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Label : Big Cat UK Records
Catalog# : ABB 62 CD
Country : UK
Released : 1994
Style : Hardcore, Industrial, Avantgarde, Contemporary Jazz
Tracklist :
01 On All Fours
02 Body Horror
03 Tunnel
04 Lazarus
05 Voodoo Head Blows
06 Bloodstream
07 White Pimp Cut Up
08 Driving The Demons Out
09 Gold Teeth
10 Detox
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Label : Coptic Cat
Catalog# : NIFE004CD
Country : UK
Released : 2009
Style : Neofolk
Tracklist :
01 Invocation Of Almost
02 Poppyskins
03 On Docetic Mountain
04 26 April 2007
05 Aleph Is The Butterfly Net
06 Not Because The Fox Barks
07 UrShadow
08 As Real As Rainbows
"Tibet’s mythology grows more and more esoteric with each album, a blend of his own internal imagery and biblical terror (stemming from his ongoing obsession with scripture and study of Coptic in order to get closer to the source). “Almost in the beginning was the murderer” states the child’s voice at the beginning of the album. From here on in, everything explodes as one of the best line ups yet for Current 93 let rip. Alex Neilson’s drumming sounds like thunderclaps at the end of the universe as layers and layers of guitars, feedback and distorted vocals tear through reality. During “On Docetic Mountain,” fragments of the familiar folk strains haunt the works of Current 93 swim through the surging pulse, creating a thick and disorientating experience which brings to mind Thee Silver Mt. Zion at their most raucous. Bill Breeze’s viola and John Contreras’ cello sound almost regal amidst the grinding fuzz that the rest of the group are pouring out. Later on, the rock swamps everything; guitar solos that can only be described as shambolic, face melting blasts of white heat cut through a doom-laden riff on “Not Because the Fox Barks.” There is a first time for everything in life and playing air guitar along to Current 93 is one of them.
With no particular focus beyond a general feeling and Tibet’s vision(s), Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain sticks out like a monolith in Current 93’s canon. Fears that this album would be a disparate work breaking under the weight of Tibet’s many collaborators were completely unfounded. Andrew W.K. and Sasha Grey may be famous for things quite different to Current 93 (as every single article or Internet discussion related to this album seems to dwell on) but they sound as home here as any Current 93 regular. Grey’s detached vocals on “As Real As Rainbows” are a world away from her usual performances (researching for reviews can be a very tough job) and she provides a sober and melancholy ending for such a vivid and energetic album.
Aside from some of the electronics and effects dotted throughout Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain and the knowledge that it is just out this week, it would be difficult to place this album in time. It could easily be one of those obscure gems that was on the Nurse With Wound list; in fact it sounds almost like the perfect lost treasure from rock’s past. “26 April 2007” has a desert rock vibe but instead of the The Eagles and images of the great plains of America, the music instead conjures up visions of dusty vistas in northern Africa with wanderers trying to find their way back to Eden.
James Joyce once said: "It took me ten years to write Ulysses, and it should take you ten years to read it." While I am not going so far to say (yet) that this album is of the same magnitude as Ulysses the principle holds true here as Tibet and his colleagues have put two years of hard work into making this album the monument it is. Steven Stapleton and Andrew Liles have worked their wizardry in post-production to create the layers of sound that form the base of Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain, the level of detail buried in the mix is astounding. With each listen there are further revelations, a warped David Tibet as backing vocalist here and a loop of noise there. I imagine that it will be some time before I have exhausted all of the album's secrets.
With an album as epic as this, it is virtually impossible to sum it up succinctly. It is awesome in that from the opening moments to the dying seconds, I am taken aback by the intensity and conviction. As a listener, Aleph at Hallucinatory Mountain drains and exhausts; that Tibet can pull so much emotion from his soul and still function is nothing short of astonishing." Brainwashed
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Label : Ant-Zen
Catalog# : act 172
Country : Germany
Style : Rhythmic Noise, Tribal, Industrial
Tracklist :
Le 25ième Degré
1-1 Tenet(s) Of On
1-2 Ma/i/nomai
1-3 Taninim
1-4 Doublelionrouti
1-5 Naasseni
1-6 (The) World Tree
1-7 Tsidii
1-8 ~Aemae/ea/th~
Le 33ième Degré
2-1 Eleggua
2-2 Osain
2-3 Agayu
2-4 Osun
2-5 Yemaya / Olokun
2-6 Ibedyi
2-7 ~Oddua~
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Label : Ant-Zen
Catalog# : act 178
Country : Germany
Genre : Electronic
Style : Dark Ambient, Experimental
Tracklist :
01 Les Manuscrits De L'Invisible [Chapitre Un]
02 Your Dark And Ghostly Guidance
03 Les Manuscrits De L'Invisible [Chapitre Deux]
04 Reaching Out From His Watery Grave
05 Les Manuscrits De L'Invisible [Chapitre Trois]
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Label : Cyclic Law
Catalog# : 25th Cycle
Country : Canada
Released : 2009
Style : Dark Ambient, Modern Classical, Industrial
Tracklist :
01 Jävla Psykopat Kärring (Värre Än En Horunge)
02 Asuntovaunussa Huoraamassa
03 Slöddret Måste Bort
04 Loppuun Nussittu Avioliitto
05 Har Du Horat Runt På Campingen?
06 Nyt Tulee Kirvestä; Perkele
07 Hyi Helevetti (You Are A Whore And Will Always Be)
08 Skitfolk
09 Knulldate
10 Solmu On Solmittu
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Label : Killer Pimp
Catalog# : PIMPK010
Country : US
Released : 2009
Style : Dark Ambient, Abstract, Drone, Experimental
Tracklist :
01 This Room Seems Empty Without You
02 Lost & Losing
03 What I Wouldn't Give To Feel Alive
04 In Crowded Rooms, On Empty Streets
05 What Stays And What Fades Away
06 Himmelschreibende Herzen
"Dead Letters Spell out Dead Words is the moniker for which Swedish sound artist Thomas Ekelund records under. His Gothenburg-born project belongs to a fairly small yet growing genre of artists who create minimally glitchy melancholic electronic experimentations. The project found its birth in 2000 with Thomas' own label Fukk God Lets Create which itself saw only a few CD-R releases before becoming a netlabel. It met its end not-so-recently in 2004 after changing its name to Fukk Tapes Lets Erase which, thankfully, got out of the digital revolution and back into the days of tapes. After his first 3” CD-R on Dreamland Recordings and a split 7” with Modernart, Thomas finally got his debut with one of the labels sharing release duties on this record pair, iDEAL Recordings. In 2004, this album, 11 Instances of Dead Letters+Words found its way to light through Thomas' own unique style of Musique Concrete and field recordings from Gothenburg. After this point, DLSODW went on to work with a regular mountain of other labels releasing a giant backlog of music from every medium one could imagine though I'm fairly certain he never saw vinyl larger than a 7” until this point in time, a cornerstone in the career of any artist.
This fourth full-length of Thomas' came about a year and a half after he was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, though it was actually composed approximately 6 months prior to the evaluation. He went into some melodramatic details in the promo sheet to make it sound immensely desolating, however, knowing several people with related diseases myself, I know that it can be quite debilitating. Instead of embracing outward, the mind curls inward to the point that two faces of one person often become apparent. These faces could be seen as represented here through the parallel of electronics experimentations / dark ambience and more structured depressive guitar melody-driven tracks. The 7” itself opens with This Room Seems Empty without you, which turns out to be a fairly structured track in the beginning, focusing on a depressive guitar melody over top a monotone single-note bass line that simply fills in space. The track generally progresses to a point where the production becomes the main elements as the bass begins having heavy volume swell properties and the guitar melody itself gets chopped and mixed with muffled bass drum kicks to give it the experimental electronics effect. Even with this chopping effect, however, the song stays fairly structured and retains it depressing qualities. Lost & Losing begins immediately with electronic fiddling instead of leading into it. This track is far less structured and primarily features a phasing guitar background drone that would remind some of effects commonly used in shoegaze like Projekt artist Love Spirals Downwards.
The LP opens modestly enough with a humming guitar and low-end melody paired with the scratch of fingers over a guitar string. Eventually, the evolution of the track brings about more high-end melodics. This track marks a change in mood, as it seems more hopeful or reflective than it does sad. Droning onwards for six and a half minutes with this same melodic line, you can feel the wavelengths bring about thought in your own mind. Crowded Room opens up with a bit of dark ambience, what some could consider 'corridor sounds', the dripping and clicking of stones through electronics. Subtle layers of guitar and bass help fill the void far in the background though. The clicking and dripping is eventually overtaken by a lush layer of guitar hum and more reflective melodies, though there is a rather annoying high pitched electronic sound with these melodies that makes them hard to flow into. What Stays and what Fades Away follows suit with much the same, just without the lush layers. This track is pretty much straight drone. The longest track on the whole thing, the monster Himmelschreibenden Herzen, or Sky-written Hearts, is next and clocks in at just under 19 minutes total. Opening ominously with some seriously disturbed dark ambient and putrid sounding effects, we slowly climb into an epic display of guitar / synth drone with a repetitious pattern in a minor key. The slow but bombastic drum in the far background beats gently with a crack on the third beat of each measure. I'm not sure how such a title for a song could end up being so epic musically as it certainly doesn't sound like the image that the track name brings about, but it surely is perhaps the best song on Lost in Reflections.
This is the limited CD-R promotional copy so I can't really fully speak on artwork, but I can give an idea based on the CD-R edition itself. The front of the outer sleeve features a dark metting table of 5 gentlemen from what looks like the 50's. Perhaps they're politicians but they also look like younger men, perhaps college students. A strongly conservative picture regardless with a dark overtone. The back is completely barren with the exception of the small label notices at the bottom and top left corner. The inner sleeve holds nothing up front but has the track and vinyl information on back as well as explaining that this is a limited CD-R promotional edition. It also gives the recording information. All in all, a bleak and somewhat cryptic artwork. If you want the full picture though, you'll have to get the vinyl. I can't really speak for it here. Nonetheless, I think the music within grants any fan of minimally melodic drone or heartfelt dark music in general a purchase. Too many audio experimentalists try too hard to get outside the box and end up making music that sounds like nothing of structure. For once, perhaps its time to enjoy an artist who uses minimal experimentation in a minimal way. Its not perfect, but its a fantastic release nonetheless!" Heathen Harvest
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Label : Type Records
Catalog# : TYPE038
Country : UK
Released : 2008
Style : Shoegaze, Drone, Ambient, Experimental, Post Rock
Tracklist :
01 Disengaged
02 Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping
03 Stuck
04 When We Fall
05 Traveling Through A Sea
06 Fishing Bird (Empty Gutted In The Evening Breeze)
07 Invisible
08 I'm Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill
09 A Cover Over
10 Wind And Snow
11 Tidal Wave
12 We've All Gone To Sleep
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Label : Punch Records
Catalog# : PP006
Country : Italy
Released : 2004
Style : Ambient
Tracklist :
01 Umbra Praeteritorum
02 Ripetizione Non Attiva Di Moduli Di Agitazione
03 Synthetic Sadness
04 In Morte Veritas
05 Through Pluriverse
06 Senso Di...
07 Il Premio Della Vita: La Morte
08 Baratro
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Label : Hau Ruck!
Catalog# : HR!92
Country : Austria
Released : 2008
Style : Blues, Down-tempo, Southern Rock
Tracklist :
01 Corruption Is The Currency
02 The Crossroads
03 Your Dogs And Your Lynchin' Mob
04 Nailed To The Mast
05 The Eye Of The Hurricane
06 The Palace Of Pain
07 Down To The River
08 Blue Eyes And Codeine
09 A Scar Called Hate
10 Come Ride With Me
11 The Rooster And The Crow
12 Just A Drowning Man
13 Rainin' In My Heart
14 The Drugs In Your Veins
15 Killer's Kiss
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Label : Discriminate Audio
Catalog# : DA-VN05
Country : US
Released : 2008
Style : Rock & Roll, Chanson, Pop
Tracklist :
01 Contact
02 Sunset Strip SS
03 Rocket USA
04 Bubblegum New Forever
05 Going Steady With Peggy Moffitt
06 Bonnie & Clyde
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Label : Prophecy Productions
Catalog# : PRO 087
Country : Germany
Released : 2007
Style : Industrial, Modern Classical
Tracklisting :
01 Ophis Puthôn
02 A World In Their Screams
03 Ondes De Sang
04 Le Dévoreur
05 Le Fleuve Infini Des Morts
06 Je Rassemblais Tes Membres
07 Stasis
08 Borée
09 La Carrière D'Ombre
10 J'Ai Touché Aux Confins De La Mort
11 Urserpens
"Seeing this release in my review pile took me way back to the mid-90’s during a period when I was living on a friend’s floor in his halls of residence at university. He introduced me to a load of great music. One CD which always stuck in my mind was Elend’s first release Leçons De Ténèbres. For some bizarre reason I never ended up hearing anything else from Elend after that.
Elend were formed in 1993 by Iskandar Hasnawi and Renaud Tschirner, the duo later joined by keyboardist and programmer Sebastien Roland, and a shifting array of supporting musicians and singers. Between 1993 and 1998, Elend produced the Officium Tenebrarum trilogy before going on hiatus. Their return to the project in 2003 saw the beginning of a new trilogy known as The Winds Cycle. A World in their Screams is the final release in this cycle.
From the moment the melodic voice at the start of the CD gives way to the darkness of the rest of Ophis Puthon, it’s clear that this is an album that demands attention. With a dramatic fusion of traditional classical instrumentation and noise elements, the listener is taken on a dynamic ride. The sonic winds carrying the listener through the eleven tracks, to bombastic heights, threaten to overwhelm and devastate before dropping at points to moments of stillness with whispered lyrics or melodic choral sections. To name a particular track that stands out from the rest is difficult with such a unified set of compositions. If pushed I would have to say Je Rassemblais tes Membres for it’s range, it’s intensity, and creative blending of all the elements found throughout the rest of the CD.
Elend’s 13 years of experience shines through in their masterful compositions, the sense of unity across the whole album, and the quality of the lyrics. Being thoughtful enough to provide English translation for ignorant plebs like me (to be found on the download section of their website), I can only imagine the power and beauty of these words in their native tongue.
For anyone with any interest in neoclassical, avant-garde, or soundtrack genres, this album is an essential purchase. I can’t wait to lay my hand on the first two albums in this cycle to give it context. A World in their Screams will be on heavy rotation in our house for a good long while I suspect. Do yourself a favour and treat yourself to Elend’s music." Heathen Harvest
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Label : Type Records
Catalog# : TYPE 009
Country : UK
Released : 2006
Style : Modern Classical, Ambient
Tracklisting :
01 Lobby
02 Thread
03 White Lake
04 Path To Lucy
05 Stone Beacon
06 Weir
07 Loft
08 Thunder Night
09 Lamp Mien
10 The Clearing
11 Fog Animal
12 Eloy
"With the astounding quality of releases that have appeared on Type recently, it would be easy to become blasé over their output. Deaf Center shake you from any such complacency - delivering here a record that will be extremely hard to beat as album of the year for 2005. Apparently inspired by "old silent 8mm film reels and historical architecture", the Norwegian duo of Erik Skodvin and Otto Totland have produced a lambent debut that recalls the likes of William Basinski (particularly the 'Disintegration Loops' indebted 'Lobby'), Marsen Jules and Harold Budd. Over layers of warmly battered aural sediment, Deaf Center build the kind of vista-expanding, piano tinged music that has you thinking you're in your very own film. Manifesting itself in the stravaig and epic iciness of 'Thread', or the etiolated Nyman piano of 'White Lake', Deaf Center have a seemingly bottomless supply of aural dignity and pathos on which to draw. Other highlights include the tense strings and snatched choirs of 'Stone Beacon', the thrumming piano of 'Loft' and the soaring orchestral pomp of 'Thunder Night'. Just incredible music." Boomkat
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Label : Punch Records
Catalog# : PP007
Country : Italy
Released : 2004
Style : Modern Classical, Industrial
Tracklisting :
01 The 36 Faces Of Adam Quadmon
02 Solipsistica Nihilisti
03 A Terror Campaign Without Higher Authority
04 Order Of Operations
05 Dogs
06 Nebuchadnessar Division
07 Correcting The Human Model
08 Satan And The Sun
09 Fields
10 Zain
"Punch Records continues to bless listeners with incredibly dark and sophisticated releases and we here at Heathen Harvest are proud to introduce Luftwaffe "Solipsistica Nihilisti"
(10" BLU VINYL + POSTER (63x63) Limited ed. of 303 hand numbered copies.) "Solipsistica Nihilisti" is Luftwaffe's latest release since the CD release of their full length album which will be reviewed in an upcoming issue of RFD Magazine. Luftwaffe is amongst the small handful of post-industrial / neofolk / martial bands that exists today in the USA . Luftwaffe are based in Chicago and from the windy city they are creating quite storm amidst post-industrial music listeners.
Luftwaffe is probably most notable for their aggressive and uncompromising approach to music. Their choice of musical sounds, structure, lyrics, and samples are probably most akin to the power noise and power electronics genres where expressing ever more extreme forms of anger and power seems to be the goal. Imagine taking the esoteric and folk orientation of the music of a band with martial tones like Death In June or Blood Axis and combine that musical approach with that of a band like white house or Haus Arafna and you come close to the sound of Luftwaffe.
What distinguishes Luftwaffe from the sheer delinquency and brutality of the power electronics genre is the bands unique manipulation of noise and sound paired with martial rhythms and deeply esoteric and sinister lyricism. Luftwaffe is post-industrial music poised on the brink of all out spiritual warfare. "Solipsistica Nihilisti" is a great starting point for readers who have yet to hear Luftwaffe as well as a much needed fix for those who already own the full length CD. In addition "Solipsistica Nihilisti" is poised upon becoming a very highly sought after and collectible vinyl.
"Solipsistica Nihilisti" contains a total of ten songs five of which are original to this recording. The songs cover very dark emotional and mental territory dealing with such issues as mass human execution on the song “A Terror Campaign Without Higher Authority.” The song is played with a looped voice saying “My whole family was killed, everything was wiped out..." The voice is filled with desperation and despair is driven by slow ritualistic horns, drums, and cymbals.
Other songs such as “Dogs” delve into the bands political discontent as they beat out martial rhythms while chant intertwining chants of “The world is ruled by dogs!” against a background of strange electronics and nihilistic lyrics. Songs like “Order of Operations” seem to echo a general and very chilling aspect of endless human suffering never quite reaching a narrative but rather lingering and festering.
There is a rawness and a passion that can be felt in Luftwaffe music that feels so vital and driving when listening to the music. Bands strive for decades to master their listener's emotions and inspire this level of engagement. Luftwaffe though fairly new to the scene will certainly be gaining recognition and listeners as word of talent spreads throughout the music community. Readers that thrive on bands life Sol Invictus, Blood Axis, Sophia, and The Moon Lay beneath the Cloud etc. will be at a deep loss without this album. Radical faeries and other readers that like dark music that embraces the spirit with an iron glove and a lack of mercy will drool over this album. Luftwaffe succeeds where so many other acts fail. Luftwaffe has mastered the practice or marshaling strength, spirit, and revolution into a single force driven by music and authentic passion.
Luftwaffe has indefinite potential for Radical Faeries looking for dark martial music that deals in spirit. Whether you are invoking Tyr and Mars or simply summoning your own strength and will for battle, Luftwaffe will meet you at the frontlines and sound the war horn when you are ready to ride!" Heathen Harvest
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Label : Projekt
Catalog# : PROJEKT134
Country : US
Released : 2002
Style : Ethereal
Tracklisting :
01 Broken Days
02 It's Okay To Be Small
03 The Last Winter
04 Asleep In The River
05 Fades Down Far
06 Give Up The Ghost
07 Vacant Winter Day
08 Gray December Desert Day
09 Blue Heron
10 Halfway Between Here And There
11 Cat & Dog
12 Pale Blue Prevails
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Label : Staubgold
Catalog# : staubgold 50
Country : Germany
Released : 2004
Style : Leftfield, Noise, Hip Hop, Experimental
Tracklisting :
01 Imagine What We Started
02 Hungry For Now
03 Remnants
04 Dead Lies
05 Erratic Thoughts
06 Bullets Need Violence
07 Collected Twighlight
08 T-Electronique
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Label : Immune
Catalog# : IMMUNE003
Country : UK
Released : 2009
Style : Modern Classical, Ambient
Tracklisting :
01 Hopes And Past Desires
02 Watching As She Reels
"The man behind The Sight Below (and, of course, the excellent Daydreaming album on Miasmah) returns with a gorgeous, limited edition 7" for new Chicago imprint, Immune. The Seattle-dwelling composer teams up with Dany Norbury for 'Hopes And Past Desires', a mesmerising, hauntingly beautiful piece of music comprised of exchanges between muffled electric piano chords and Norbury's otherworldly, reverberant strings. In terms of its constituent parts this is an incredibly simple piece of music, but there's magic in these grooves, and Irisarri's music makes a resoundingly haunting contribution to the realm of electronic/modern classical composition. Flip over and 'Watching As She Reels' is suggestive of a more upbeat take on Deaf Center's Pale Ravine, or perhaps a more minimal Library Tapes; there's a certain sepia-tinted quality to these sounds, and the whole exercise seems soaked in memory and a sense of nostalgia (for something or other) that always manages to avoid outright sentimentality. Absolutely sublime music - pick one up while you can." Boomkat
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Label : Miasmah
Catalog# : MIACD004
Country : Norway
Released : 2007
Style : Modern Classical, Ambient
Tracklisting :
01 Waking Expectations
02 A Thousand-Yard Stare
03 Wither
04 Lumberton
05 Voigt-Kampf
06 Fractal
07 A Glimpse
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Label : Eis Und Licht
Catalog# : Eis041
Country : Germany
Released : 2004
Style : Experimental, Ambient
Tracklisting :
01 Stong-pa-nyid I
02 Stong-pa-nyid II
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Label : The End Records
Catalog# : TE020
Country : US
Released : 2001
Style : Doom Metal
Tracklisting :
01 Of Stone, Wind, And Pillor
02 Foliorum Viridium
03 Haunting Birds
04 Kneel To The Cross (Sol Invictus Cover)
05 A Poem By Yeats
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