Altar Of Flies / Fossils – Split (CDr, Hästen & Korset 2006)

I believe on this release you can hear the foundations of AOF ‘sound’: Chilling drones, chaotic oscillating synths and raw object noise, combined with tape manipulation. The first track follows exactly this path, with scary sounds and a dense atmosphere were humans are not welcome. I always see the harsh ways of nature when I listen to AOF, and it is no different with these tracks.  Here, calmer and eerie parts are followed by Brutal noise. Deep drones and meditative vocal loops are the protagonists in the second track, joined by ghostly tunes.  The third track is more dissonant in sound, with a loop of a alarm sounding 2 note tune, followed by brutal, stomping noise. Really impressive chaos, where nasty tones/tunes meet up with harsh noise. Track four begins with dark, noisy drones, which are followed by high producing tones and calm noise. Later on the noise takes over with shredding feedback and screaming, which has similarities to the work of Âmes Sanglantes.

All the tracks of Fossils seem to be existing out of cut up sounds from tape decks. Conversations between people/radio sounds, field-recordings, machinery sounds and weird (synthesizer?) noises seem to be the main core of all these tracks. Sometimes unearthly and sometimes right-out scary, like the agonizing moaning from the penultimate track. It also feels a bit like you are on an alien vessel in outer space or other planet with transmissions from our world. The overall sound is very raw and bleak, so don’t confuse this with some poor experimenting. Its very well done indeed.

Apart from the artwork, which I don’t like, I really enjoyed this release.

No longer available on label

Plague Mother - Carve (Cassette, C20, Depravity Label 2012)

Plague Mother is the harsh noise project from Roman J Leyva. And The release I will be reviewing from him, “Carve”,  is one of his more early ones.

The first track begins with a very high tone and voice sample of a woman telling a story. These two sounds are joined by harsh, transceiver, static like noise, which is repeated over the whole track, with only small changes in intensity and structure. After a while the voice sample weakens and eventually disappears inside the noise.

The second track also opens with a voice sample, but only a few seconds long.  It seems to be serving as a intro for the glitchy noise that follows. After a few minutes the noise intensifies, and a rhythmic drone joins in. Then lower, bass, noise follows in 

with short intervals, to stop after a while and going back again to the harsher noise sounds.

If you are a fan of ‘fresh’, clinical sounding, minimal noise, with a bleak atmosphere, than this is definitely a suggestion to check out. Maybe also worth mentioning: The artwork was done by Omar Gonzalez.

Buy/download:

Bandcamp

Godcage – Albatross Of Faith (Cassette, Self-released 2014)

A new project is rising from the abyss and it is called Godcage. Only three releases counting on the artists Bandcamp. And I will be reviewing “Albatross Of Faith".

The first track called “Death Swallowed Me” is a short and vile track. Dense, nasty feedback squirming against distant vocals and harsh noise. Short but powerfull. “Ragana”, the second one, has low, delayed vocals that sound a bit like being in slow motion. After a while they are joined by higher screaming and high rhythmic clanging, delayed as well, giving this track a more industrial feel to it. “Obsidian (live)” has low drones, oscillating effects and direct, aggressive vocals. The drones and effects on the background sound sick, like if they are wining in pain. “Back To The Gallows” starts with high static noise and reverbed vocals. A slow distorted tone comes in, but quickly gets disrupted by the destroying vocals and static harsh noise. “Curse Of My Love” is very deranged in sound. Faint sounding and disharmonic tones collide with pushing and roaring harsh noise. The last track, “Ante Mortem”, has obliterating power electronics and washy, harsh vocal noise.

This release with a mixture of harsh noise and power electronics and a small dose of industrial influences, is very promising for what is coming in the future. I also like the artwork; dark and raw, with those old school contrasts, like the sound of these ear shredding tracks.

Download:

Bandcamp

+DOG+ - Creature Comforts (cassette C23, Brise-Cul Records 2012)

+DOG+ + is a three headed project that goes along in the scene quite a while now. On the release I will be reviewing today are two tracks, called “Food” and “Clothing/Shelter/Health”. Or in other words: the basic needs of a animal/human being.

“Food” has the sound of a power failure. Drone loops, sharp but not aggressive static and alarm like, reverbed, oscillating tones are giving this track the feeling like a nature disaster or storm that has just affected the suburbs of mankind. Its overall relatively calm in sound and never crossing the borders of true harsh noise, but that’s what makes this track so strong. It’s perfectly balanced and well put togheter/preformed.

The other track “Clothing/Shelter/Health” follows the same path, but then again also not. The sound is a bit more aggressive and violent. It also seems to be existing out of several parts (like the title indicates). In the first part I hear distorted vocal like sounds, its hard to tell because they are mixed well with the other noise sounds. The second parts exists out of a distorted, transceiver signal, shifting in sound and shape. And the last part has a humming drone/tone, drenched in washy noise.

I would describe the first track as being very eerie and ominous, while the other one is more remote. A nice combination, what makes this a short but very enjoyable release.

Buy:

Bandcamp

Âmes Sanglantes - Le Cri Du Pendu (CDr, Cipher Productions 2006)

The recordings of this album dates from April 1999, but was released in 2006. 

“Chants Du Désespair”  is the first track of this true classic. Delayed chanting/vocals (Tibetan style) with very minimal hissing on the background, and a distorted high tone open the album. The second track “La Chambre à Gaz” begins with a heavily distorted, scratching and banging sound, accompanied with feedback repetition and twitching vocal-like sounds. Its a 10 minute long slab of nightmarish noise. More bleaker than this you won't get. “Syndrome Gravitationnel” seems to be a mixture of mangled vocals and synths, with a continued industrial high shriek throughout the track, very nice. “Réponse Sans Question”  the fourth track, opens with raw overloaded, feedback drones, almost noise. They are accompanied by delayed crunched noises. “Le Pendu Est Mort”, a very short track, has frantic, distorted vocals with a weird effect. “Désertique” is a more chaotic track with oscillating synths and primitive, noisy vocals, which get repeated throughout the whole song and are ending in feedback. “La Chambre Psychédélique” has a primitive, banging percussion loop and high ethnic sounding noises. Track eight  “Réalité: Invention Humaine”  is the longest track of this album and also opens with frantic and sickened vocals or effects?, joined by harsh noise. As the track evolves, a slow, high static, tone loop comes in, together with all kind of weird effects. But they get quickly annihilated again by the previous mentioned sound. In the last part feedback joins in with occasional, faint vocal like sounds. On this track one can imagine that mankind has returned back to its primitive state. “Les Derniéres Minutes” opens with a high tone and an animal like moaning loop. Different noises on the background and feedback follow, but it doesn’t get messy like in the other tracks. This is maybe the most calm one of the whole record. “Le Cri Du Pendu” is a short mixture of weird effects and vocals, much the same as some of the other tracks. And the last one called “Ergonomie” (also a very short one) has bad receiving, signal sounds.

Brutal, bleak and uncompromising: 'Le Cri Du Pendu' from Âmes Sanglantes has it all.

This album takes you to the darkest corners of mankind and beyond.

Also worth mentioning is that the packaging/artwork prints are done very professional, because it feels much more like a CD and not so much as a CDr.

This release is sold out. But maybe if you search a bit on the net you can still find a (second hand) copy and be as lucky as me.

Shredded Nerve - Failing To Maintain (Digital Album, 2014)

Shredded Nerve seems to be a new project, with only two releases to count on the artists Bandcamp, but maybe there are more to search for.

The first track “Mind Begins to Crumble as Dots Are Connected” starts with loops of high shrieking, droning power electronics and clanging on metal like objects. The power electronics are getting more present as the track evolves, while the high shrieking disappears (to come back again after some time). After a while the clanging sounds intensify, making the whole very claustrophobic and mind unsettling.

“Alone at Last” is the second and also last track. This one has a very brooding sound, beginning from almost silent to total mayhem. Engine like, bubbling and slow banging on metal, 

are guiding this track to the depths of harsh noise and the dark side of the mind.

A very fine mixture of primitive harsh noise (with calmer parts) and power electronics is what Shredding Nerve is serving us.

Buy/download:

Bandcamp

Tactical Eradication Function / Whorebutcher ‎ - Selftitled (2x cassette C10, Hospital Productions 2001)

The first two (untitled) tracks from this double split release, are from Whorebutcher. It offers nasty snarls of feedback, demonic vocals and harsh noise textures. The first one sounds much like a blizzard from hell, raging through a dystopian landscape and leaves nothing but destruction and debris. The second track sounds like a radio transmission gone wrong. But also apocalyptic images come to mind. As wel as Wastelands, abandoned cities and rotting corpses in the streets. 

The other two tracks are from Tactical Eradication Function. The first one, called “Lest We Forget”, seems to be following the same path of the previous tracks. Oscillating synths and harsh mid noise with rhythmic intervals, sounding much like 'race cars of death' traveling the empty interstates. “Raw Power”, the second track, begins with a delayed voice and is than quickly followed by brutal power electronics and remote distorted tones, ravaging everywhere.

I really liked this short release. It’s very visual in sound and raw in context.

Imagine a Mad Max movie, but then bleaker and much more violent.

No longer available

Snuff - II (Vinyl, LP, Filth And Violence 2011)

A strange and mysterious cover, from what seems to be a swimming pool, immediately draws your attention. The green color and raw contrast make it look like a acid bath where you rather don’t want to take a swim in.

The content/sounds, represent much of the artwork itself. Nasty angled and uncomfortable feedback with hook like tones opens up the album. Desperate, yelling vocals drenched in despair and delay, and subtle crackles of noise quickly join this chaotic show of “sound violence”. At the mid part the feedback does a short solo piece and is than joined by distant clattering and rumbling, harsh noise. Here, we also hear a field recording, of what seems to be children yelling in an big open space, most likely a swimming pool, which is also portrayed on the cover of this release, like I mentioned before. Also delayed and looped sounds of voices come in after a while. Chaotic vocals come in again, making it a sickened mess of sounds. 

The other side of this LP begins with the same intense feedback, but this time with radio like vocals. They start rather remote, but intensify as the track progresses. Again a field recording with playing and yelling children (track called “Pink Lycra”) comes in. This time I can really hear the water flow, so there is no doubt this is actually from a swimming pool. But this track takes much longer than the one on the A-side. The penultimate track "Rule" has droning high electronics which are accompanied by a voice sample. Reading or talking about something (unknown to me). The last track “Dead Whore” has ear shredding and fast feedback, with depraved vocals pushing out the last bits of anger and hate. Very nice indeed.

Buy:

Filth And Violence