt the floor shake that much at a show. While it was pretty cool, it was hard to make out much of the music since the wall of sound was pretty much just falling down on everyone.

Then the final band, sludgey doomers from Louisiana, and what seemed to be almost like a younger Eyehategod of sorts, played through one hell of an awesome set. I had only listened to their album Summit a couple times in the past, which I remember being good, but live they totally blew me away, full of energy and intensity, playing through their own songs, as well as one of the best Black Sabbath covers I’ve ever heard.

The Ritual Inclusion of Code - Beta Wave Nemisis (2011) [Small Doses]

2012-01-15T21:25:00.000-06:00

There's a special category of artist I'd never quite realized existed until I began thinking about this release. They don't have a name, a manifesto, or self-serving documentaries. They're the "intellectual metal kid's noise artists."

I could certainly include artists like Locrian in this, and they may be a good entry point. They're great. They do half-black metal now, but back in the day they were the building, fulfilling wave of sound that you could find blessing scattered metal shows around Chicago. They're into noise, they're into metal, and they're not quite metal, so the metal kids think they're a noise band. (Just to be clear, they're not.)

20.Sv and Deadwood are the side of this I've never quite understood. They bill themselves as harsh noise. 20.Sv in particular had a big publicity stunt in the metal scene (see where I'm going with this?) getting allegedly declared a terrorist act in Lebanon. But while I've run into metalheads enthusing over these noise artists again and again, both Daniel Jansson (Deadwood) and Osman Arabi (20.Sv) make a sort of muted, almost ambient expression of soft, round static. They're quiet and soothing, even if you play them "loud as hell."

Locrian's labelmates on small doses, The Ritual Inclusion of Code is apparently a collaboration between Deadwood and 20.Sv. Alone, they always just disappointed me. Together, they make me think "Oh, I could do this on a laptop. And I wouldn't be proud of it or try to release it." Beta Wave Nemisis (do they realize that's a spelling error?) sounds like my early, incompetent noise project made halfway into ambient with Audacity reverb and delay. There are actually childish clean guitar noodles partway through, an example of aesthetic self-undermining that even I never stooped to.

Big names don't mean real music.

Interview with Mournful Congregation

2012-01-11T11:16:00.002-06:00

2011 was a big year for Australian funeral doom masters Mournful Congregation. After releasing a collection of long out of print songs and what is easily their best full-length album, Mournful Congregation embarked on their first United States tour, leading up to the controversial (but, from what I've heard, oddly successful) Rites of Darkness III festival. In the grand scheme of things, a "best of" collection, a new album, and a US tour doesn't seem all that grand, but in the chilled molasses paced funeral doom sphere, this is as big as performing at Live 8, and it is well-deserved. It was an honor to chat with Damon (Adrian and Justin make appearances but, in the interest of time, Damon provides most of the answers) and hopefully one day the MC crew will find their way to the midwest. I can dream, right?

It looks like you'll be heading overto the US of A in a few days. Are you excited? What are your thoughtson the current Rites of Darkness III lineup?

Damon: Yes, quite excited now that everything has fallen intoplace. There are a lot of friends/ fans/ bands I look forward tomeeting in the US. The line-up for ROD fest seems to be ratheramazing, so I’m expecting it to be great.

Why did you wait so long into yourcareer to play live for the first time (in 2009)? Was thisintentional or were there no feasible opportunities until then?

Damon: It wasn’t exactly intentional to wait this long, and itwas definitely never planned either. However, in the past we neverhad a full live line-up for the band, and we never cared too much forit. We were always content being a studio band. But it seems at thetime the climate was right, and metal fans perhaps seek a new liveexperience, because everything else has almost been done to deathwithin the metal genres. But the atmosphere created by Funeral Doomis still somewhat fresh I think, so we are now here to deliver thatatmosphere the best way we can. It is also a new experience for us toplay this music live, and ultimately it has been very rewarding sofar. It’s like transcendental meditation with volume.

You've used a bit of religious imageryin your work, whether it be song titles ("The Catechism ofDepression"), merchandise (the Mary statuette on the "SuicideChoir" shirt), or even your name, as Congregation is normallyassociated with a religious gathering. Is the concept of religion animportant aspect to Mournful Congregation?

Damon: Whenever I have chosen artwork, or I have written lyrics,or chosen anything to do with the band, it has always been on anintuitive level. I’ve never consciously seeked out religiousiconography. But I have noticed myself lately how we have infusedthis into our conceptions somehow. I was forced to go to church as ayoungster, and while I don’t remember ever giving a fuck about thesermons, I do remember the cool sound reverberations within thechurch, the epic structure of the church itself, the epic pipe organand the striking symbolism associated within it. I think I have usedthose influences to tailor it into my own mould, since really, thatvibe and style transcend religion to me.

With such long, dense compositions,how do you approach the songwriting process? Is it more linearprocess with harmonies added afterwards, or do you compose in a morevertical, wall-like fashion, with all harmonies and counter-melodiesadded as the song progresses?

Damon: Generally speaking, most harmonies are written together inthe same sitting. Oftentimes the basics of a riff or chord structurewill sound average to me, but once I have added all the harmonisedparts it comes to life. Other times, if a riff seems strong enough onits own, I will leave it at that place, and perhaps a harmony will beadded later if it is decided it is needed. So really we work in bothways, depending on what is initially delivered.

With funeral doom still in its early,EARLY stages on the other side of the world, what drove you to startmaking slow, depressing music back in 1993? Did you think the stylewould catch on like it did? More importantly, did you envision theproject would still be active almost twenty years later?

Damon: I must put my mind back to those days to remember, haha.Well I guess in those days Doom wasn’t so unpopular….in fact Doomwas big, with bands like Cathedral, My Dying Bride, Anathema etc.sitting alongside Cannibal Corpse and Deicide etc. But at the sametime we were influenced by the total underground scene, buying demosand tape trading, so we heard everything that was on offer back then,not only the CD’s available in stores. But I seriously think mycraving for writing Doom music came alot earlier. I always had afascination with slow brooding music and the way it could alter onesmood somehow. So it was quite natural for me to start writing in thisstyle. I don’t even know if the style has caught on more than itdid back then, but all I know is that I have been, and AM dedicatedto writing in this vein regardless of what happens around it.

This one's geared more towards Damon -Since you are in so many bands (Cauldron Black Ram, StarGazer, andMisery's Omen, to name just a few), in what standing do you considerMournful Congregation? Do you treat it more as your main project, aside project, or are all your bands of equal importance?

Damon: It comes down more to the fact that within each band ourroles are different. With Stargazer, I play bass guitar, and TheSerpent Inquisitor writes all the guitar riffs/ songs first, which Ithen work on for bass. With CBR, we both write riffs/ songs as theycome. With Mournful I can write and craft the songs as I need to. Soit all comes down to what mood/ inspirations are happening at thetime as to what I work on. But to me, Stargazer, Cauldron Black Ramand Mournful Congregation are all my main working bands. Anythingelse can be considered as not my main bands.

The obligatory equipment question:what does everyone's gear rig consist of? Feel free to list justabout anything you can think of.

Damon: Nowadays and on the new album; Jackson Kelly guitar througha Bogner amp. I like to keep it simple. Natural valve distortion onthe recording. Live I use a Boss Turbo Distortion pedal if no goodvalve amp is available. I have also used this pedal on most of theolder recordings.

Adrian: Mapex- 2 x 22" bass drums, 10" and 12" rack toms, floating14" tom, 16" floor tom. Sabian cymbals, mostly the AAXrange. 16", 17" and 18" crashes, 16" China, 14"hats, 20" ride, 10" splash, Remo Spoke. DW pedals. Pearlhardware.

Justin:Gibson Flying V 1967 Re-Issue

JacksonProfessional (w/Seymour Duncans)

JacksonWarrior (w/EMGs)

MarshallJVM 100w Head & Marshall 1960 A + B Quads

DunlopCrybaby 535Q Wah Pedal

Boss DD7 Digital Delay

Were there any goals you wished tomeet with The Book of Kings? Do you feel you met them? Is thereanything you would change about the album?

Damon: There were of course goals to meet in the sound. Things wefeel lacked on previous recordings that we wanted to improve on thisone. We met a lot of them, but already I am hearing things I wish tobe improved upon for the next recording. So yes, there are things Iwould change. We spent 8 months recording and mixing, so we had tostop tweaking it at some point I guess.
As far as writing the songs themselves, I try to let them flownaturally and not let my ‘analytical’ part of the brain interfereso much with the ‘intuitive’ part. So there aren’t really setgoals in what I write.

Justin:We reached a level of complexity and emotion that we have beenworking at for years on The Book of Kings. Compositionally we arrivedat something unique and visceral that can only be realized with acomplete understanding of the music we write. Everything is in placeand we can only hope that is received likewise.

I find it rather interesting (andenjoyable) that you chose to include a full "soft" song onthe new album. Was this a new experience as a full band? Would youfeel recording doing more material in this style?

Damon: As I have stated a lot of times in previous interviews, wehave written and recorded clean/ acoustic/ soft songs since the firstdemo. So it is not a new experience, it is just part of what the bandhas always done from the start.

With twenty years looming just aroundthe next corner, where do you see Mournful Congregation in thefuture?

Damon: I am trying to work that out myself right now. But myscrying technique is refusing to bear results.

Any closing thoughts?

Damon: Nothing is particularly coming to mind. But thank you forthe interview and the ongoing underground support. Hails.

-Jon

Interview with Book of Sand

2012-01-10T20:09:00.000-06:00

Book of Sand's unorthodox approach to black metal has been a personal source of interest from the digital release of his first album, How Beautiful To Walk Free, onward, with his most recent offering, the free-jazz-inflicted black metal opus The Face of the Waters, set to annoy and hopefully expand the horizons of many basement-dwelling black metallers. D.'s cheeky, honest answers are proof that you don't have to be a pretentious, self-important prick to make groundbreaking music. The Face of the Waters is available in super limited quantities from Antithetic Records. Expand your mind.

With your earlier material under the Book of Sand moniker ("How Beautiful It Is To Walk Free" and "Destruction, Not Reformation"), there was heavy emphasis placed on your anarchist and feminist social leanings, but more recently there has been a lack of any sort of philosophical and/or social connotation to your music. Are those still a part of Book of Sand or have you distanced the project from those ideals?

Since I don't print my lyrics, all one has to go from are my song titles, album titles, and comments about the releases. And so I can see why you would think that; you're certainly correct that my titles aren't as strident as they were. But, I still approach the band's world from a political perspective, even with the more abstract and theologically focused themes. For example, The Face of the Waters is an anarchist look at the Judeo-Christian creation myth in the first two chapters of Genesis. It was interesting to me that the hierarchical division of the cosmos starts at the very beginning of one of the core cultural narratives of our society: all of creation is quickly sorted into dominant and subordinate classes, with man having dominion over the other living creatures of the earth in Genesis 1:26, and over woman in Genesis 2:20-2:24. This commitment to inequality is deeper than religion, of course. Seems like most of the dipshit Satanists in the black metal world have pretty similar political beliefs to conservative Christians.

Anarchism, radical feminism, so on aren't "social leanings" as much as political convictions. There's a tendency in some circles to dismiss anarchism as a punk lifestyle choice, but that's not really correct. Rather, it's a political framework for understanding society as it is, and an idea of what society could and should be. I try to live in line with my politics–veganism, trying to not be a racist/sexist/homophobic shit-head–but the politics come first, not the lifestyle or the aesthetics/image.

So, I still consider Book of Sand a political band, and my politics haven't changed.

In previous correspondence you had mentioned that Face of the Waters is your first fully-composed album. How do you feel shifting from a chaotic, improvised setting to something more pre-meditated?

All of my albums have been composed, but each before this one had some space for improvisation. HBtWF had those guitar solos, Destruction, not Reformation had a cello solo. TFotW has no improvisation, although I kept a few lucky accidents. I'm equally comfortable composing parts and improvising them, and so I do whichever is necessary for the specific situation. And, I think the composition has ended up at least as chaotic as the improvisation.

When one is improvising, to some extent one is bound by habit. Composition offers the chance to do something that's not natural. As long as one isn't lazy, composed pieces have the potential to be stranger than improvised.

I do play freely improvised music also, but Book of Sand is overall composed music. So, the improvisation in Book of Sand is within a compositional framework and serves primarily as another compositional tool. Some of my songs are based on riffs, some are textural and improvised, some are written with random number generators. I'm not committed to any one way of working.

What are your thoughts on the seemingly standardized compositional methods in extreme metal? Who do you feel are exceptions to these methods who should or could be used as a paradigm in the future?

Who cares! This week, as far as metal, I'm listening to Bathory, Manilla Road and The Wounded Kings.

I guess you're asking me to recommend some weirdos? Wrnlrd is amazing in every way, and I'm also impressed by Portal and almost everything released on tUMULT. But it's silly to have a problem with "standardized compositional methods" on the one hand and to look for new "paradigms" on the other–the most common compositional structures in metal nowadays were new paradigms not so long ago. It doesn't matter what compositional approach one uses. If the music's trash, it's the fault of the songwriter, not the method. There are still plenty of great diatonic verse/chorus/verse songs waiting to be written.

Unlike harsher previous releases, Face of the Waters is surprisingly "clean." What made you decide to trim Book of Sand's rough edges?

For that specific album, a clean sound was better to get the right atmosphere and feeling. Nothing more than that. Each album needs its own sound...

Still, I try to keep a raw approach even when the sound is clean. I almost never do more than one take, and if I make a mistake I generally leave it. I can't stand the modern "black metal" sound, with perfect clicky/triggered kick drums, mid-scooped guitars, synthesizers and so on. A more natural approach is preferable.

After the extremely experimental leanings of your latest album, do you still consider Book of Sand to be a metal band? Or is it something completely different?

It doesn't matter. The atmosphere and the feeling within black metal are what I like, not the specific techniques; it's not crucial to me that my music have blast beats and tremolo picking. I try to keep that weird, eerie ambiance, but of course that's not only found in black metal.

To me, Skip James, Jandek, Sun Ra, Sofia Gubaidulina, etc also have that quality, as strongly as any of the black metal greats. I don't privilege metal over other forms of music. The feeling is what's important, and I'll use any genre I need to in order to try to grab it.

That being said, I still think my latest albums are black metal. The vocals and some of the guitars are genre-appropriate, at least, and I'm at least as misanthropic as your standard kvlter. "Black metal" is nowadays more of a marketing slogan than anything, anyway…

Do you see Book of Sand moving further into the avant-jazz direction presented on this album, or will it move back into the more traditional (in comparison) vein of your previous works?

Both. I have a lot of different musical interests, and I want to follow them all.

My sixth full-length is a collision between Javanese gamelan and black metal. Still looking for the right label to release this one. Next, I'll be taking on lite-classical and then playing blues-rock.

I noticed a brief mention of a yet-to-be-released album, Mourning Star, on your Facebook. Are you still planning on having it released through Music Ruins Lives, or have things changed since?

As far as I know, it's still in the works with MRL. There should be more information about this in January or February. That album has had a difficult life.

Your previous project, the enigmatic, experimental funeral doom Light, has recently seen a full discography re-release from the killer Crucial Blast label. What brought this about? Will there be any future work with the project, or have you abandoned it for good?

I had sent a demo of my second Book of Sand album to Adam at Crucial Blast. He was interested in doing something, and I thought he might find the Light albums interesting. He did, and so we did the re-issue. I'm quite pleased about it as the initial releases were very small quantities, and Adam did a really nice job with the packaging.

We had decided early on that Light would only do three albums, and so that was it. There won't be any more releases from Light, but I do expect to revisit the style. I'm still particularly proud of Worse than Anyone would have Expected, and I don't think I've reached the potential within that sound.

Emily, my bandmate in Light, is now playing drums in a crust/doom band called Ashen (Minneapolis), if you're interested in checking out what she's up to.

-Jon

Sky Burial Double Review

2012-01-10T16:57:00.003-06:00

It's that time of month.
Sky Burial - Aegri Somnia (2011) [Utech Records]
Aegri Somnia is beautiful. Something about the packaging (the intricate art? the near-wordless approach? the self-containment?) is the sort of album you want to keep in a carefully hidden wooden box. It's a treasure.
. . . That said, that's not the reason I put Aegri Somnia in my top-2011 post. It's not the only time I've heard saxophone mixed into ambient/drone music (I live in Bruce Lamont territory), but it's definitely a favorite to date. Sky Burial creates the wide-open spaces of Tibetan mountaintops without the lazy empty drone of some records--Aegri Somnia takes the meterless pulse of Sunny Murray's best work and opens it to the space of ritually powerful ambient space. Nik Turner obliges just as well. His weaving, soaring saxophone lines really come across as the spiritual aspect of prayer, flying frequently from low register up into altissimo ululations.
Aegri Somnia never feels like leaving, so as I do when I'm listening, I'll move on to

Sky Burial - Threnody for Collapsing Suns (2011) [small doses]
Threnody for Collapsing Suns is like the antidote to Aegri Somnia. While it works in much the same way (without, of course, Nik Turner), the resultant feeling is mourning. Throughout Threnody for Collapsing Suns, you can feel the abstracted mourning of the death of something with the kind of rarified beauty that can only exist far from air. Drones, whistles, hums, warbles, rhythms abstracted.
Fine showings over and over again.

-V.

Formication - The Eyes of Erodern Reviema (2011) [small doses]

2012-01-09T23:29:00.000-06:00

I'm not going to set myself out as someone knowledgeable on the subject of electronic genres. Formication, however, is certainly not exactly the dark ambient music that it seems to be billed as half the time.
While they use dark ambient sounds, Formication is almost more rooted in an understanding of all of the more personal, private sounds that have formed in electronica over the years, from Coil's more esoteric works to dub, IDM, and even the distant, unsettling narrative of Gnaw Their Tongues. While maintaining a consistent atmosphere of almost brooding determination, Formication from track to track use distinct sounds and distinct rhythms, as if to re-use anything would be a waste of time in a creative endeavor.

This is the sort of music that should be the centerpiece of a roomful of dark-clad, silent young men, who disperse without a word but with a solemn bond at the end of the night.

Servile Sect Double Review

2012-01-09T19:01:00.000-06:00

HEY GUYS, IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER DOUBLE POST.

In case you couldn't tell by my various Servile Sect reviews, and Cathasaigh's inclusion of TRVTH in his favorite records of 2011 (in hindsight, it should have been in mine, too), we here at The Inarguable are big supporters of cross-country duo Luke Krnkr and Nhate Clmnt. Recently we've gotten our hands on two massive Servile Sect-related releases, and instead of clogging your news feed with a gazillion new posts, I'm doing another double review, because in this economy we need to conserve what we can. Right? Right.

Servile Sect - "Realms of the Queen (LP Release)" (2011) [King of the Monsters]

As I'm sure most of you have gathered, I normally don't review re-issues. Maybe it's the constant flow of new stuff, or maybe it's that the material had already been reviewed, but, either way, I'll admire the new artwork, nod, smile, and move on. HOWEVER, when I opened the LP mailer sent by KOTM's Mike Genz, I let out an audible "whoa." There was a TON of work put into this, whether it be the "no-wave record found in my older brother's closet" artwork done by website favorite Kevin Gan Yuen or the clear/glow in the dark splatter vinyl.

Before TRVTH was released, Realms of the Queen was my absolute favorite Servile Sect album. Unlike TRVTH, Realms of the Queen is a much more homogenized recording, bombarding the listener with a simultaneous assault of strange psychedelia and raw, mid-paced black metal. Slowed down, sluggish drum machines, extraterrestrial synthesizers, blistering guitars, inhuman vocals: this is still the Servile Sect you know and love, though maybe a little weirder. If you can get your hands on one of the 214 (weird number) copies, available at the King of the Monsters webstore, be sure to listen to it in the dark, and never, ever let your gaze leave your turntable. What an experience.

Sadness Saturn/Golden Raven - "Split" (2011) [Handmade Birds Records]

For a band as enigmatic and strange as Servile Sect, it is extraordinarily interesting to see its individual parts at work. When he's not collaborating with fellow experimental artist Joshua Convey in ITHI (who have a new album coming out soon), Luke passes the time with his own "psychedelic alien black metal band" Sadness Saturn, whose She demo and split with Utarm receive constant play in my basement, and, when not jamming with Ash Borer, Nhate conjures intergalactic demons with his trippy noise/drone solo project Golden Raven.

Opening up the split, Sadness Saturn's take on black metal is a tasteful mix of tradition and extraterrestrial meditations. Opening up with the slow-paced weirdo black metal "Impermanence in Chains," what was once structured suddenly breaks down into engine noises, electronic beats, and discomfort in "The River of Self-Destruction." Although raw, these two tracks still carry the round, aged sound of previous Sadness Saturn efforts, if not a little clearer overall.

The four tracks on Golden Raven's side took a little more digesting to get used to. The sounds found here, though melodious and "pretty" in a weird sense, are a representation of the immensity of space and subsequent insignificance of human life. Somewhere between drone, noise, ambient, and field recordings from the "Aliens" set, Golden Raven's bizarre soundscapes are the perfect companion to Sadness Saturn's harsher, metallic offerings.

This split tape is Servile Sect dissected in some lab beneath Area 51. Each half's space obsession is wholly apparent, though what Luke and Nhate bring to the table is that much clearer, revealing a hint of method to Servile Sect's madness. Only 100 of these cassettes were pressed, so be sure to pick up a copy while you still can. SVRRENDER, Servile Sect's companion piece and answer to their monumental TRVTH will be unveiled soon.

-Jon

House of Low Culture - "Poisoned Soil" (2011) [Sub Rosa/Taiga Records]

2012-01-05T20:39:00.000-06:00

Continuing my recent series of "soundscape"-oriented reviews is House of Low Culture's challenging, yet rewarding, Poisoned Soil. Originally a side project of former-ISIS frontman Aaron Turner, House of Low Culture's bleak, noisy drone has boasted members the likes of Jeff Caxide, Jay Randall, and the drone superhuman himself, Stephen O'Malley. After a three year hiatus, Turner reformed House of Low Culture 2010, this time as a two-piece with his wife, Mamiffer's Faith Coloccia. After three splits with Mamiffer and a collaborative live LP with Japanese noisemonger Merzbow, House of Low Culture released their first full-length, Poisoned Soil, on November 30th, 2011.

In the vein of more recent releases, Poisoned Soil shows House of Low Culture moving further away from its harsher roots, embracing elements of otherworldly, guitar-led post-rock in conjunction with punctuated periods of grating feedback and cavernous, subsonic drones. The three lengthy songs of which this album is comprised are an adventure in semi-improvised guitar manipulation, cranky samples and electronic sounds, Gamelan-inspired loops, and dreamy, soaring ambiance, no doubt a by-product of Coloccia's inclusion to the project. Between all of these elements battling for its own representation in the foreground, Poisoned Soil's shamanistic journey is complex, labyrinthine, and, at first, difficult to digest. However, after many nights listening to Poisoned Soil, though I still cannot completely grasp the inner, variegated complexities of the album as a whole, I find the even mix of claustrophobic noise and relaxing, ethereal ambiance presented in this album to be some of the finest work Aaron Turner has performed in the underground, experimental spheres he now calls home.

-Jon

Ural Umbo - "Delusion of Hope" (2011) [Utech Records]

2012-01-03T20:39:00.002-06:00

I honestly have no idea how to categorize this album. As a "tag/genre nerd" who obsessively marks things as such on iTunes (553 separate classifications and counting), I've found Ural Umbo to be one of those bands whose tag area I have to leave blank. I mean, I could lazily leave them with a general Experimental tag like the one I've given this review, but sheer amount of ground international duo Ural Umbo have covered with their latest opus, the hypnotic Delusion of Hope, is enough to where I can suspend my near-obsessive anti-hobby.

I've seen quite a few reviews classify Delusion of Hope as a dark ambient record and, yes, at times, such as the eerie resonance of "Resinous Compound," there are elements of dark ambient, but, to be frank, this album is much too interesting to be classified as such. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Northaunt and Lustmord as much as the next (strange) guy, but your standard dark ambient album lacks the intrigue and immediacy set forth by the duo of Reto Mader (guitar/bass/kalimba/synth, also of Sum of R and RM74) and Steven "the busiest man in experimental music" Hess (percussion/electronics, also of Locrian, Haptic, Pan-American, et cetera). Songs like "Sych" give way to massive Tribes of Neurot-like tribal drum jams, and there are more than one occasion where Mader and Hess explode into mind-altering psychedelic jams and short, punctuated segments of analog noise. To put it lightly, this isn't your average drone record, or even your average record overall.

Ural Umbo's ingenious mix of aquatic unease with spectral dreaminess on the cosmic Delusion of Hope sets them on their own separate scale. Is it drone? Is it dark ambient? Is it noise? The hell if I know, but what is certain is that Ural Umbo is by far one of the most impressive, unique projects in the underground experimental scene. This stellar album is available as a clear LP + CD, limited to 300 copies, from the always fantastic Utech Records.

-Jon

White Ring - "Hey Hey My My + Felt U" (2011) [Handmade Birds Records]

2012-01-01T14:47:00.001-06:00

"Witch House" is a really hit-or-miss style. Though oOoOO's moody, Lucio Fulci-inspired gloom, Sleep Over's hazed electronic folk, and Salem's bass-heavy, gothic party music all call this newfound genre home, a more-than-steady flow of online mixtapes and compilations has shown "Witch House" to be, more often than not, awkward, hip teens with a keyboard, psychedelics, and an obsession with Microsoft Word's "webdings" font. Don't get me wrong, there are many gems, but, as research has proven, this "witchy" niche, which is already declining, making way for heavier, dubstep-inspired trash (icky), has been nothing more than a fad with a cool name. However, Brooklyn duo White Ring, with quite a few releases under their belt since 2009, has never failed to impress.

This two-song 12", released on the always-awesome Handmade Birds Records, opens with an odd, dreamy tribute to the one and only Neil Young. Though there is something to be said about a dark, electronic cover of rock anthem "Hey Hey, My My (Rock And Roll Will Never Die," complete with palpable irony, White Ring's incredibly deep, cough syrup-drenched homage is instantly memorable. Up next "Felt U," an original tune and a crowd favorite which took far too long to release. Again, the senses are bombarded with dreamy, drugged voices and enveloping synthesizers, this time accompanied with much more traditional, albeit minimal hip-hop beats. Is rock and roll dead? Vocalist K. Malia's shrine to Kurt Cobain might say yes, but, if anything, their cover only made things "witchier."

Hey Hey, My My + Felt U is the first release in Handmade Birds' White Label series and is available from their online store.

-Jon

DJ Edgar Hoover-The Ed "Duffle Bag Boy" Begley Jr. Mixtape

2011-12-31T21:49:00.004-06:00

DJ Edgar Hoover-The Ed "Duffle Bag Boy" Begley Jr. Mixtape

Driving into aMidwestern town is a bit like opening the first pages of a new novel. The dirty rustling and unknown sensationscome quick and hard, overwhelming until the psyche can adjust and realize thatthe new experiences are only old tropes warmed over. The stoplights you’ve seen before, thestorefronts merged into one inimitable mental rat’s warren, the colors ofmerchandise and gas station effluvia fluttering in front of your eyes in amyriad pattern you’ve seen ten thousand times before. You might hear a shout from a corner, theguttural howls cutting through the fog screen you didn’t realize had envelopedyour car until dirt started raining onto the hood.

Then it’s time torealize you’re not in the world you had assumed you inhabited. Your life and reality are at the beckon handof a madman, and the digital noise washing through your ears is nothing morethan a brilliant remixing of the fucked-up pop reality and arrogant washingmachine idiocy that grows like a tumor inside everyone that walks aroundyou.

DJ Edgar Hoover operates like aprism, skewing and refracting the idiotic modern hip hop of the club banger andtoasting it on Badalamenti’s Twin Peaks melody or letting it simmer onthe equally-idiotic Jimmy Buffet styling and chopped/screwed bullshit thatpermeates the internet. You’d doyourself good to learn some musical lessons from track six and realize that allmusic can smoosh together given the proper hand. Indeed, this whole album is alesson on not giving a fuck and twisting sound as hard as possible. That’s admirable in a world where everyonewants the new viral hit, and it means something to me that there’s some dude(because DJ Edgar Hoover is invariably a guy, argue if you want) sitting in hisbasement churning out fucked-up renditions of whatever falls into hishands. I feel a kindred spirit brewing inthis moron. He’s Everyman with asampler, pitchshifting and bitfucking himself to sleep because it’s the onlything that soothes his nerves. He mightwork a shit job and come home to a world he can manipulate; sound falls throughhis fingers and the canvas is your head.

This is digital idiocy and artfulness hewn large against abroader spectrum of blankness, the internet spewing weird and interesting shitlike this while also offering us a plethora of cat pictures and hentai. Listen with an open ear and discover new waysto hear music.

-Brandon

Willing Feet - "Willing Feet" 7" [Peace and Quiet Recordings"

2011-12-28T23:46:00.000-06:00

Remember the long rant about ambition in my recent review of Uzala's kickass debut? Well, ambition need not apply in some musical senses. Some styles are just too good or complete enough to where any experimenting or additions just sound like overkill, imbuing the musicians with the dreaded "trying too hard" status. Take, for example, the blackened punk style which happens to be found on Willing Feet's self-titled 7", released earlier this year: it is memorable through its true-to-genre simplicity. You don't need to venture out the rules laid down by the mighty Ildjarn over 15 years ago because it has enough power all its own. Why avoid experimenting? Well, to answer that question, I must ask another: have you ever heard of Canadian ska/crust punk/reggae/black metal band Leper? No, you haven't, and with good reason.

Willing Feet's latest 7" is great because it doesn't need to stray outside these "tried and true" boundaries. You won't find any pretty melodies or mystical atmospheres here, only pure, unadulterated hatred. Philosophy? No need. Trees and other nature shit? Forget about it. This is Ildjarn/Bone Awl worship at its finest. You want something blown out, stomping, and completely fucking pissed off? Check out Willing Feet.

-Jon

BLKHRTS-BLK S BTFL

2011-12-28T19:44:00.000-06:00

Dropping raspy flows over thick synth grooves and samplesfrom Warsaw and Eraserhead are surefire ways to get this indie hip-hop whore’stemperature up. BLKHRTS are a Denveroutfit that bill themselves as “Goth Rap”. While I’m not sure I buy that all the way down the line, it sure isrefreshing to hear a group that wears such odd inspiration on its collectivesleeve. Double-tracked vocals shift backand forth between minor-melodic piano lines, sandpaper beats and three MC’sthat are aware of their skills in a good way. There’s not enough work out there like this, with tracks like BLKHRT, BLK CTY showing off a stuttering drum line over washed out,early-era Goth synth sounds that lull you in until you realize you’re noddingyour head along with a Dirty South holler that would normally send you runningto your Dissection albums.

If nothing else, the only fault I can find in this album isthe rather uninteresting “party song” THS BLKHRTS PARTY which, while stillwell produced and rapped, just rubs me the wrong way. This is one track on the EP I know for surewould kill in a live show, but I can’t get behind it. The beat is thumpingly repetitive to thepoint where it loses its effect and drowns out the rest of the production andvocals. Fuck it, though. The EP is free, and this is a group thatreminds me a lot of Antipop Consortium (RIP), which is high praise from a guythat has every word of Arrhythmia committedto memory. BLKHRTS aren’t afraid to pushthe envelope and use sounds that are off-kilter and experimental while still holdingdown a three-man lyrical flow that would put other rap cadres to the test. Go get the EP and bang it in your mom’sCaravan.

-Brandon

Dallas's Top 10 of 2011

2011-12-27T00:06:00.003-06:00

2011 has been such a fantastic year for extreme music. No matter your preference, there has no doubt been something about which one can get excited this year. Disappointments have been few and far between, with a few obvious exceptions. Death metal especially has taken a big hit. Morbid Angel hit an all time low, Deicide struggled to reclaim past glory and, even though Disma's new album is great, it just doesn't say much about the current state of death metal when it's the absolute best thing the genre has going. With that being said, it's been a stellar year for black and doom metal, each with an abundance of worthwhile listens and several real gems. These are the albums to which I found myself listening the most, along with a quick word about each release.

10. Sourvein - "Black Fangs" [Southern Lord Records]
Growing up in South Louisiana, it's hard not to have a soft spot for some dirty sludge. I looked forward to Crowbar's newest to fulfill this craving but, unfortunately, I was left underwhelmed. Thankfully, longtime favorites Sourvein stepped up with a killer slab of heavy goodness which gave me exactly what I needed.

9. Disma - "Towards the Megalith" [Profound Lore Records]
While certainly not the most original album of the year, the huge sound and well-executed old school death metal made Towards the Megalith a pretty damn enjoyable listen. As a huge fan of old Incantation, I must admit I was expecting a bit much at first. It was only after coming to the conclusion that I really shouldn't be making such a comparison that I began to enjoy this more and more.

8. Endstille - "Infektion 1813" [Season of Mist Records]
Bombastic and absolutely brutal German black metal which conjures up an ungodly amount of sonic aggression the likes of which hasn't been done to this high a caliber in quite some time. The word "relentless" gets thrown around quite a bit but the term has rarely been more fittingly ascribed than with this album.

7. Loss - "Despond" [Profound Lore Records]
After thoroughly enjoying the Life Without Hope, Death Without Reason demo, I was excited to finally hear Loss's debut album. I wasn't let down, and, at times, I found myself getting goosebumps where the depressing walls of sound reached their peak and the bleak atmosphere really took hold. There is a very tangible feeling of longing and desperation found throughout this massive album.

6. Blut aus Nord - "777 - Sect(s)" [Debemur Morti Records]
Weird, abrasive, abstract... but, most of all, unique. This is a schizophrenic study in controlled chaos; insanity never sounded so good.

5. Autopsy - "Macabre Eternal" [Peaceville Records]
Eagerly anticipated and well worth the wait. This is what a comeback album should be.

4. Corrupted - "Garten der Unbewusstheit" [Nostalgia Blackrain Records]
Beautiful in its engulfing darkness, Garten der Unbewusstheit is the sensation of being swallowed up by a tsunami of grief. Legendary is an understatement.

3. Absu - "Abzu" [Candlelight Records]
With superb musicianship and a knack for what can only be described as "the epic and righteous," Absu's latest album furthers the legacy of their "Mythological Occult Metal" genius. Transcending any particular genre but pulling from many, this album is as fun to listen to as it is well written.

2. Mournful Congregation - "The Book of Kings" [20 Buck Spin Records]
Majestic funeral doom of the highest order and one very emotional listen. Mournful Congregation have become the pinnacle of their genre and continue to set the bar incredibly high with each new release. Slow and methodical but never stagnant nor boring, this is, in all honesty, not only one of the greatest albums of the year, but of doom metal in general.

1. Craft - "Void" [Southern Lord Records]
The triumphant return of a band who renews faith and lends excitement and vigor to a genre which has undoubtedly become a mundane and over-saturated pool of shit. With Void, Craft continues to embody the spirit and the very reason black metal appealed to me in the first place. While the legions of bearded flannel-wearers may not have much into which they can sink their teeth, Void is what it's all about.

-Dallas

GUEST INTERVIEW: Zero Tolerance vs. Botanist

2011-12-22T19:38:00.001-06:00

Botanist's bizarre, black metal-oriented music has caught the ears of more than just the underground with this hermit's first release, a compendium of his first two albums, titled I: The Suicide Tree/II: A Rose For The Dead, released on the always-great tUMULt records. Seasoned music journalist Nathan T. Birk, whose name you might recognize from his Zero Tolerance magazine, interviewed the enigmatic Botanist some months ago, but only a small handful of The Botanists responses were published. With the blessings of both Nathan Birk and The Botanist, here is the full, uncut Botanist interview.

Nathan: What came first, the moniker or the concept?

The Botanist: Ifyou mean the intellectual concept, the two were practicallysimultaneous. Names like Xanthostemon,Glycyrrhiza, Azalea, Nephrolepsis and Chiranthodendron inspiredcomparisons to the occult worship of entities like Nyarlathotep,Cthulhu, Pyrifleyethon, Azrael, Akhenaton, or so much of the familiarring that the band and stage names the black metal world comes up foritself can have. These associations came up enough that harnessingthe now-familiar theme of Nature worship in metal in a seeminglyuntapped direction seemed like the portal to an almost endless supplyof thematic inspiration.

Is Botanist a political entity? Or is the 'eco-terrorist' tag a joke on a joke (i.e. Velvet Caccoon)?

Mycontrarian nature makes it that I like having some fun even withinsomething that

isn'ta parody. I like Velvet Cacoon very much, and I find their odyssey of alternatingpropaganda and then anti-propaganda amusing and fascinating for whatit is, but there's no comparison to be drawn from that project'sexistence and the creation of Botanist.

Allof Botanist's songs are told from the perspective of The Botanist,a man of science who fears and loathes humanity for all its crimesagainst Nature. Because of his abhorrence, The Botanist lives inseclusion in a place he calls the Verdant Realm, where he surroundshimself with flora. He sits upon a throne of densely tangledVeltheimia and awaits the coming of the floral apocalypse, TheBudding Dawn, when humans will kill themselves or each other off, atwhich point the Earth can be reclaimed entirely by plants. TheBotanist does not sit entirely idly: his chronicles of the PlantaeWorld often feature how each specimen will help bring about thedownfall of man. He is directed on how and when to act by the voiceshe hears in his head, the voice of the demon Azalea, the equivalentof The Botanist's Satan. In this regard, the concept of Botanist iseco-terrorist; Not in a political sense -- as politics would favorthe cause of one group of people over another -- but in a blindlymisanthropic one.

Whilea song title like 'Gorechid' has a whimsical facet, it is alsoabout The Botanist's vision of the remains of mutilated corpsesrunning down orchids, saturating their soil, the blood feeding themvia the mycorrhiza. In The Botanist's world, this is the onlyfitting end for people.

So, why hammered dulcimer?

I'mprimarily a drummer. The music that flies around in my head is of arhythmic nature -- when I get a brainstorm or musical ideas arereally flowing through me, I primarily hear the rhythmic texturesand progressions, or at least get a sense of that element first.

Aninstrument that allows me to approach making melodies by hittingthings in time with sticks, allowing for application of essentialdrum rudiments and patterns, and where the possible pitches are alllaid out chromatically before me, is the kind of melodic instrumentthat will be the most intuitive -- it will provide the most directmelodic conduit between what spins around inside me and what is ableto be recorded.

Since 'I' and 'II,' Botanist has branched out to include, amongstothers, an instrument that most associate with rhythm, the bassguitar. At least from my perspective, the way a bass guitar providesrhythm and melody is foreign and awkward in comparison to adulcimer's: if you want a tone on a drum kit, you hit that spot.The same goes for a hammer dulcimer (although the margin for error isminute in comparison). While the bass parts turn out fine, they arealways supplemental or supportive: writing on the bass is not a meansfrom which inspiration seems to flow for me, while the dulcimer isthe polar opposite.

Sowhy not the xylophone, the steel drum, or the glockenspiel? It'show the hammer dulcimer is a stringed instrument, and as such yieldstones and chorused harmonies that evoke a more classical sound,something that might evoke a little piano mixed with a harpsichordand a classical guitar. Classical music, with its melodic andharmonic progressions, or at least my interpretations of it, aremajor influences in how Botanist's songs are composed. So, ofcourse, is black metal, as well as melodic drone... look for thatlast influence to play increasing roles in Botanist albums to come.

Black metal is at its most provocative when completely following the rules OR when breaking them completely, but rarely when between those two poles: discuss.

Somethingthat helped shape my view on art and its creation is the view oflimitations as tools, not hindrances. The idea that rules andguidelines are essential to force an artist to work on pushing theboundaries of those very rules and guidelines.

Botanist'sinitial chosen framework was to be within the realm of aggressive,metal-oriented music, and specifically black metal. That perceivedcanvas was chosen, as was the thematic concept, as well as thelimitations of using drums, voice, and hammer dulcimer only withinthat canvas, and then also how many layers of each would be allowedfor the records.

Whileit is a case of romanticizing to call the creation of the musicsummoning, it is actually the closest thing to the truth that I canconvey. The first attempt ever at a Botanist song is the first trackon the first record, 'Dracocephalum,' which heralds the rise ofthe beast of flora. After that song, and really after just about allof them, I had this finished piece, and in some powerful, wondrous,mystical way, I had no real idea about where it came from or how Imade it. Listening back to the records more than a year after theywere completed, when even the excruciatingly intimate details oftheir creation had began to fade from memory, allowing the music tobe perceived somehow more like another person's work, the musicseemed so weird and foreign. It was like an alternate entity withinme -- perhaps call it my summoning of The Botanist, or my channelingof what black metal is to me via my image of The Botanist, theVerdant Realm, and the glorification of the archetype of the splendorof Nature -- had been invoked to the result that you can hear on therecords. Part of that personal experience to me is comfortablyfamiliar, and another part, the one that is wholly other, thesubconscious unknown -- yet that is still a part of me -- makes myneck hairs stand on end.

Lastly, does Botanist have plans to play live? Or maybe already have?

Itseems unlikely that Botanist would ever play live. That's not somuch out of some notion that playing shows is counter-productive tomisanthropy, but more because where does one find hammer dulcimerplayers to play in a weird black metal band? (If Botanist did playlive, I would play drums and probably also do vocals). Take a look atimages of hammer dulcimer clubs around the country and check how manypeople you can see under the age of 60, and who don't play folkymusic. If suitable, interested people would manifest, then playinglive would be welcome... but considering Botanist was the catharsisthat rose out of the frustration of proper bands with actual otherpeople not working out...

Published with permission from Nathan T. Birk.

All questions posed by Nathan T. Birk.

All responses by Otrebor/Botanist.

-Jon

V.'s Top 10 of 2011

2011-12-22T19:12:00.000-06:00

Top ____ lists are an idiotic farce.Ain't nobody out there who has either the expertise or the taste tosay anything really meaningful. With the canon of "great art"throughout the ages so disputed, coming up with the best of a certainyear with only the resources of one pair of ears is absurd.

So here's an incarnation of ego-pushingdelusion.

10. Wormsblood - "Black & White Art forMan & Beast" [Brave Mysteries]

Wormsblood? Because I need my doses of"wait what the fuck was that noise" and I will not becontent without them. Conscious LLN for the new age. I could call it"consistently engaging exploration of timbre and intervalictempering," but then you'd laugh at me.

9. Sutekh Hexen - "Luciform" [Wands Records]

There are a couple ways we couldapproach Sutekh Hexen's LP "Luciform." I could discuss howthey've revolutionized the sound of black metal. But they haven't,really. Luciform reminds me of that Nightbringer LP from a few yearsago: absolute black metal built of giant spaces and night. SutekhHexen has a bit more of dynamics and different sounds, but it's allspace and darkness. Play it inside and the lights go out and the roombecomes miles larger.

8. Wreck and Reference - "Black Cassette" [Self-Released/Music Ruins Lives/Flenser Records]

Wreck and Reference's Black Cassette isright. It's that strength inside. It's music that doesn't have to bethought, it just is. Solid, noisy, black heavy everythings in agreater-than-the-sum mesh.

7. The Body/Whitehorse - Split [Aum War Records]

Faster The Body (crushcrushcrush) andWhitehorse is new on me, but "Fierce Reprisal" is theperfect blacknoisedoom punk companion to The Body, which makes itawesome. Destroy destroy destroy, lalala.

6. Mount Moriah - "Mount Moriah" [Holidays for Quince Records]

To call Mount Moriah a traveling recordperhaps doesn't make clear its strength. Just remember; I need thatengagement, just enough change, crativity, complexity and beauty tokeep me alive, content, thinking, and singing across thousands ofmiles of empty road past the beauty of great untamed fields. I'msorry that you folks in Europe are so crammed together. You'll haveto live with us to understand why this music is America.

5. Locrian - "The Clearing" [Fan Death Records]

The sort of language I mentioned aroundWormsblood is better suited to the new Locrian full-length. It's oldnews now that they're working with Steven Hess, who is something of amodern experimental mastermind (not just "a drummer").Hess' contributions, along with what I have to imagine is moreleisurely and better-equipped studio time, have made for a Locrianthat's not only a feeling, but development, flow, and, well, aconsistently engaging exploration of timbre, auditory space, andperfect understatement wrapped up in structure.

4. Wrnlrd - "Unknown Tongue" [FlingcoSoundSystem]

Wrnlrd has shown that all the thingsthat are great about "fucked-up" black metal don't have tostay in a little black metal cage and pander to black metal idiocy;they've taken all of those things, shed their black metal bits, andmade something worth listening to. Yes, this is an EP. It's importantenough.

3. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - "Wolfroy Goes toTown" [Drag City Records]

Wolfroy Goes to Town is lulling me. Notto sleep, because I daren't miss a moment of it, but I can't doanything but listen to it right now. I'm writing in the midst ofsketching out this list, and I'd like to check out some more of mymaybes, but God I have to keep listening to this.

Jon and I agree that this is the bestalbum Will Oldham has put out since The Letting Go, and its sparsitysuits it beautifully. Not only do hundreds of albums wish they couldwrite like this, probably even more wish they could sound this good.

Yes, I'm gushing. You would be too.

2. Low - "C'mon" [Sub Pop Records]

I know I'm at least the third personhere alone to mention C'mon. There's a reason for this. If you listento it, you fall in love with it. The only way to avoid this is byhaving a deliberately bad attitude, and then it's only a matter oftime. Like Drums and Guns, there're a few new sounds we didn't thinkof Low doing before, but the songs are perfect and there.

1. Haptic - "Scilens" [FlingcoSoundSystem]

Haptic is dangerously close to beingthe kind of meandering, meaningless series of sounds that alwaysdisappointed me in much of the old musique concrète scene. Butdamned if I couldn't listen to Scilens for hours. The sheer range ofsounds and structures that Hess and company make into their musicpulls me in and makes me feel an other-where that normally requires adamned good book. Top score not only for quality but for making melove something in a genre that nigh-always fails me.

Honorable mentions:

The Judas Horse - "Holy War" (Inherent Records): This is beautiful.

Peste Noire - "L'Ordure à l'état Pur" (Transcendental Creations): If they hadn't essentially done thisalbum before, it'd be better.

Rab'ha - "The Defiance Demos" (Small Doses): The world needs more realnoise/black/doom like this.

Nooumena - "Argument with Eagerness" (Antithetic Records): Really creative sound: sort of anUlver/Toby Driver blend.

Cara Neir - "Stagnant Perceptions" (Self-Released): Amazing stuff, all the more soconsidering the way it's made.

Sky Burial - "Aegri Somnia" (Utech Records): Sky Burial's ritual ambient wrappedaround the soul of Nik Turner's saxophone.

Botanist - "The Suicide Tree/A Rose ForThe Dead" (tUMULt Records): Because what is this. It's a bit toostereotypical and could have been made godly with more artistry.

-V.

Lantlôs - "Agape" (2011) [Prophecy Productions]

2011-12-20T23:26:00.000-06:00

Despite the name of the album (it'sGreek for “love”), Agape is one of the absolutely worstgifts you can give your loved ones for the holidays. That was meantin an honest, positive sense – while there are bands of greatertechnical skill and with superior songwriting, few bands can capturethe raw feeling of melancholy like Herbst and Neige have done onLantlôs' third album. Purveyors of cheer and joy will find muchto frown about, while Eeyores around the world will raise theirgoblets, declare the album a masterpiece, black out and wake up withspirit crushing riffs pounding in their head as they bend over greentinged toilets and puke out their Big Macs.

Agape feels like anexistentialist journey through one man's lows and lower lows. (Highshave no place here.) “Intrauterin” opens the album with ayawning, two minute-long void before exploding into Herbst's crushingriffs and Neige's wails of woe and black tides, alluding to thismystery man's struggle with his internal demons. Of the identity ofthese demons, we know little, but nearly everyone has them, whetherwith alcoholism, religion, family, love, and onward. Unlike thosethat break free, Lantlôs instead portrays one that has nearly thrownin the towel, ready to give up on all that he holds dear.

“Bliss” feels slightly moreuplifting, featuring the same minimal yet slowly engulfing soundhighlighted throughout the album. Feedback is used to wrap thelistener in waves of echoing decay and through mires of misery.Rather than whetstone-sharpened needles of agony and rage, Agapepresents us with a feeling of helplessness trapped in the wheel oflife, gently yet firmly pushing the listeners toward a hearse undergray skies.

“Bloody Lips and Paper Skin” is ablip on the album's otherwise depressing atmosphere – the man hasfound a ray of light, of whatever worth. If “Intrauterin” and“Bliss” is a fast-forward through pain, “Bloody Lips and PaperSkin” is where everything seems much clearer, however momentarily.It is the climax, where the slightly more positive vibe brought on bythe energetic guitars brings a sense of hope for the mysterious character. Yet this, too is an illusion, to be burned and discardedlike cigarettes.

“You Feel Like Memories” is thenext scene. A gentle instrumental for troubled souls, it is autumnwrought within four and a half minutes of calming post-rock-esqueguitar and the quiet taps of hi-hat cymbals. A house of cards aboutto fall, the withering of tree leaves, two lovers in a slowlyunlocking embrace – these are all appropriate scenes to describewhat the song captures the sense of.

The descent into despair reaches itsdestination on “Eribo – I Collect The Stars.” Here we haveNeige in his signature celestial dream-invoking voice so familiar tofans of Alcest. The guitars swell with power as the cruel feeling offinality is reached. The prominent, sparse ambience and feedback ofthe first songs comes full circle, and our anonymous protagonist hasgone from heavily depressed to utterly doomed. The only exit at thispoint is to beg and grovel for compassion from the increasinglydistant world – for agape. Nothing else is left but a shell of aman, for all of the color of his life has become gray.

Agape is composed of just fivetracks and the album only lasts just over half an hour, but the slow,barren progression of the composition and long song lengths can causeit to seem plodding and sluggish. It is not an album for sunny daysand frat parties (not even ironically), but when played on isolated nights with only cloudsand moonlight to turn to for solace, Agape proves its worth asan album for contemplation and the dark alike.

Prophecy Productions

-Shane D

Brandon's 2011 Year End List

2011-12-20T17:37:00.001-06:00

Whereto start? I have this problem where I’musually about two or three years behind on listening. The act of finding new music and thoroughlyconsuming it is almost a job in and of itself, and a lot of stuff slips throughthe cracks. I know that I’ve missedlistening to a lot of really “high-profile” underground (there’s an oxymoronfor you) releases this year, if only because they get lost in the generalclutter of all the music I do listen to. So, here’s my Top Ten for 2011: the releases that really grabbed myattention (in no particular order):

Hella-Tripper

A return to the days of “Hold YourHorse Is”, with Zach Hill and Spencer Seim absorbing all the layered productionof their full band albums like There’s No666 In Outer Space and distilling it into a dizzying tempest of paralyzingdrumming, nasty shimmering guitars swept and tapped into submission, andsongwriting that is at once hypnotic and infuriatingly tight. There’s no other band out there you could mistakethese guys for.

Cave In-White Silence

I’ve looked at quite a few earlyyear-end lists and not a single fucking one has had this album on it. What gives? Look, I liked Antenna and Iabsolutely adored Perfect Pitch Blackand critics loved both of those albums. You can’t tell me an album like WhiteSilence, being the flawless combination of both aforementioned albums,isn’t pants-shittingly good. And it is,which makes me wonder why so many people are sleeping on it. Alternately heavy and melodic, spacey andprogressive, it spans panoply of sound while still remaining unmistakably CaveIn. Get it.

Jay-Z & Kanye West-Watch The Throne

Two ofthe greatest rapper’s alive working on a joint album? Sign me up! It’s strange I never got into Jay until Danger Mouse’s The Grey Album. I guess it took getting his slick lyrics awayfrom the stereotypical rap production to really let me hear how great of arapper he is. Kanye killed me with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, sothe chance to hear the two of them work together is great. The production on most of the tracks isunmistakably Kanye, with the two trading verses over thick samples and synthpulses. It’s amazing to hear to artistsmost people pass over as “popular” make an album that is unapologeticallyweird.

Ulcerate-TheDestroyers of All

I wantto track each one of these bastards down and stab them all in their necks,collecting their lifeblood in a skull chalice. Then, when I’m done, I’ll drink their blood at a 1984 Slayer concert(having busied myself with inventing time travel while not occupied killing allthe members of a New Zealand tech-death outfit) and absorb the massive amountof metal power contained inside Ulcerate. If you’re a fan of shit that like, sounds really weird and hella sick,brah...then you’ll like this. Off-kilterriffing and tighter-than-a-nun composition melded with production that knowsthat Ulcerate operates as a unit. Eachsong is exercise in discord, and I love them all.

Death Grips-Ex Military

This.Album. Fucking. KILLS. Odd-ass beats(some provided by Zach Hill of Hella) and a downright scary MC who yells at youlike he hates your every breath make for one of the most solid hip-hop releasesin years. And it’s a bedroom tape! Weird, violent lyrics in line with Esham andThree Six with, at times, a much more poetic and expansive take onpsychedelia. One song is based around aBlack Flag sample, for Satan’s sake!

Yob-Atma

Thisalbum could have been titled ExplodingRiff Volcano Of Love and I’d still listen to it once a week.

Opeth-Heritage

When Ifirst put this on, I was honestly shocked. That’s the only reason this album gets on the list: I was in no wayexpecting the prog-rock explosion that obliterated all my preconceptions aboutpost-Blackwater Park Opeth intosmoke. Twisted, inventive, and nothinglike I’ve ever heard before.

Rwake-Rest

Alumbering, shapeshifting monster of an album that takes my mind places I’m notsure it was meant to go. I reviewed thealbum here on The Inarguable not too long ago, so why don’t you go check thatout? Go on, champ, run along. I’ll wait here.

Amon Tobin-ISAM

Tobinat his apex. A more organic, smoked-outIDM sound than some of his previous efforts with almost no overtones of drum n’bass. This album is one for late nightReddit sessions where you need something to keep your mind off the fact youjust saw something you can never un-see. Hauntingly beautiful, not to mention coupled with one of the mostinnovative stage shows ever (do yourself a favor and YouTube some show videosof the ISAM tour).

Batillus-Furnace

Soridiculously heavy and heartbreaking that, at times, it makes me forget whereor who I am. This album pounds thelistener into a semi-conscious zen state that is almost addictive. The opening crush of ...And The World Is As Night To Them drops my jaw every time Ilisten to it, and it only gets better from there. A world-altering album for me, absolutelyessential.

Honorable Mention: Mastodon-The Hunter, Blotted Science-TheAnimation of Entomology, Swamp Witch-Gnosis,Cloudkicker-Let Yourself Be Huge, Servile Sect-TRVTH

Bjørn´s Top 10 list for 2011

2011-12-20T00:34:00.001-06:00

2011 was once again a great year forMetal in my opinion. This year was more of a epic Progressive Metal,treasure and gem finding for me there have been so many albums andnew bands I have found this year than really any other so far I thinkI can safely say most metal heads have enjoyed this year becausethrough other metal heads I found some other nice bands but everybody was happy until Morbid Angel came along and shit on every oneshopes and dreams hmm. Well You will not find Morbid Angels new hipshit record if you want to call it that on my top 10 no.

1 Paul Wardingham - AssimilateRegenerate

There has not been a day I have notlistened to this album, It is a branching out on the style of ScarSymmetry´s Holographic Universe with not stop shred. Overwhelmingmelodic death metal and atmosphere. When I really lose my self inthis album I really do feel in some since colors on what they mightfeel like I mean shouldn´t epic space metal be like that?

2 Leprous -Bilateral

This was a very emotion provoking albumwith its different styles of music and mood changes.

One thought that came to mind when Iwrote my review for this album was it made me think of if ModestMouse did a extreme progressive metal album haha and I mean that. Ithink Frank Zappa were still alive to this day we would have lovedthis album. The band worked along side Ihsahn on this album so youknow there is some extra creative genius in there some where.

3 Mournful Congregation – The Book ofKings

It came as a shock to me that MournfulCongregation put out a new album on the 1^st of November itslipped right under my radar. Thankfully through our very own Jontold me about the albums release and I gave it a listen and I wasblown away It was a much better come back that their previous recordThe June Frost. The album is really dark and ambient.

4 Anubis Gate – Anubis Gate

I have only been into this DanishProgressive Metal act for about 6 months now This was a pretty commonMelodic Progressive Rock/Metal album but it made my top ten becauseeach songs moody segments where they kind of hit you hard in theheart if you really get into the progressive sine like I do and alsoHenrik Fevre´s vocals there is something powerful and magical abouthis vocal tone. This also being my favorite release from them by far.

5 Dystopia Na! - Syklus

I found this band while searchingaround on youtube just over the fall. It is a really moodyPost-Black/Doom Metal album and being really one out of a small handfull of post-Black Metal bands I like there are calm moments of newage atmospheres and melodic acoustic guitars and harsh slowed downblack metal this album a great gem for any post-Black Metal fan.Underground bed room Black metal at its best.

6 Andromeda - Manifest Tyranny

Another shock to see I am a big fan ofthese guys one of the best Progressive Metal bands to inspire memusically and lyrical and this album might be their heaviest album todate and maybe their darkest to the lyrical content which beingsubjects on the New World Order and all the problems that the worldis facing today. One thing I loved is through parts of some of thesongs they play clips of world leaders saying some really scarythings that really make you think is there really some one pullingthe strings in world affairs.

7 Scar Symmetry – The Unseen Empire

Ah yes another anti New World Orderalbum makes the list. I waited day in and day for this album to comeout and at first after listening I was kind of disappointed in it butafter I did my review and gave it a couple of more listens and itgrew on me. The two new singers had improved than the previousrelease Dark Matter Dimensions but I still think in some ways thatalbum is still a little better than The Unseen Empire, The lyrics tothis album when it comes to the subject matter more up front and outthere to say the least.

8 Taake - Noregs Vaapen

This one album I have been waiting forthis year and Taake always delivers the goods. They still remain tothe true Norwegian Black Metal sound though there were someinteresting influences on this album with the banjo, the albumbrought back memories of the old Darkthrone sound. This also was amuch better improvement than the previous self titled album Ithought. Also with the band only singing in Norwegian I found itinteresting that there was a english sound clip of a girl saying Ihope we have the coldest winter ever.

9 Shattered Skies – Reanimation

Wow a Djent band made my top 10 liststrange huh ? Well to say the least this Djent band Shattered Skiesis more Groove Progressive Metal even though some people say that iswhat Djent is any way but this does not have any break downs and lessof that bright Djent tone it is more melodic and colorful and thevocal melodies are just fantastic the production is ok but themusicianship makes up for where the production fails in my opinion.This group has a lot of talent and deserves a little more notice Iwill be looking forward from more from this band.

10 Galleon – In The Wake Of The Moon

One of my all time favorite if nottruly my favorite Progressive Rock band Galleon released this newalbum on the 26^th of November it caught me off guard sincetheir last album was released in 2007 it seemed like they wererunning out of ideas. When I got this new album I found it to be asmall come back to what they have done in the past or at least in themid point in their carrier. I did like every song on this album Mr.Murphy and In The Wake Of The Moon are my favorite songs by far. Ithink a little more could have been done with this album but thealbum is different in its self it has a lot of progressive rock andpop melodies mixed in every but still remains moody.

Runners Up/ Almost made it on my top 10list.

1 Abnormal Thought Patterns - AbnormalThought Patterns EP

2 Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn ofEvents

3 Devin Townsend Project – Ghost

4 Vintersorg – Jordpuls

5 Opeth – Heritage

What I hope for in 2012:

Well I hope to see some new stuff fromMirrorthrone, up coming music from Christian Älvestam, Soilwork, andI hope to God Winds puts out a new album in 2012 they are much overdo for a new release. Who knows what else is in store for in 2012when it comes to music only time will tell.

-Bjørn

Cathasaigh's Favorite Records of 2011

2011-12-20T00:00:00.001-06:00

I'm not going to make a year end list for each style of music I enjoy, there is just too much of it. One list for everything. These were my most-listened-to, hardest-hitting, deepest-impacting albums listened to in 2011, in no particular order [because it's difficult and ever-changing].

Midnight Odyssey: "Funerals From the Astral Sphere" [Voidhanger Records] - Few may recall an obscure Australian man releasing a pair of demos in the respective years of 2008 and 2009. The music contained therein was reminiscent of Limbonic Art at times, with its mid tempo, atmosphere-laden black metal accompanied by screams, howls and choir-esque vocals. For me, there was always something special about it, and I made a mental note to keep an ear out for future releases. Come 2011, out of seemingly nowhere, a brilliant double-album is unleashed. What we have here is a stark, personal affair with the celestial plane. At times, somber and isolated, which contrast against pure, sprawling beauty that expose the depth of the songwriter's psyche. The sound has grown significantly more dynamic and truly creates for the listener a magnificent experience.

Preterite: "Pillar of Winds" [Handmade Birds] - When I heard of the pairing of one of the two masterminds behind Montreal's Menace Ruine and Dystonia EK label-runner and abstract noise experimenter James Hamilton I become immediately elated. Following the direction of what Menace Ruine has been shifting towards, I knew a sound would develop within this new duo that would utilize Geneviève's illustrious voice. However, I was still profoundly surprised when I actually heard what they had done. Minimal, yet textured hymns awash with an austere performance from both members. This music is beautiful. Devastating. Ancient. A must have for fans of either member's projects or anyone looking for something fresh and unique.

Corrupted: "Garten der Unbewusstheit" [Nostalgia Blackrain] - On perhaps their most ambitious [and that is really saying a lot when talking about this band's work] effort to date, Japanese masters of the doomiest, sludgiest drone on the planet have created another devastating and lamentful piece of art. Known for their hypnotic, galactically heavy sound, the band starts things off slow, immersed in contemplation, this soon develops into the slow, inevitable topple of the world's largest monuments. The music has a very organic flow to it, steadily rising to climax until it explodes into the beautiful spectacle of blissful destruction.

Giles Corey: "Giles Corey" [Enemies List] - In this day and age, home recording studios have become almost a staple, often times producing bands and music that, for a reason, never made it into an actual studio. However, there does exist an idea contrary to this, home recording done right. The engrossing and thoughtful approach made by the artists amongst the roster of Enemies List Home Recordings is a testament to everything that home recording should be. Label-runner and extraordinary artist Dan Barret's heartbreakingly lonesome project, Giles Corey gave us a full album's worth of material this year, complete with a book, detailing his recordings of personal and depressive experiences. It's this kind of approach that give such massive depth to what this music is all about. This album is sincere and honest and not to miss.

Servile Sect: "TRVTH" [Handmade Birds] - It begins with the journey. Our mind is shot off to the far reaches of space and consciousness. Chemicals released inside and out. We gaze at celestial worlds and alien beings as we pass them by. And then, stillness. Tremendous Stillness. Servile Sect's records have always played out like a journey, or a trip perhaps. This time, we have the parallel's of their expertise divided in twain. Two sides of a chaotic coin, swirling masses of the black void, the ambient soundscapes are enthralling and unfamiliar, creating disturbing and wondrous moods. The more grizzly side hits hard with fast and intense black metal outbursts interspersed with sounds from the furthest reaches of the universe.

Low: "C'mon" [Sub Pop Records] - I have been a fan of Low for many, many years. The band has yet to release an album of subpar material, and their most recent output is not an exception. Here, we see a more pop oriented delivery on some songs, though the performance is just as genuine and artistic as ever. This is not to say we are withheld from the epicness that Low can achieve. Emotions of all varieties are achieved here, longingness, fear,joy. The band has always had a knack for their intimacy and C'mon really lets you see them in a new light.

Mournful Congregation: "The Book of Kings" [Weird Truth Productions] - This album.... What can I say about this album to attempt to give it any sort of justification? The kings of oppressive doom return with another output of emotionally crippling, despairful doom from the bowels of a chamber deep beneath the surface of the earth. As each elegant elegy unfolds, you become so absorbed within them that all else falls from around you and you and the music share an intimacy rarely found in today's commercially-drowning world. Agonizingly slow, yet beautifully harmonic, an epic masterpiece.

40 Watt Sun: "The Inside Room" [Cyclone Empire] - It is very difficult to talk about this band without bringing Warning into it. I know the two are meant to be separate entities but it's hard not to picture 4WS as more of an evolution of intentions rather than a new directional stance. The album encapsulates all of the honesty and sincerity that Patrick Walker is known for [both vocally and instrumentally]. Heartbreaking and yet, hopeful in a way.

Dead to a Dying World: "Dead to a Dying World" [Tofu Carnage] - This 7-piece neo-crust/metal band surprised us with a full length debut this year, featuring cello and upright bass, as well as the usual suspects. This band, however, attempt to pave a new way for crust. The album contains three long and structurally dynamic songs that carry us through the skies of a dying world. There is something wholly organic about their songwriting, which makes this a very interesting and intriguing listen. Their sound is clearly influenced by some notable crust bands as well as a post-metal mentality, but this record nay very well be at the forefront of breathing new life into the genre.

Ulcerate: "The Destroyers of All" [Willowtip Records] - This outfit from New Zealand has been constructing a temple since their creation. With each effort, the band manages to create a fresh take on their own brand of atonal, atmospheric death metal. Explosive with an ear for holding back until the time is right to unless a monstrosity. Sure, comparisons have been made [we don't need to mention them] but I, for one, think this band has a truly identifiable and unique approach to songwriting and sound.

Falls of Rauros: "The Light That Dwells in Rotted Wood" [Bindrune Recordings] - Falls of Rauros is a band I have been keeping tabs on for a number of years. Their gradually maturing sound reaching higher and higher bars with every release. On 2011's output, the band breaks through new levels of emotional headway with their warm folk and sorrowful black metal. The atmosphere is high, as is the energy, and this Maine outfit does a remarkable job of capturing the essence of the wooded-coastal environment of their home.

Honorable Mentions:
Aluk Todolo & Der Blutharsch and the Infinite Church of the Leading Hand: "A Collaboration" [WKN] - Groundbreaking neo-folk/martial-industiralists mix things up with French occult blackened kraut-rockers for a bizarre and unexpected journey into their strange, compelling world.

The Beast of the Apocalypse: "Henosis" [Transcendental Creations] - The one man band from the Netherlands unveiled a new chapter in his book on the inevitable decay of humanity. Chaotic, vicious and brutal blackened assault bombards our ears from the beginning to the very end.

Hateful Abandon: "Move" [Todestrieb Records]- A significant step forward from their debut release. Shows more promise, more direction and more anger.

Alrakis: "Alpha Eri" [Self Mutilation Services] - A mournful, romantic soliloquy to space and the stars. First official release from one man German band.

Esoteric: "Paragon of Dissonance [Season of Mist] - Powerful, intricate, crushing doom from the UK legends themselves. This album was fantastic, but in comparison to their last work, it fell just shy of extraordinary.

~Cathasaigh

Jon's Top 10 of 2011

2011-12-20T00:00:00.000-06:00

Rounding out an entire year in a few short paragraphs is rather difficult. As I write this, I'm scouring through all the reviews I've written this year alone (quite a few..feels good man), and I can safely sum 2011 up in one word: silly. In one year I have never seen so many stupid, polarizing events in the music world. From the public's TMZ-like obsession with Jef Whitehead's personal life or the outrage over Hunter Hunt-Hendrix's faux-philosophical Scion interview, it seems that metalheads, who seem to pride themselves on being "counter cultural," are preoccupying themselves with people rather than music. Why? Legal accusations and attempts at exclusivity via manifesto don't change the music at all, mutating the "why?" into a "why even bother?" Here is hoping 2012 imbues a little more class onto the general public.

Enough about silly, polarizing, trivial things in the metal spheres, because 2011 was pretty awesome for music. With labels like Handmade Birds, 20 Buck Spin, and Music Ruins Lives (among many, many more) churning out quality, personal releases. As far as I'm concerned, labels like these who take a personal stake in every single one of their releases are a positive sign of things to come. Such special attention given to smaller, otherwise unnoticed artists could (and probably will) lead to a greater public appreciation for original, heartfelt music made and produced by some of the most passionate individuals in the music scene. Major labels, take note, because this is how it's done.

A treatise on year-end lists: You will only see the word "crusty" used as an adjective in The Inarguable if and when the band I am describing is a crust punk and/or crust punk related group. It is a shame to see such a delightfully disgusting, genre-indicative word become a "flavor of the week" descriptive term. A word to the wise, Autopsy's new album isn't "crusty," it's fucking death metal. Stop it.

Now that I've bitched for far longer than I should have, here are my favorite releases of the past year.

10. Crooked Necks - "Alright Is Exactly What It Isn't" [Handmade Birds Records]
I waited four long, impatient years for this album, and, goddammit, the duo of Shane Church and Andy Krupinski delivered. Crooked Neck's unique blend of dreamy, subdued post-punk, pop, and black metal sensibilities is absolutely brilliant. A glimmering light in the "post-black metal" genre, in which I don't think Crooked Necks should even exist, Alright Is Exactly What It Isn't is one of those near-perfect, introspective albums which will never get old, or leave my record player, for that matter.

9. Cara Neir - "Stagnant Perceptions" [Self-Released]
Dallas, Texas duo Garry Brents and Chris Francis, with help from Phobia guitarist Dorian Rainwater, have unleashed a passionate, enraged monster with Cara Neir's sophomore album, Stagnant Perceptions. Brents's awe-inspiring fusion of dark, melodious hardcore with black metal is nothing short of masterful, and when paired with Francis's unabashedly pissed-the-fuck-off vocals, Cara Neir's excellent mix brings "blackened crust" to new, progressive heights. Brents and Francis's fearless, self-released masterpiece is proof that you don't need a label to successfully release a monumental album.

8. The Atlas Moth - "An Ache For The Distance" [Profound Lore Records]
I might not have been super into the more-or-less "traditional" bluesy sludge leanings of A Glorious Piece of Blue-Sky, but Chicago heavyweights The Atlas Moth have more than left an impression with An Ache For The Distance. As much doom metal as it is psychedelic pop, AAFTD is an exercise in taste, whether it be the three never-colliding guitars, the massive, yet easy-to-follow atmospheres, and the heady arrangements which make this album something to behold. I expect great things in The Atlas Moth's near future.

7. Low - "C'Mon" [Sub Pop Records]
Just a few days ago I was completely sure that Low's C'Mon wouldn't be one of my absolute favorites of this year. I found myself disappointed in their Neil Young-inspired folk rock direction, but, they're still my absolute favorite band of all time, so I felt extremely conflicted. Revisiting the album due to guilt, I suddenly realized I had absolutely every element of the album memorized. Memorized. Odd, I know, but I realized at that exact moment just how much I adore this album. Alan, Mimi, and Steve craft delicate, emphatic pop songs dealing with misery, uncertainty, and veiled references to Mormonism. A friend did them justice when he described them as "lullabies for adults." Gorgeous.

6. Syven - "Aikaintaite" [Vendlus Records]
Multi-instrumentalist A. Tolonen's triumphant return to the music world after the demise of his former project, Nest, Syven delves into shaman-like, naturalistic territory. Paired with extraordinarily talented vocalist A. K-S., this Finnish/English duo have unleashed the musical equivalent of Finland's deep pine forests. Mystical, haunting music, influenced by old shamanic rituals and Finland's ancient history. A necessity for any fan of neofolk or "ritual ambient," Aikaintaite has rekindled my love for the folkier side of music. Play this album through a good stereo, light some candles (or incense, if you're into that) and let Aikaintaite envelop you.

5. Circle of Ouroborus - "Eleven Fingers" [Handmade Birds Records]
Oh look, another duo! Esoteric, extremely prolific Finnish duo Circle of Ouroborus take black metal to a new realm with Eleven Fingers. The murky, bloated, underwater post-punk-meets-black metal sensibilities of Eleven Fingers sets Circle of Ouroborus apart from the crowd, drawing comparisons as distant as Boards of Canada or dreampop/post-punk favorites Lowlife. Eleven Fingers's round, unassuming sound and complacent, half-spoken vocals leads to a near-relaxing listen, which is a rare feat for black metal. Another stellar release from the band who never seems to sleep, Eleven Fingers is merely a sign of things to come from this cult project.

4. Mount Moriah - "Mount Moriah" [Holidays for Quince Records]
I absolutely love country music, and, if it were up to me, everyone would at least enjoy it. North Carolina "alt-country" group Mount Moriah, boasting vocalist Heather McEntire (formerly of Bellafea) and guitarist Jenks Miller (Horseback) among its ranks, have undoubtedly released one of the finest albums of 2011, even beating out Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, a personal favorite. A strong mix of foot-tapping folk rock and downtrodden, lovelorn ballads, Mount Moriah is one of those albums which will definitely stand the test of time. Absolutely brilliant, memorable music made by lovely people.

3. Mamiffer - "Mare Decendrii" [SIGE Records]
Maybe it's the music nerd in me, but I absolutely cannot get enough of this album. Chief songwriter Faith Coloccia's expertly crafted, piano-led music runs the gamut from post-rock to scholarly, heady modern classical music and Tuvan throat singing, all while retaining a flowing, thoughtful sound. Mare Decendrii is one of those albums you can listen to over and over again without ever losing interest; deliciously dark, but with gossamer strands of light shining through the cracks. As I had stated in my review way back in April, Mare Decendrii is a labor of love, and my sentiments haven't changed. A true artistic success.

2. Yob - "ATMA" [Profound Lore Records]
As far as I'm concerned, Yob is one of the absolute pinnacles of doom metal, and Atma only furthers that. Atmospheric, riffy, heavy, and wonderfully raw, Mike Scheidt's Yob has proven itself to be like a fine wine, ever improving with age. Atma's aggressive nature smashes the listener with an almost religious power. There is no other band like Yob and I doubt I would be the person I am today without their music. Yob will forever be one of my absolute favorites, and Atma has proven itself to be one of the absolute best albums of 2011.

1. Alaric - "Alaric" [20 Buck Spin Records]
I can't get enough of this album. An absolutely perfect mix of downtrodden post-punk and heavy, doom-laden metal. With their debut album, Alaric has proven themselves to be the proverbial dark horse this year, capturing many hearts (including mine) with their unique brand of music. Filled with infectious hooks and mighty choruses, Alaric is the soundtrack to the later years of a depressed, former punk-rocker. Alaric is, in my opinion, the uncontested champion of 2011. If you haven't heard it, you have absolutely no idea what you're missing.

Runners up:

1. Mournful Congregation - "The Book of Kings" [20 Buck Spin Records]: The kings of funeral doom lay waste to pretenders to the throne. Emotional, uncompromising, and incredibly crushing.
2. Panopticon - "Social Disservices" [Flenser Records]: Panopticon's finest hour, Social Disservices is a scathing social commentary on the shortcomings of government-implemented social services. A black metal masterpiece.
3. Heinali and Matt Finney - "Ain't No Night" [Paradigms Recordings]: A gorgeous marriage of "doomgaze" and despondent, self-loathing spoken word. Like anti-depressants, I would advise against mixing this with liquor.
4. Anatomy of Habit - "Anatomy of Habit" [Self-Released]: Another Chicago favorite, underground supergroup Anatomy of Habit's excellent mix of post-punk with experimental doom metal (more on the doom metal side for this release) has proven itself to be one of my favorite local releases.
5. Negative Plane - "Stained Glass Revelations" [The Ajna Offensive/Invictus Productions]: Is it death metal? Is it black metal? Who cares, it rules. Hail Satan.

Best demos/EPs/re-releases of 2011:

Since I don't really include the aforementioned release types in "Top ##" lists, here are some of my favorites, in no particular order:

Pg.99 - "Singles" [Robotic Empire]: The absolute kings of screamo/dark hardcore's singles get revamped by soundmaster James Plotkin. Naturally, it turned out great.
Thou - "The Archer & The Owle" [Robotic Empire/Gilead Media]: I wasn't too into Summit, but Louisiana's prolific doom squad did more than impress with this compilation of Summit session recordings.
Circle of Ouroborus - "Armon Keitaalla" [Self-Released]: This triple-cassette box sold out within two hours (and I didn't get one!). Heralds back to the more metal-oriented recordings found on their split with Urfaust. Circle of Ouroborus never fails to impress.
Locrian/Horseback - "New Dominions" [Utech Records]: The finest in the US's experimental scene team up to create one of the weirdest, coolest collaborations ever. Get this one if you can.
Locrian - "Dort ist der Weg b/w Frozen in Ash" [FlingcoSoundSystem]: A doomed cover of a Popol Vuh song makes perfect sense for Chicago trio Locrian, and the power electronics-meets-black metal-meets-folk B-side is even cooler.
Swamp Witch - "Gnosis" [Gay Scientist Records]: Tripped-out death/doom of the finest caliber with a surprisingly fun B-side. Keep these guys on your radar.
Wreck & Reference - "Black Cassette" [Self-Released/Music Ruins Lives/Flenser Records]: Initially true to its release namesake, this EP was re-released on CD by Music Ruins Lives and LP by Flenser Records. Eagerly awaiting this "electronic doom metal" band's debut full-length on Flenser Records next Spring.
Planning for Burial - "Late Twenties Blues" [Music Ruins Lives]: Excellently gloomy demos from this ambitious New Jersey-ite. If these are just demo takes, the next Planning for Burial album, tentatively titled Desideratum will be absolutely flooring.
Wanderlust - "The Glory of Memory" [Self-Released]: Riffs, and lots of them. You like early Satyricon? Well, you're in luck.
Botanist - "The Suicide Tree/A Rose For The Dead" [tUMULt]: Emotionally vacant black metal performed entirely on hammered dulcimer and drums.

THAT TOOK A LONG TIME TO DO.

-Jon

Uzala - "Uzala" (2012) [At War With False Noise/Witch Sermon]

2011-12-15T16:48:00.002-06:00

Nothing beats a solid doom metal album. Remember that time you listened to Born Too Late? Of course you do; the classics are untouchable, but one needs to remember just how ambitious bands like St. Vitus, Pentagram, Trouble, and Black Sabbath were (fuck it, are). Worship bands just don't cut it. I mean, sure, laying down a thick, Tony Iommi-inspired riff is one of the greatest feelings in the world, but, and I know I'm going to get ridiculed for this, it's been done before. It's almost as if the creative power found within the original doom metal masters of Tony Iommi, Bruce Franklin, Rick Wartell, and Wino Weinrich, among many others, never went past their generation. This significant creative lack leads to an overabundance of bands rehashing Master of Reality riff; every new band simply a blur of whichever other one was started last week. Thankfully, we have Uzala.

Boise, Idaho, newcomers Uzala, fronted by extraordinarily talented tattoo-artist-couple Chad Remains (guitars and "hellish vocals") and Darcy Nutt (bass and vocals), while still paying homage to where it is due, brings some long-overdue ambition to a style that is, frankly, stuck in the past. Warm, fuzzy, Sunn-head-into-Orange-cab guitars deliver a happy medium between spacey psychedelia, rocking riffs, and pummeling, ever so slow doom metal. Joining the ranks of fellow female-fronted doom metal bands as The Wounded Kings and Jex Thoth, Uzala's "modern vintage" sound is both oddly familiar as it is strikingly fresh, drawing upon signature, classic doom metal ideas and modern, expansive atmospheres. A creeping dream, Uzala might be gentle and slow one minute, but at any given moment could explode into a hellish, metallic groove. To put it frankly, Uzala is absolutely fucking sweet.

Uzala absolutely impressed me with their self-titled debut album, and instilled me with a little hope for traditional-leaning doom metal bands. Is ambition contagious? I certainly hope so. Be sure to pick up a copy of this stellar album on LP from At War With False Noise or cassette (with a special bonus track) from Witch Sermon Productions. 2012 is panning out to be a big year for Uzala, so be sure to keep an eye out for a 10" on King of the Monsters Records and a split with fellow "Gloomy Sunday" coverers Pallbearer. Things are looking good for Uzala, mighty good, indeed.

-Jon

Wormsblood - "Black & White Art For Man & Beast" (2011) [Brave Mysteries]

2011-12-14T12:50:00.000-06:00

Wormsblood has to be my absolute favorite "weirdo black metal" band. From my first experience with them, unknowingly seeing their first and probably only live appearance at the once-in-a-lifetime Matchitehew Assembly the summer of 2009, this group of proud Wisconsinites has been absolutely integral to my own musical evolution. Wormsblood's brand of drunken, sloppy, occult-oriented "blackened stenchcore" (what a lovely name) taught me that you don't have to record your best performance or release the absolute cleanest recordings to be one of the coolest bands around.

Recorded during the uncomfortable heat of 2009's all-too-long summer, Wormsblood's Black & White Art For Man & Beast proves itself to be this "supergroup"'s (Wormsblood boasts members of Burial Hex, Jex Thoth, and Kinit Her) most accessible and ambitious release yet. An eerie, chilling mix of sloppy metal, power electronics, neofolk, and the drunken ramblings of a madman of a vocalist, Black & White Art For Man & Beast is a display of unreleased tension, always bending but never unleashing itself. Wormsblood's raw, strange, oddly catchy tunes are the auditory equivalent of a coven of witches drunk on Black Minttu; awkward and clumsy, but still oddly enchanting.

Though Wormsblood's future is still unclear, the spells they cast via Black & White Art For Man & Beast are among the finest in the underground scene of bizarre, "outsider" black metal. A drunken meditation on magick, spiders, and old texts, Wormsblood has definitely "done it again." The Black & White Art For Man & Beast cassette is currently available in limited quantities from the always stellar Brave Mysteries label.

-Jon

Smohalla - "Resilience" (2011) [Arx Productions]

2011-12-11T14:58:00.001-06:00

I can't tell you how awesome it feels to review a real "post-black metal" album. It seems that, over the past few years, the term that was used to classify bands like Arcturus, Ulver, Solefald, and Sigh is used to classify black metal bands who use post-rock elements as a crutch to hide otherwise forgettable melodies. Chances are someone who had never heard Arcturus (wrong) noticed some band's post-rock and black metal elements and thought, "Post-rock...black metal....post-black metal? Genius!" The rest is history. With the re-connoting of post-black metal came a steep decline in chaotic, avant-garde inspired bands, but the few like Smohalla have kept the flame alive.

With their long-awaited full length, the magnificent Resilience, Smohalla lays absolute waste to the experimental underground. A meditation in simultaneous stylistic sound collage, at any given moment one might catch sonic glimpses of Romantic-era classical music, trance, 1950s alien movie soundtracks, jazz, and the ever-present metal base. Each listen of the heady, yet oddly catchy Resilience offers a new find, perhaps a layered electronic beat or a wild theremin track that was otherwise lost within the constant chaos with each new song. Resilience almost works like a puzzle, but the listener pieces it together over time. Never before have I listened to an album that yields so much discovery, and I absolutely love it.

A chief complaint I've had with what I consider to be "post-black metal" is the overall "circus" vibe bands like Sigh use, but fear not, for there are no clowns here. Resilience, if anything, sounds like a metallic translation of one of my absolute favorite albums of all time, Ulver's genre-defying Perdition City (frontman Slo's clean voice even sounds a bit like Garm's!). The jazz noir-oriented, "urban" atmosphere utilized by Smohalla on this album gives off an air of class, which is a quality many experimental metal bands seem to avoid.

-Jon

DOUBLE REVIEW: A Death Cinematic

2011-12-08T19:27:00.001-06:00

Instead of doing two separate A Death Cinematic-related posts, I figured I'd smash them together into one "super article" feature. THE NEW WORLD IS COMING.

A Death Cinematic / Ekca Liena - "Preternatural" (2011) [Small Doses Records]

You know the feeling where you get a split based on your love for one band? Well, my excitement towards Preternatural was fully rooted in my near-addiction to Michigan one-man act A Death Cinematic's post-apocalyptic, post-rock inspired drone. I'd heard some stuff about splitmate Ekca Liena, but not really enough to make me go out of the way to learn anything more. I would like to thank both Joe/Small Doses and K. from A Death Cinematic for giving me that extra push because, guess what, they've made an Ekca Liena fan out of me.

The swirling, ethereal drone that comrpises Ekca Liena's side is absolutely enchanting. Layers of shimmering guitar and organ meld together to make a dense, yet billowing layer of sound, over which delicate, hazy noise gently rests. It's quite beautiful, really, like a deep space meditation, surrounded by some sort of omniscient, celestial being. My first experience with Ekca Liena has proven to be both enthralling and enjoyable, which are two pretty good "E" words when discussing drone-related music.

A Death Cinematic's side shows K. moving into a harsher, much more raw direction when compared to the glimmering heights of his previous Your Fate Twisting, Epic In It's Crushing Moments EP. Thick, sharply distorted drone loops contrast very tastefully with elegant, spidery clean guitars, creating something akin to a raw Barn Owl or a melding of early-and-current-era Earth. The perfect soundtrack to your favorite Cormac McCarthy book; A Death Cinematic does it again.

Beautifully packaged in a "peekaboo" sleeve, you can purchase this wonderful split from the ever-awesome Small Doses, to whom I owe many a review. Sorry, Joe!

A Death Cinematic / Great Falls - "Split" (2011) [Dead Accents]

So apparently this split has been in the works since at least 2007, back when Great Falls went under the name Hemingway. I can only imagine the frustration of sitting on a release idea for four years, but, as they say, good things come to those who wait...and this is good.

A Death Cinematic opens this one with two lengthy tunes that are a little smoother than that stark tone contrast found on the Preternatural split. "Swimming in the Fires, Where The Oceans Touch the Sky" shows K. exploring a simple blues motif, bringing about mental images of dilapidated barns and barren, dusty fields. "Locust Clouds Have Taken To The Horizon" (I absolutely love these song titles) is a much noisier affair, featuring A Death Cinematic's first foray into heavy, plodding, almost dirge-like rhythms. Though not as melodic as his previous affairs, these two tracks show a great amount of evolution within the A Death Cinematic camp, and I hope these stellar elements are used in future releases.

Great Falls is the full-band project of the ever-prolific art mastermind Demian Johnston, who runs the Dead Accents label, is the sole contributor to the Dead Formats blog, and has, most likely, drawn the cover art to one of your recent favorites. Eschewing their usual The Word As Law-era Neurosis worship post-hardcore, Great Falls's mammoth "Mac Arthur Lineman, Wichita Park" is a hefty slab of sinister, noisy, droning doom metal. Chaos is the name of the game, with plodding, low end guitar, bass and drums acting as a rumbling undercarriage to guest vocalist Ajax Storm Wood's "lumbering giant roar" and crippling, dissonant synthesizer. I'm not quite sure if I'm right, but if I am, then Great Falls's half of the split gets the first (and probably only) "veiled Jimmy Webb reference of the year" award, rearranging his two singles "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park." I'm onto your crafty ways, Great Falls.

I don't think there are any copies of this one left, as most Dead Accents releases sell out within the first few days after release, but if you can get your hands on one of these sweet, sweet CDs...get on it.

-Jon

Rwake - "Rest" (2011) [Relapse Records]

2011-12-07T18:15:00.001-06:00

Rwake’s fearlessness has perched them at the forefront of a genre that’s sorely lacking in willful progression. They seem willing to immolate the bedrock sound crafted over four previous albums in order to hone the edge of their creative force, and this unpredictability makes Rest a hard listen to put a finger on at first. The moment you imagine you’ve grasped the slippery snakeskin that coats most of these songs and begin to probe into each, it slips and leaves you searching anew. Honestly, it’s surprising that, as a whole, Rwake’s newest full-length feels at all cohesive. Thanks to a subtle, compressed approach to recording from Sanford Parker all the sounds separate well in the mix and gel in the mind (headphones recommended). The sound and pacing on Rest are distinctly more intricate than their previous outings and the band benefits from this attention to detail greatly.

Rest is full of beautiful moments of contrast, musical set pieces that communicate the subtle menace that is Rwake’s trademark. Opening with a melodic acoustic piece worked to great (if not slightly predictable) effect on their 2007 effort “Voices of Omens” and Rwake employ the same strategy of juxtaposition here. “Souls of the Sky” is all layered melody, gently back-masked acoustic guitars melding with horns and echoed female vocals. Buttressed against this opening track, the petrified heaviness of “It Was Beautiful But Now It’s Sour” and its riff framework seem even more oppressive throughout it’s nearly-12 minute ride. CT howls like a mad preacher drunk on moonshine, extolling a stunning sense of loss that never seems forced or fake while Brittany counterpoints with her raw roar. “It Was Beautiful…” shifts and lurches, morphing from strung-out sludge laced with a Skynyrd-tinged lead to stomping dual-guitar, dual-vocal attack and out through oppressive leaden riffs. Each longer track is separated by one shorter (loosely speaking) track in a brilliant pacing that allows the listener some breathing room between epic walls. Centerpiece track “The Culling” clocks in at over 16 minutes and at no point drops into predictable boredom, showcasing more variety in one track than most bands are capable of over an entire career. The album closes with “Was Only A Dream”, which opens with one of the most subtly-epic guitar lines this side of Muse and blends aching harmony, double-stops, and twin-Lizzy guitar lines into full flare before everything falls apart in a blur of oppressive melody and sampled audio.

It’s this combination of oppression and melody that suffuses the album with a distinctly haunted flavor. You can feel the Arkansas heat baking the soil and cold nights alone in the woods huddled around a bottle, worrying. The sound of Rest marks an expansion, with all six members of Rwake working in a broad progressive interpretation of traditional “Southern Doom”, wrapping it in layers of psychedelia and brilliant instrumental work. No longer focusing on heaviness, Rest allows the hefty songwriting chops of the band to transport the listener into the glimmer of a flawed diamond: clouded and unclear with heartbreaking moments of piercing clarity.

-Brandon

Terence Hannum - "The Unholy Bow" (2011) [5nakefork Records]

2011-12-07T16:48:00.001-06:00

So, I must admit, I've never really...reviewed visual art before. I've written about the defining qualities of art in an educational, philosophical sense (back when I thought being a philosophy major was a good idea), but I've never been in a situation where I get to play the part of the dreaded, pretentious art critic and, to be completely honest, I have no idea what I'm doing. However, after perusing The Unholy Bow (it's technically a zine...do I underline it?) and doing a little soul searching, I think I might be ready to step up a bit.

Terence Hannum, whose name you might recognize from his work with the mighty Locrian, has published a small handful of visually striking, angle-worshipping (especially the sharp corners of the pentagon) artzines, each more haunting than the last. The Unholy Bow, Hannum's most recent offering, is a hyper-minimal meditation on what appears to be the natural asymmetry of human hair in a bowing position. An exquisite collection of drawings, poetry, and mirrored photo manipulation, The Unholy Bow is the perfect companion to a glass of red wine and your favorite Northaunt record.

4.25" x 6.88"
Perfect Bound Pocket Sized Book
White interior paper (60# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-color exterior ink
50 pages

Available from both 5nakefork Records and directly from Terence himself.

-Jon

Psychic Teens - "TEEN" (2011) [Golden Voyage Records]

2011-12-06T19:37:00.001-06:00

Jim Morrison would have made a great post-punk/goth rock frontman. I mean, when you think about it, Morrison's deep baritone and awkward, inebriated charm could have very well placed him among the Ian Curtises and Peter Murphys of the world, but he was born five or ten years too early. It's really a shame - I often wonder what "Light My Fire" would have sounded like with New Order as the backing band...and it would have been pretty awesome, but those are merely pipe dreams. Apparently Philadelphia post-punk group Psychic Teens felt the same way I did, because TEEN is as close to reality as my Morrison-related dreams will allow.

Somewhere between groovy, punky goth rock and industrial rock, resides Psychic Teens's infectious, bass-heavy pop offering that is TEEN. Described as "Jim Morrison fronting Head of David," the trio of Joe, Dave, and Larry rather effectively mix influences as far-reaching as The Doors-inspired psychedelic rock (Morrison's all over this review, isn't he?), noise rock, and maybe even black metal (check out the "almost blasting" climax of "YUNG"), all while sounding accessible and without that horrible conceit that plagues many "experimental pop" bands nowadays.

If you're in the mood for some zero-bullshit, solid post-punk/goth rock which lacks any pretenses (there's nothing as straight-forward as a crossed-out heart), Psychic Teens is definitely up your alley. You can stream TEEN (and buy stuff) at the Psychic Teens Network Bandcamp. If you need me, I'll be awkwardly "Ian Curtising" for the rest of the day.

-Jon

Ceremonial Disembowlment: Impetuous Ritual, Ritual Necromancy and Grave Upheaval in Las Vegas

2011-12-05T23:59:00.001-06:00

As I usually mention, most metal tours tend not to stop byLas Vegas, but in the past 30 or so days, there have been a slew of excellentshows. First, psychedelic doom band The Atlas Moth came by, then NYC doom bandBatillus, and finally, Impetuous Ritual, along with fellow Australians (andalso some Impetuous/Portal members) Grave Upheaval, and Ritual Necromancy, out of Portland, Oregon.

While the Atlas Moth and Batillus were both great, this showwas unparalleled (except perhaps in attendance).

Predatorial started the night with some local death metal,but of course, the real stars of the show were each of the touring bands.

Australian death metal band was Grave Upheaval was up afterPredatorial, and the audience was quickly submerged into hellish depths.Imagine walking through a graveyard, then the ground being uprooted frombeneath you, with skeletal claws pulling you underneath to some sort of ElderGods ritual involving a blood sacrifice, namely you, and you get GraveUpheaval.

Ritual Necromancy continued the aural nightmare perfectly,and although the earlier description could be used to describe RitualNecromancy’s music as well (though I suppose it all comes down to influencefrom Incantation, more then anything), it was still just as good, just asabysmal, and just as hellish.

While I hadn’t listened to Ritual Necromancy or GraveUpheaval prior to the show, I had repeatedly spinned Impetuous Ritual’s fulllength and debut Relentless Execution ofCeremonial Excrescence, and was really looking forward to them playinglive. If you haven’t listened to Impetuous before, think of Portal downtunedand thrown in a blender with some Incantation, maybe a little Gorguts, and someHP Lovecraft stories, and you get Impetuous Ritual, which might even manage tosound more outright evil then anyblack metal band.

The touring bands are continuing on to Rites of Darkness,which although has become quite a mess, will still be fucking great due to bandslike these.

More photos below the cut:

PREDATORIAL

GRAVE UPHEAVAL

RITUAL NECROMANCY

IMPETUOUS RITUAL

Architeuthis Rex - "Urania" (2011) [Utech Records]

2011-12-04T01:06:00.001-06:00

Throughout secondary school, my friends and I had an unhealthy obsession with the Architeuthis Rex, otherwise known as the giant squid. Aside from some grainy pictures and a select few passable videos, there is a significant lack of knowledge surrounding this deep sea beast whose mighty presence is the stuff of legend. I had always assumed that the mighty Kraken's truest form in music would be under the guise of the most crushing of doom metal, and yet I never really gave any thought to the more ambient, ominous side of music's worth in portraying this elusive creature's nature.

Architeuthis Rex, the latest musical incarnation of experimental artist Antonio Gallucci and his wife, Francesca Marongiu, takes on the more atmospheric, legendary, ominous representation of the giant squid with their newest full-length, Urania. A glorious, dense mix of dub, drone, krautrock, and heavy, synthesizer-led electronica, the duo of Gallucci and Marongiu's deep, oceanic music takes the listener to the very bottom of the Mariana Trench and, simultaneously, to the furthest reaches of deep space. At one moment Urania is a swirling mass of ambiance, and at the next a foreboding, grating meditation in distorted synthesizers and drum machines, Architeuthis Rex has taken on a much more diverse, but unified approach with this new album, and it is wholly rewarding.. Are there giant, galaxy-crushing squids in space? Logic says no, but Architeuthis Rex says yes, yes, yes.

Urania is perfect for those late nights where time seems to stop, or if you're into, ahem, certain "controlled substances." Dreamy, spacey, and oddly mystical, Architeuthis Rex have definitely carved a squid-shaped space in my heart in which they will reside for a good while. Utech Records (who put on an amazing festival this last July) did an outstanding job with packaging, as always, featuring the artwork of one Reuben Sawyer, professionally known as Rainbath Visual. Be sure to grab this - you will probably like it.

-Jon

Mueran Humanos- "Mueran Humanos" (2011) [Blind Prophet Records]

2011-12-03T16:21:00.001-06:00

What used to be will never be again, and what you used to enjoy just doesn’t look right anymore. Days begin to melt into one as you lose sleep and you really can’t figure out what you are doing half of the time. Often you catch yourself thinking about yourself from the outside and wonder why you just can’t figure out what’s missing. This conscious quest through the mundane and unexplainable describes perfectly the sound of Mueran Humanos self-titled full length.

Made up by Carmen Burguess and Tomás Nochteff, Mueran Humanos plays simplistic synth-pop heavily influenced by post-punk. The Argentine and German duo manage to create an eerie, often goofy, ambiance of melodies driven by groovy droning synth-bass lines and mechanical hip-hop inspired beats. It must be said that although I have mentioned it to be a dark and heavy album, this in no way means that the album itself is gloomy or depressing in anyway, but instead sarcastic. The simplicity of their song structures allows the group to create symphonies of mechanical fuzz through the many layers they add throughout each song, giving the group a unique attitude. With each listen you will begin to notice several of the disembodied sounds that hang in the back drop of your speakers behind the perfectly synchronized bass and drum combination that still gives the music its distinctive funky beat. Both Carmen and Tomás contribute vocals to the music, each voice creating a completely different character within the story being told by the instruments.

This is a kind of group that would fit in perfectly playing inside of hole in the wall surrealism museum, and if they have not yet someone should give them a gig. The mass amounts of synthesizers is surprisingly extremely enjoyable because they are used in the most minimal fashion and it is always nice to hear post-punk that does not sound like it’s from Manchester in the 1970’s. Mueran Humanos self-titled full length is an album that demonstrates that you can still have groove no matter how moody you sound.

-Julian

Syven - "Aikaintaite" (2011) [Vendlus Records]

2011-11-29T22:12:00.001-06:00

The days have inevitably grown shorter, the sun lazily rising much later in the day, only to retreat before the early evening. The Earth is shedding its vivacious fauna, only to cocoon itself in white, only to emerge anew the next season. The annual cycle is waning, and soon this year will pass on, making way for a new cycle and new life. The inevitability of the coming winter and the death of the old year is a powerful symbol for our constant fight against the threat of death. As we grow, our wills might grow stronger, but our bodies weaken with every new day and, while we might not consciously know it, we wage war against finality with every new second. We don't think about it, but we survive. Aikaintaite, the debut album of Finnish duo Syven, is a celebration of that survival.

The beautiful stylistic marriage of multi-instrumentalist A. Tolonen, formerly of Nest, and vocalist A. K.-S., who has an extensive resume related to the British "extreme doom metal" scene, has proven to be one of the most formidable seen in folk-related music yet. Now, I say "folk-related" because Syven has undoubtedly transcended the realms of folk and neofolk, presenting something much more introspective and primal, not to mention wholly unique. Tolonen's mystical, naturally resonant kantele, a traditional Finnish lap harp, acts as the instrumental centerpiece, utilized both as an atmospheric base as well as a medium for aggression (check out the distorted, almost metallic closing climax of "Tuulenvire" (Gust of Wind) to see what I mean). Thanks to Tolonen's work under the Nest moniker, the kantele has proven itself to be one of my favorite instruments, and his further experiments with the beautiful instrument with Syven only strengthens my obsession.

A. K.-S.'s magnificent voice is what truly places Aikaintaite on its own pedestal. Alternating between a strong classical voice, deep whispers, chanting, and animal sounds, K.-S.'s deep study and outstanding emulation of both modern and ancient styles of singing further Syven's more "genuine" sound. It is this deep, sorrow-filled voice that hearkens back to the glory days of Ulver and Empyrium, when masculinity and being in touch with one's spirituality were one and the same, something which many artists have seemingly forgotten nowadays.

A celebration of Finland's natural and spiritual heritage and its perseverance for thousands of years, Syven's Aikaintaite is a marvelous adventure through the snow-covered pine forests of the taiga. As picturesque and vivid as it is haunting and desolate, the seemingly perfect artistic union between A.T. and A. K.-S. has taken the worlds of folk and ritual-based ambient music to new, personal heights which will be exceedingly difficult to meet, let alone approach. Aiktaintaite will be available from the recently resurrected Vendlus Records on December 6th.

-Jon

WRNLRD - "Unknown Tongue" (2011) [FlincoSoundSystem]

2011-11-28T23:32:00.001-06:00

The enigmatic, bizarre WRNLRD has caused many a craned neck with their extensive back-catalog of angular, grating, highly experimental black metal, but nothing compares to this. Honestly, I thought that this Virginia duo (They're now a trio? You can never be sure anymore) couldn't get any stranger than the peculiar moments of atonal, mathematical black metal-meets-MIDI-saxophone found strewn throughout their fantastic (and FSS released) Death Drive EP, and yet, Unknown Tongue seems to top any of the most innovative, headache-inducingly bizarre music they have churned out in the past.

Why?

Well...this time around, WRNLRD has completely abandoned black metal for two surprisingly beautiful, calming, Christmas-oriented (though slightly inverted...check the upside down cross on the cover) songs, even going as far as to offer their own rendition of the classic German hymn Stille Nacht (Silent Night) and the more modern (as in it's by Blue Oyster Cult) Unknown Tongue. Beautifully arranged, yet almost randomly placed accordion pillows the listener, acting as a backdrop to the beautiful solo female voice (Buccinator?). One wouldn't expect beautiful Christmas songs from such a violent, caustic entity, but their sentiments towards the supposed Messiah are not lost within the music. With every mention of "Jesus" or "Christ" comes a sour note from the accordion, beckoning a short, deliberate section of disparate polytonality before returning to the uneasy beauty found within this short offering, lasting under ten minutes total.

Surprise?

Available as a free download from FlingcoSoundSystem starting December 1st.

-Jon

Wold - "Freermasonry" (2011) [Profound Lore]

2011-11-28T09:58:00.001-06:00

Looking back, I feel rather stupid that I left Wold out of my little introduction to "Black Noise," which I published a little over a year ago. From their inception almost twelve years ago, this mysterious Canadian duo has acted as one of the most glorious, memorable additions to the "black metal meets harsh noise" phenomenon that has oddly taken the underground by storm. However, I sort of see Wold has gone downhill from their 2008 effort, the extraordinarily harsh, but subtly melodic Stratification, gradually losing their edge with each new album, but such is the way of every band, it would seem. Ever progressing into more noise-oriented territory, seemingly abandoning more and more of their black metal sound with every new release, Wold is, sadly, losing their edge. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind listening to the predominantly noise-oriented Working Together For Our Privacy every once in a while, but Wold's new album, Freermasonry, is almost an unforgivable sin.

Okay, maybe it isn't "unforgivable," but Freermasonry has proven itself to be Wold's least interesting, most poorly performed offering yet. After reading that this specific album would be "entrancing" and filled with "vocal incantations," I was sort of hoping that Freermasonry marked a step back in the syrupy, keyboard-drenched direction heralded by the Badb demo and debut full-length L.O.T.M.P., but I my expectations couldn't have been more incorrect. Gone are the screeching, blown out walls of guitar and harsh, grating vocals, giving way to uninteresting, muddy, quiet rustling noise, not unlike the popping sounds of a bag of Orville Redenbacher in the microwave, and groaning, un-intimidating "screaming." The liner notes divulge that some songs even have extra guitar tracks, and yet I cannot distinguish any extra changes in texture. In fact, the entire album just sounds like it was recorded with a microphone buried under a pile of pillows and blankets. It almost seems that Wold isn't really even trying anymore. I mean, at least with previous albums there was a semblance of melodic motion, even if the guitar tracks were lost in a sea of post-recording distortion and extra heavy electronics, but Freermasonry lacks any of the subdued "musical" elements seen before. There is nothing on which I can grasp. At all. When I listen to Wold, I expect some shadow of black metal in the slightest, but this new album shows Wold turning into a noise band, and one without any intriguing textures at that. For shame, Wold... For shame.

Wold's Freermasonry has proven itself to be one of the biggest disappointments of 2011 (mind you, I wasn't expecting much from Ilud Divinum Satanas), not because of how unlistenable it is, but because it doesn't sound like Wold anymore. If I were you, I'd spend money on a copy of...any other album they've released. You might be interested in buying it if you enjoy punishing your ears, or if you're in need of making other music sound better. If you need me, I'll be wearing best frown while listening to L.O.T.M.P. on repeat.

-Jon

The Judas Horse - "Holy War" (2011) [Inherent Records]

2011-11-26T21:26:00.001-06:00

It's rather hard to pinpoint just what The Judas Horse is. At their heart they are undoubtedly a folk band, paying homage to the greats like Neil Young and the Carter Family, but there is much more going on under the surface. I've seen the word "slowcore" thrown around, and I can definitely liken the wonderful male/female vocal harmonies and the overall emotionally reserved, laid back style to the quiet sounds of bands like Red House Painters, and yet the driving, thick basslines are reminiscent of danceable post-punk that took the music scene by storm in the '80s.

Holy War shows the trio of Meghan Mulhearn (also of USX), Linn Rogers, and David Lynch (who has the greatest name ever, also of Enoch) exploring their various ranges of influence in a hypnotic, fluid sort of way that is highly indicative of the innovative Appalachian scene. Though the pulsating guitar and bass rhythm section has a wonderful, lulling sort of quality, I really feel that this short EP is centered around Meghan Mulhearn's wondrous, melancholic violin, which resides somewhere between sleepy bluegrass and "pioneer folk." If you're looking for an extremely relaxing, introspective, spacey album, Holy War is definitely for you.

What really struck me, aside from the music, was The Judas Horse's unconventional physical release of the EP. You won't find a CD, tape, or record here, rather a gorgeous, professionally done art print with a bandcamp download because, let's face it, people only want the physical part of a release to display while they listen to album rips on their computer. I hear an LP release is on the horizon, though, and you know I'll be all over that like stink on a mule.

Stream the Holy War EP here.

-Jon

Horseback/Pyramids - "A Throne Without A King" Split + Collaboration (2011) [Hydra Head Records]

2011-11-25T19:29:00.001-06:00

So here it is. Don't lie, you've been impatiently waiting for this all year, too. The (what can only be described as) epic marriage between two of the world's finest experimental entities, namely Chapel Hill, North Carolina's blackened psychedelic monster Horseback and obscure Texas acid post-rock entity Pyramids. After what was initially supposed to be just a 2x7" split + collaboration, ISIS/House of Low Culture mastermind Aaron Turner and his wife, Mamiffer's Faith Coloccia, added just enough "awesome" (and enough time to make it an LP + 7") to make A Throne Without A King one of the most intriguing releases of 2011.

Did I drop enough names to get your attention?

Part I: Horseback/Pyramids Split 7"

Opening with a split between the two artists, a canary yellow 7" displays both Horseback and Pyramids's most experimental, bizarre sides yet. A-side monster "Thee Cult of Henry Flynt," named for one of the most pessimistic philosophers to grace this Earth, grips the listener in a vice of screeching, frozen black metal, only to drop him into a vast tundra of, you guessed it, ice and fog. Though "Thee Cult"'s introduction might elicit comparisons to bands like Krallice, mainman Jenks Miller's immense creativity still sets aside yet again, making sure to crane necks with each new development. After an initial explosion of caustic, free-drums, Pyramids's "Phaedra's Love" descends into a beautiful-yet-offsetting world of bowed glass and chimes, ebbing and flowing between curious dissonance and ethereal, harmonic grace. Glorious, hidden voices and mysterious piano dance about the crystal landscape, only to be disrupted by charging, industrial drums. It is beautiful. It is destructive. Neither Pyramids nor Horseback can disappoint.

Part II: A Throne Without A King Collaboration LP
Approaching collaborations is a difficult task, especially if you've grown fond of both contributing entities. There are so many things that you would want these artists to do, but you can't really...expect anything. Maybe those artists had something else in mind. Collaborations are there to break the mold and help artists grow from one another's influence, after all. A Throne Without A King is one of those collaborations. You won't hear Horseback's groovy, blackened space rock or Pyramids's jilted, black-metal-by-way-of-post-rock romance, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. Together we see these artists coming together to create something that might be more in tune with the works of, say, post-industrial wizard Steven Stapleton or drone monolith Gas. Backed with punctuated, treated recordings of kitchenware percussion and heralded by ominous voice cuts, A Throne Without A King is definitely more of a noise or drone album which, as weird is it is to say, didn't really do much for me on the first listen...BUT, with each new listen, more wondrous subtleties emerged from the unfamiliar, glassy landscape. It's those subtleties on which this collaboration is built, and it's those subtleties that make this collaboration something to behold. The quiet, intonated feedback that hides just behind walls of calming noise, or the deep, almost inaudible, welling, omnipresent bass. Some people might say that progressive rock is the thinking man's music, but this...this really makes me think.

-Jon

Abnormal Thought Patterns – Abnormal Thought Patterns EP [CynNormal Lab Recordings] (2011)

2011-11-19T17:42:00.001-06:00

This new up coming project was just brought up to me just yesterday I heard the teaser for this album only yesterday and I my jaw dropped to the floor ! This is the work of Troy and Jasun Tipton brothers and Mike Guy of Zero Hour. This EP is a crazy 20 minute face melting technical shred-a-thon and by far the best work out of all 3 members of the band. The EP fuses Shred, some elements of extreme metal, Instrumental music, unheard of time signatures, and colorful melodies. My first thoughts upon hearing this EP was this was like if Bottled Science and Rusty Cooley snorted a line of coke and Dream Theater being the line of coke and then Bottled Science and Rusty Cooley picked up their instruments and started playing. The bass solos on this EP are fantastic nothing but sweep picking and crazy tapping patterns the first track The Machine Within is a good example of this. The epic four part song Velocity and Acceleration is a great show case for the members to show off their talents and upon listening to each part you can get a feel each songs ways of expressing the ways of technical playing and melodic phrasing working hand and hand. Ulnar Nerve Damage is 51 seconds of bass shred and listening to it for the first time Less Claypool came to mind. The final track Electric Sun is my favorite track on this album the drummer is riding on the cymbal while he plays a slightly off tempo quarter note hit on the high hat, and while the rhythm guitars beat along with the bass drum, the solo is on this album plays mostly through out the song it is a very simple lick hearing it Steve Vai came to mind, and also through out the track while each part is played this is a light atmosphere synth pad that acts as a filler. The production of the Ep is what one might come to find in a just about every Progressive Metal band as far as mixing and mastering go. The EP was mixed by Dino Alden who also plays in Zero Hour and works with Marty Friedman and mastered by Alan Douches who has worked with Between The Buried And Me, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. These project will not disappoint ANY fellow guitar player, drummer, or bass player or really I would think any one who listens to this because these guys have so much talent and they know how to use it. These guys really do deserve some mainstream success. If you are interested here the teaser for this EP give it a listen !-Bjørn

Faded - Subconscious Infiltration (2011) [Failed Recordings]

2011-11-19T12:12:00.001-06:00

Faded's second release (after a split with Gravebound) is quality. I'd love to hear this (hardcore) band open for Samothrace. They're together and focused and they know how to write with nuance, dynamic, and movement. Despite in all probability not knowing Samothrace exists (if their thrash sensibilities aren't lying), they've managed to walk the same line between rock-tonality and tertiary harmony, with the same atmospheric finesse. And they've done so while retaining a dedication to the fast-heavy of hardcore and thrash and a strong touch of Slayer's structures in the slower, more atmospheric sections of the tape.

The production is nigh-perfectly done and suits the band extremely well. It's warm and heavy and perfectly displays a range of complimentary sounds and dynamics, enough that I have no doubt Faded can reliably perform this way live. It's too organic to have come as the result of studio experimentation.

This is a great release and I'm looking forward to further developments. Hoping to hear some crushing heaviness carry over their slow work and a greater portion of the fast destruction they do so well. Check out Failed Recordings and Inherent Records to get yourself a copy; this is tape 51/100. Stream at fadedhc.bandcamp.com.

-V.

Leprous – Bilateral (2011) [InsideOut Music]

2011-11-18T00:51:00.001-06:00

Avant-Garde Metal at its best, I mustsay! I got hooked on these guys about a year ago searching onprogarchivesand these guys are for sure extremely original with each album theyhave put out.

Bilateral is hands down their bestalbum to date even though it is only their third release, these guysare very much unbelievable Progressive music lovers and the firstthing you will hear stick out with this album is the crazy fuckingamount of Frank-Zappa influence, and the epic progressive traits inthe Avant-Guard style you know and love ! The opening trackBilateral, once you have listened to that track you can get a littlesample of that the whole album is like in some what of a nutshell.There is also some light hearted indie rock and some post rockinfluences on the album as well which at times remind me of ModesMouse right before they get into the more hard rock/metal momentswhen they come about. Also if you have not ever listen to this bandyou will soon hear the very same vocal tone of Johnathan Davis ofKorn in the singers voice and also at times I.C. Vortex for instancewhen you listen to the first track in the first opening 8 seconds youwill know what I mean or if you just listen to the album or any oftheir past efforts. There is some 7 string guitar parts in there butthey are not the death metal temelo picking blazing around on that 7string riffs NO the riffs they use on the 7 strings do play aroundon the 7^th string but they more used in the way of likesomething you might hear in a hard rock band except on Waste of Airthey do get pretty progressive death metal like.

The overall atmosphere and feel of thealbum is pretty progressive but yet very kind of artsy when Ilistened to this band and this record alone I always kind of picturedlistening to it in a caffe shop at times at least for a lot of thekeyboard atmosphere parts and the post rock parts. Also I would liketo point out that the key board parts remind me a lot of the lateOpeth style and the other all feel of the playing of them in some ofthose softer songs kind of like taking acid and listening to a PinkFloyd album. Come to think of it on Bilateral this is a prettybalanced album though there is more slower parts on this album unlikethe previous two records which were pretty heavy. Ihsahn did someguest vocals on this album as well and produced the album the otheryou get into this album you will be able to tell that this does soundlike a Ihsahn produced album with production quality and otherthings. I would like to point out that the members of Leprous areIhsahns fill in band for when he plays live with his solo project andupon listening there is no doubt he made a good choice in pickingthese guys because the musicianship very tight the flow of the bandis very organic but still have has some technical characteristicsthere playing.

I think with this album they can reachout to people who are fans of non metal music. I do think this istheir best record to date and I can´t stop listening to it ! It ispretty impressive stuff these guys are really original and theirmusic should have no problem winning you over.

-Bjørn

Year Of The Goat - 'Lucem Ferre Of Darkness' (2011) [Ván Records]

2011-11-17T20:29:00.001-06:00

I am so confused by this... yet, I absolutely LOVE this.

Ván Records always been one of my favorite record labels. They've released countless masterpieces throughout the years (The Ruins of Beverast, Kermania, Graupel come to mind immediately). Known mostly as being a black metal and doom metal label, they've proven themselves to know what quality is.

Year of the Goat is a band I am unfamiliar with thus far. It sounds completely different from anything I had yet to expect from Ván Records. However, despite my immediate confusion that something like this would come from this label, I am very pleasantly surprised. This music is incredible, and is giving the perspective that Van Records not only knows quality music in certain subgenres of music only, but in others as well.

The music can be best described as modern rock and roll with a somewhat bluesy/backwoods twist, picking up where the 70s occult rock boom left off. With a somber and melancholic atmosphere, yet variations in pace and beat, we are treated with a very full album. It is an up-front and bold album, melodic and moody in nature, but thankfully not weepy or boring. Excellently-placed guitar solos, strange effects and backup chorus vocals all fill what could otherwise be gaps in the sound, and the end result is a very full-sounding band.

One thing that fascinates me about music like this is how unsettling it can be in the most subtle ways. Black metal, for instance, can be as Satanic as possible and evil sounding as possible, yet that essence in and of itself will make it unsurprising. You expect it from twisted music like such.

However, with music like this, the melodic nature and clear vocals just make the lyrical content that much more sinister. If someone's screaming and it sounds dark, of course you would expect it to sound dark.

With this music, it's almost like your mother and father are matter-of-factly telling you that you were actually born in a witch coven.

Highly recommended for those who want something familiar, yet different.

-Elan

Neige et Noirceur - 'Hymnes de la Montagne Noire' (2011) [Sepulchral Productions]

2011-11-17T20:25:00.001-06:00

Best album cover of 2011?

...I sincerely feel bad for any black metal listener who has not yet listened to Neige et Noirceur.

The project's brand of oddities, perfectly-fitting synth passages, and always-appropriate production styles blend together to make for a texture of music that can be called upon on any occasion. This album is no exception.

With probably the most interesting vocals I have heard since the last Blackdeath album, as well as unpredictable guitar work that will make you want to put the album on repeat, this album is taking the project into a forward-charging territory. Neige et Noirceur is sure to become one of the fore-runners of where I believe the genre needs to go. This isn't 'post-black-metal', and it also is not 'primitive black metal'. This is just pure, dark, strange, and obscure music for those who form their own path.

One thing I cannot get over in this album is the absolutely spotless blending and marriage of all the different sound textures. It is seldom that I can say that any passage in this album sounds mismatched or out of place. This is probably the most fascinating thing about this album... its ability to be unpredictable, yet make absolute sense. It sounds familiar, yet new. It is actually quite refreshing to listen to, which, after the week I have had, is doing quite a lot for me.

That, and it just sounds so darn good anyway.

I'm going to be listening to this one for a while. I tip my hat to you, Neige et Noirceur.

-Elan

Forteresse - 'Crépuscule d'Octobre' (2011) [Sepulchral Productions]

2011-11-17T20:23:00.001-06:00

Forteresse is a Quebecois band which has been able to somehow pull off what many bands cannot do: use a pre-existing style, not alter it too much, and somehow end up with a sound that is recognizable.

In this new full-length release, this band has done what it has done before, only with better production. This can mean one of two things... that their fans will be satisfied with the same kind of material that they were expecting from the band, or that their sound could become redundant with each album.

Nevertheless, what we have here seems to be a solid, lengthly arrangement of musics tied together with rustic-sounding soundclips and spoken word passages. The drumming sounds more tight and interesting than ever before, the vocals seem to be howled densely between many sonic walls of reverberation, and the guitars are enough to hypnotize the listener into a strange, pensive state.

Overall, I personally see this album as very specific in the sense that it must be listened to upon the right state of mind. It is as orthodox as it is unorthodox... a taste acquired and fleeting all the same.

Any way you look at it, though, there is always time for some new Forteresse material. Certainly worth a listen for folks who wish to charter the direction in which black metal is going in the new age.

-Elan

Cara Neir - "Stagnant Perceptions" (2011) [Self-Released]

2011-11-14T16:36:00.001-06:00

Garry Brents has to be one of the most talented, if not most versatile musicians in the United States. Since his first public musical activity in 2005, Brents has participated in projects ranging from heady, brutal death metal to delicate, nostalgic electronica. With every new project just as good, if not better than the last, Brents's deep understanding of music consistently shines forth, each time with a newfound sense of maturity and depth. Now I, personally, have been waiting eons (well, since 2009) for new Cara Neir material, having been thoroughly impressed with this Texas duo's eclectic mix of grinding black metal and ethereal, atmospheric sludge, but, with Brents recent veering into the esoteric realms of post-rock and electronic music, it was hard to tell how that would manifest itself.

With their new album, Stagnant Perceptions, the duo of vocalist Chris Francis and instrumentalust Garry Brents bring forth a visceral combination of equal parts black metal, dark hardcore/grind, and Document #8 era pg.99-obsessed screamo. Though, at this point, Cara Neir is undoubtedly a black metal band, there are some portions of this album where they could easily be mistaken for a straight-up, stomping grindcore band, which is oddly fitting, due to guest spots on eight tracks by none other than Dorian Rainwater (whose name you might recognize from grind greats Phobia and Noisear). Alternating between melodic majesty and stomping rage, Stagnant Perecptions show Francis and Brents bringing forth their clearest, darkest efforts, and it shows. Cara Neir's near-schizophrenic approach to "blackened crust" or "blackened hardcore" is a manic affair, lurching at the listener with teeth bared.

I might have only had Stagnant Perceptions in my possession for a little under a week, but I feel it's already earned a place in my "favorites of 2011." The fact that a band can bring together so many different sounds, appealing to Darkthrone, Gridlink, His Hero is Gone, and Funeral Diner fans alike, and still sound cohesive is a laudable feat. As it is with every Brents-related release, Stagnant Perceptions is available for free from their BandCamp, but if you're feeling generous, you can try and purchase one of the fifty available copies here.

-Jon

Dolorvotre - "Dolorvotre" (2011) [The Ajna Offensive]

2011-11-08T20:06:00.000-06:00

If you pay attention to the underground black metalscene, then surely by now you’ve come across the Black Twilight Circle in somecapacity, whether it be the name itself, a name of one of the many bands (ormembers) that make up the group and so on. If you follow The Inarguableregularly, then you probably saw the photos and live review from a couple ofshows earlier this year.

With theexception of a couple Ashdautas releases (which was prior to all the otherbands/projects coming about), and the Black Twilight Circle comp released inmid 2009, there haven’t been any other CD releases until now. The AjnaOffensive decided to remaster (if you could even call the initial tape “mastered”)the Dolorvotre release and release it in CD form at 300 copies, and will lateron release it in vinyl format as well.

The self-titled Dolorvotre tape was originallyreleased sometime in the beginning of the year and has gone through a fewrepresses (as practically all BTC releases have) since then. The project isheaded by Eddie (aka Volahn), the de facto leader of the Black Twilight Circle,and what seems to be the mastermind behind a large majority of the work producedin the BTC, as well as a member of nearly every project. Juan (frontman of Arizmenda,and also part of a good few other projects) supplies drum work, as well asguitar, backing vocals, and keys, while Eddie does vocals, bass, and alsoguitars, keys and drums.

Like most Black Twilight Circle projects, Dolorvotremanages to stand on its own, and sounds quite a bit different from the otherworks. The intro starts us off with a short acoustic bit, accompanied first by someominous keys in the background, and then just seconds after, ghastly wails andtortured screams. The next track, Brilliant Brightness, sends us off into thehellish, hallucinogenic induced world of Dolorvotre, and continues for nearly40 minutes. The sound is still a bit muddied, but much less so then in the taperelease. The drums, guitars, vocals and so on are quite distinguishable – a firsttime in a BTC release? Possibly. Moreso then the tape? Definitely. I can evenmake out the bass lines.

The lyrics, although indistinguishable as withalmost all black metal vocals, lend perfectly to the music and atmosphere. Hereare the first few lines of Brilliant Brightness for an example:

Awakenedin a pool of piss,

retch& broken glass

Nightsof violence, sex, drugs...

Rottedguts - charted lungs

Inand out of consciousness

Poisonmushroom distorted thoughts

Drownedin currents of alcohol

Deliverus

Hopefully that delivers the point.Though if not, it can be seen with the song titles alone (“L.S.D.”,”D.M.T.” and so on).

So, if you’re a fan of the BlackTwilight Circle, make sure to check this release out, or maybe wait a couplemonths if you are a wax enthusiast. If you’ve been avoiding BTC releases due tosound quality and so on, well, now you no longer have an excuse. It’ll beinteresting to see whether or not The Ajna Offensive, or any other labels,pickup and remaster and release any of the other releases. It’d sure be nice tohave them on vinyl, but the additional sound quality is just as good of areason as well, though some may prefer the murkier, muddled atmosphere of the tape version of the release, but at least now you can choose between the two.

The album can be purchased here: http://www.theajnaoffensive.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=1609&category_id=7&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=31

-Chase

Lost Tribe - "Lost Tribe" (2011) [Blind Prophet Records]

2011-11-08T19:09:00.002-06:00

Darkwave, peacepunk, goth rock, post-punk - call it what you will, but this year, as I have mentioned in just about every review, has been the year of post-punk's strongest presence since the 1980s. Thanks to wonderful labels like Sacred Bones, Fan Death, Music Ruins Lives, and Blind Prophet Records, we music fans have been lucky enough to have a constant flow of forward-thinking, gloomy post-punk, each album perfect for staring at the floor, shifting around uncomfortably.

Richmond, Virginia's Lost Tribe continue post-punk's triumphant year with their absolutely killer, self-titled debut LP. Not unlike stylistic kin TSOL, Lost Tribe take a much more aggressive approach towards this glum style, injecting a hefty amount of d-beat-inspired mayhem to juxtapose catchy basslines and complacent, lazily shouted vocals. As if a small legion of angry, black leather-and-spike clad crust punks woke up with a gnarly hangover after a night of drinking to forget and decided to record a short burst of gnarly, aggressive, and catchy hardcore punk songs, Lost Tribe have unleashed an absolutely killer throwback to hardcore punk's former days of glory (with some of the coolest basslines this side of Geezer Butler).

Available now from Blind Prophet Records. Grey vinyl's all sold out, but that doesn't mean you should miss out on this monster.

-Jon