eat trash, shit money!

Andy's Best Of 2008

2009-01-24T12:34:00.000-08:00

It's been a good year for noise, with a ton of good stuff coming my way. Here's a list of some my favorites.

Vinyl 12" - Locrian - "Greyfield Shrines" - (Diophantine Discs) - Awesome heavy mixture of dark guitars and synths. Look for a full article about the band here very soon.

Vinyl 7"
- Josh Lay - "Asphyxiation Worship" - (Black Horizons) - Perfect mix of dirty death-industrial synths and cutting black metal vocals.

- Vestigial Limb / Fletcher Pratt - Split 7" - (Epicene Sound) - Really good split. VL comes with some pure harshness, FP brings weirdo cut-ups.

- Blue Sabbath Black Cheer / Pig Heart Transplant - split 7" - (Epicene Sound) - Evil split from these two PNW greats.

CD
- Black Leather Jesus - "Skuff" - (Turgid Animal) Pure harsh noise bliss. Lot's of junk metal fun.

- UR - "Trieb" - (Topheth Prophet) - Killer drone-psych duo from Italy. I've really been enjoying everything by these guys this year.

- Seeker - "Invocation Of The Sleeper" - (Autumn Wind Productions) - Killer dark ambient, singing bells galore.

- V/A - "Rhythm" - (Gruenrekorder/Cherry Music)- Really fun rhythmic field recordings comp. Some really musical stuff was caught by some of the guys/gals on here.

- Barzel - "Born To Destroy Amalek" - (Topheth Prophet) - Did this come out in 07? Really raw, minimal p.e. that reminds me of the grey wolves in some parts. A really well rounded record.

CD-R
- N. - "LIFE" - (DumpsterScore) - Yeah, yeah I put it out. I've been a fan of N's for years though and would love this album just as much no matter who released it. Industrial noise perfection.

- Concrete Violin - "Disparaged" - (Brise-Cul Records)- Another old-school Texas noise master makes the list. Lot's of the high pitched action that I love.

- H/B A/D - "Within The Triangle" - (Snapped In Half) - Awesome colab between headboggle and d/a a/d, with a whole lot of powerful synths to back it up. My favorite "driving late at night" disc this year.

- Krzysztof - "Jajouka" - (Small Doses) - I have no idea who this guy is or where he comes from, but I love this album. Repetitive tone oscillator ambient bliss.

TAPE
- Taeter - "Parasite" - (Turgid Animal Italian Division) - Fecalove's power electronics project. Slow and sleazy. Awesome!

- Medroxy Progesterone Acetate - "Blearyeard OST" - (Tipped Bowler) - The soundtrack to a play that doesn't exist. Amazing, enveloping, ever evolving Midwestern noise.

- Pestdemon - "Esurient And Unwholesome" - (Unrest Productions) - Killer bass heavy, lo-fi masterwork. Minimal gear used highly effectively.

MOVIE - The Call Of Cthulhu - Awesome silent b/w short film based on the old lovecraft story. Could have used a better soundtrack, but still lot's of fun.

GEAR
- Sony MZ-R55 MD Walkman - Nice little mini-disc recorder I scored off e-bay. It's really raised the bar for my field recordings.

- Toshiba RT-SF5 - Killer ghetto blaster I got from the goodwill for $7. Has surprisingly good shortwave, a good tape deck, and RCA/MIC line in's and out's. Fun to plug my synth into it and jam on the back porch

D/A A/D's best of 2008.

2009-01-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

Here is the list of my best of 08:

vinyl 12" - Sunn O))) - Dømkirke (Southern Lord) - Best live album ever, better than Kiss Alive.

vinyl 7" - Carlos Giffoni - The Absence of Essence (Arbor) - Awesome art, even better tracks!

cd - Prurient - And Still, Wanting (No Fun) - Dom's best work yet, so brutal yet beautiful as well.

cdr - Pulse Emitter - Nakamichi (GMBY) - Such a well produced album, Pulse Emitter is the man.

tape - Ezra Buchla - Untitled c80 (Deathbomb Arc) - A c80??? I love long tapes almost as much as Buchla synthisizers.

movie - The Dark Knight - Hands down...

tv show - Generation Kill - Blew my mind every week, best thing since Deadwood.

gear - Make Noise QMMG (euro rack module) / MXR Carbon Copy (analog delay pedal) - This was a tie. The QMMG is the best euro module that came out this year in my mind, so versitile - it can do everything! The Carbon Copy was the delay I have been waiting for for years, analog, dark and CHEAP!

soon

2009-01-15T01:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lack of updates the past few weeks. With my grandpa passing, the holidays, and leaving the state a few times it's been really hectic.
Starting next week:

-"Spotlight Series" (where I write a little article with a bunch of reviews focused on one artist) on:
Locrian
Cracked Dome
Vestigial Limb

-"Best Of 2008" list

-More interviews from Alex I've been told

- videos

I swear we'll get it right someday. -Andy

Andy's mail bag...

2008-12-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

Ever get a big box full of power electronics, 8o's porn, and a gnarly dried out pigs hove? Oh I guess that's just me.... Thanks Les.

Flowers Of Flesh And Blood

The Sounds Of A Good Man Fading Away

2008-12-09T17:06:00.000-08:00

As I sit in an oversized chair, I hear sounds I've never heard before fill the room. A small army of medical machines hum and hiss like the many ambient albums that fill my home. The forceful clicking of heels fade in and out as nurses and doctors pass by the thick curtain that separates us from the outside world. Empty IV bags beep with a forceful determination, insisting to be refilled. The sound that stands out most of all is coming from a small machine near the bed. Forcing air in and out of my grandfathers lungs, I watch his chest raise and fall harder then it should on it's own. I hear the man who raised me taking his final, slow, rhythmic forced breaths. His kidneys have failed, along with his lungs and slowly his brain. His pupils no longer dilate, the feeding tubes have been removed. It's just a matter of time now.

I step out of the room. A bearded man enters the with a nervous look of sorrow. I hear my grandfather gargle and choke as the breathing tubes are removed. He's still asleep. I come in to see him laying like a new born child, though he's 87 years old. I hold his hand and watch his heart rate drop on the screen above. He passes quick, peaceful, proud looking.

Roy J. Staehlin - 1922 - 2008

Interview With David Reed.

2008-11-30T14:26:00.000-08:00

David Reed of envenomist has been making some of the most unique and inspiring synth music in America for the last 8 years, here is an interview I recently did with him:

Alex Pearson: First off, who are you and what do you do?

David Reed: My name is David Reed. I perform as envenomist, luasa raelon, have recorded under my own name and have a few projects with other people. There is Starlight Fleecing with Ryan Jewell and Larry Marotta. The duo with Jason Zeh. Also have done shows as part of Bloodyminded, worked with Rocco DiPeitro on his compositions, worked with Tom Derwent in Celldim Frequencies, and had another project going called brittle foundries. I have plans for more things but there is the time issue and finding people to work with can be problematic in Columbus, Ohio.

AP: What are the key differences between luasa raelon and envenomist, and how long have they been around?

DR: envenomist is synth-only and follows a certain set of parameters and conditions I think people reading this interview will be able to piece together. It is more limited and bound. luasa raelon is my death industrial/dark ambient project which is more open-ended in how I approach creating the material both compositionally and the fact I use whatever is available to me-synths, samplers, metal, drum machines, guitar pedals, etc. Organizationally, most of the luasa realon discs are stories where I have a narrative theme in my mind and each track is a chapter conveying what is going on in the story. I think that this is a big big difference between the projects now. envenomist releases don't have this narrative running through them. The pieces are more like landscape paintings united in mood or thematically rather than a movie in sound. Older luasa raelon material was organized like envenomist at times but on initiating envenomist, I made a decision to branch things. I don't know how much of this a listener can discern, if at all. This is just the way I differ the projects-the sound sources, the "heaviness" ( I perceive luasa raelon as being heavier), and how I organize the material for releases.

AP: Do you still play live as luasa raelon?

DR: I haven't played a luasa raelon set in over two years. I have been thinking about doing some more shows at some point. Playing a luasa raelon set always seemed to me to be problematic and I have the envenomist live thing down, people ask for that project, and so I have been doing only envenomist live for the past couple years. It would take some doing but would be nice to get back on that horse soon.

AP: Now that we have covered that, I would like to talk about envenomist in more detail, what would you say your major influences are for this project?

DR: Being on tour with Hive Mind and then listening to the second Intrinsic Action CD really got me into thinking about acquiring some analogue synths and seeing what would come about. Exposure to the old MB material was a real kick. Grey told me to check him out as he heard a similarity with what I was doing and I totally loved it. As time rolled on, I began listening to Tangerine Dream, Schulze, and Pinhas which have had a huge influence on what I do with envenomist. And also Morton Feldman, whose compositional style I use in structuring the envenomist material. Not trying to sound pretentious. The way he uses cells of material looping is pretty much what I have been doing. Yep. Totally ripping him off. heh. Non-musical related would be HR Giger, Max Ernst, DeChirico, Architecture, Horror fiction and altered states. With envenomist, I am trying to reproduce altered states of consciousness like hypothermia, heat stroke, drug usage, and shock aurally. This has been the aim from the start and continues. Not in every piece but I think it is a running theme that underlies the material.

AP: What gear are you currently using in envenomist?

DR: Right now: DSI Mopho, Evolver (really heavy use as of late), Realistic MG-1, MC-202, MFB Synth II and a SH-101 all through various reverbs and sometime delay. I use a ton of reverb all the time. It's an integral part of the sound. I also have a Spectral Audio Neptune II and an Octave Cat I haven't been using as much lately.

AP: How important is the gear you use to "your sound"? As out of the many synth artists in the noise community your work really stands out. How did your sound evolve?

DR: The most important elements of my sound are reverb and good-sounding analog synths that I can easily control. Not big on menu diving while I am creating textures. Having a variety of synths is also very very nice. Having four tracks of the same synth just doesn't seem to work for me. Each synth has their sound and being able to blend sounds or differentiate sounds is a big plus when I am recording.

AP: On that note, how do you feel about the sudden influx of "synth noise" and do you really consider what you do to be noise?

DR: I am fine with all the synth-based projects around right now. I think most of them are bringing something unique and interesting to the scene. Always down for another synth peep to check to out. And do I consider myself noise? No. Not in the sense of harsh noise or the more blown-out gnarled stuff. I like to think I am in the industrial tradition and am following that but usually tell people that ask that I do ambient or dark ambient, which is also true. Using the word industrial is so loaded now. I use the word and most people think Nine Inch Nails or EBM and that is not where I am coming from.

AP: If you had to describe your sound to someone who is not hip to the scene, how would you do so?

DR: Hmm. I just answered this one I think. I could elaborate on the above and say that ambient or even dark ambient are also loaded and people bring their expectations to these genres too. I say ambient and people think early Aphex Twin or maybe even New Age (ugh) or assume I do clubby chill-out stuff. Yeah, no. Dark Ambient works but I then have to explain what that IS to the person and its just a mess. I usually just give them something to listen to or now say to check the myspace page or the David Reed releases available online.

AP: Now that we got all the nerdy questions out of the way, whats in the future for David Reed and your label Snip-Snip?

DR: I have a couple CD's on the horizon. The House Of Flesh by luasa realon and The Helix from envenomist. A LP side from Starlight Fleecing. A envenomist LP side for a big synth LP set. A couple split 7 inchers featuring the Zeh/Reed duo. Two envenomist cassettes. Various comp tracks-five or six I can think of offhand. Collab with Wire Werewolves. luasa raelon CS's are floating around. Maybe getting the split with Hum Of The Druid reissued? Another CD project and I have a plan for some vinyl from both projects but too soon to give details.

AP: You were on tour recently, how was that? Where did you play, and who with?

DR: Recent tour was a quick burner up the west coast along with Monsturo and Rale. We played LA, Oakland, Portland and Seattle. I had a GREAT time. Hanging out and listening to David and Bill every night was a pleasure. We had a pretty good crowd for most every show and was nice to see people like Acre, Dull Knife, Pulse Emitter, and Seven Depressions play and to see my friends on that side of the US. With the internet, you know people through conversing but it is always nice to meet them in person and spend time with them. I also enjoyed seeing all of Cali and the Pacific Northwest through the car.

AP: Has anything crazy ever happened to you on tour?

DR: I wish. Nothing FUN crazy. Just horrible long drives like the drive from Denver to LA. Now that was an experience that totally sucked at the time but I think about now and again. The drive from Seattle to Minneapolis. Brutal. So so brutal. My favorite parts of touring are meeting people, hanging with my friends, hearing the bands on the bill, and getting to experience the various cities I am in. Mostly it is get up, get on the road, get to the venue and hang there and then play. Repeat. If you are lucky you get to goof around in the city a bit and kick back with a good person. Eating at different places and record shopping also fun to do on the road. You also really get to know who you are on the road with, and come away from the tour closer.

AP: In closing I would like to tell you about my experience of listing to Abyssal Siege while driving in a snow storm last year. In short while it was the perfect soundtrack for this particular journey, the combination of the tunnel vision snow flakes and your heavy drones nearly transported me to another astral plane. It was one of the most enjoyable and freaky experiences I had last year, so thank you.

DR: Excellent. Like I said, I am trying to reproduce altered states of consciousness. Sounds like I am successful. HA.

Here is a video of an envenomist performance from Pocket Sandwich in Portland Oregon on 11/02/08:

Some Stuff About Stuff

2008-11-16T16:03:00.000-08:00

Firstly, I have asked a few friends to write post for this blog. Some of them accepted, some did not. I'm going to ask more people soon, and if you think you have something to contribute please send me an e-mail (dumpsterscore AT gmail). Now they just need to stop being lazy and actually post something. I want this blog to be a more fun read, and have a little more to offer than it does now. Hopefully things will start shaping up in the next month or so.

Second, As far as dumpsterscore goes it's been slow for a while, with just a release here and there, but I have a bunch of new shit almost ready to blow your mind. The N. full length, titled "Life", will be out very soon and it is fucking amazing. Much like his older releases, making use of big gobs of bass and fucked up samples, but also with a slightly harsher side using tape deck feedback loops, and vocals. This disc is going to kill you. Also a fucking insane batch of 3" cd-r's inculding fecalove, baculum, lame prey, and DBH will follow. After that another super heavy synth album from my buddy D/A A/D. There are a few other things I just got masters for as well that I'll announce soon. Hopefully the backlog of stuff will be dealt with this winter as well. This month marks 10 years since I started Suburbia Melting, and 25 years since I was born!

Third, These distro's will now be carrying DS goods. RRR, Freak Animal, Autumn Wind, and small doses has a few copys of the werewolf jerusalem/regosphere split. The first three listed will also be carrying new stuff that comes out!

Fourth, The Eugene Noise Fest was a blast. My set was just so-so (in my eyes) but I had a ton of fun, and a great time hanging with everybody. I love all you eugene people! I'll post all the videos when they go up.

Lastly, I will be in the midwest for a week soon. E-mail if you wanna hang in MN/IL. This also means things might get delayed a week or two with mail and what not. I'll let you know about any delays personally. I'm also in the process of buying a modular synth. I'm fucking excited! More details soon. Hope you all have a good few weeks untill the next post.

Eat shit for money....

2008-10-13T10:11:00.001-07:00

It's funny having that little live-feed bar on the side of the site. You can see how people got to this site and where the left to. Every once in a while someone get's here from a search engine, and I always wonder what words they typed in to bring up the zine. Almost every time it's "shit eating", "eating shit videos", and most recently; "eating shit for money".....

------------------------------------------

I played a show recently at Dunes here in Portland and it was a really fun night. All the bands played really killer sets, and I feel like I didn't do to bad myself for once. Cracked Dome and Knife Fight were the highlights of the night for me, but like I said everyone played a good set. J.M. (of Knife Fight/Invertebrate) always takes really cool videos of the shows he goes to and here they are from this show. Unfortunately he had some technical problems and the amazing Knife Fight set was lost! They are on tour right now and just put out some awesome tapes, so get ahold of em ASAP.

Robotic Daly

Regosphere

Cracked Dome

Dude War

---------------------------------------------------------

:Spending Time At Home Play List:
Brandkommando - MC Fuck - cd-r
Richard Ramirez & Skin Crime - Pleasure, Commerce, & Disease - cd
Rei Rea - Tapeworm - cd-r
Knife Fight - Maximum Guilt Tripping - tape
Noisewerrrrk - Prekartat E.P. - 3"
Cracked Dome - Pill Crushing Love - cd-r
Hush Blasphemy - Radio Nottingham - cd

THE SHIT HITS THE FAN

2008-09-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm very sorry about not keeping this site more up to date. I promise I will try to do more with it in the next few weeks. I'm going to throw up a few reviews from my personal stash that I've been enjoying, as well as some more personal writings. At the very least I'll let you know when I get something great in the mail and where you can get it.

Heathen Harvest Reviews can be read here:
http://www.heathenharvest.com/users.php?mode=profile&uid=1648
Please excuse the stupid bio they made me write.

READ THIS AND SHIT YOUR PANTS:
here
and here

Things are getting scary right now, and I hope that all of you here in the U.S. will take these things seriously and spend at least an hour a day reading up on what is going on. Personally I don't care for Alex Jones (where I heard about this story), but I suppose you have to take a little kookiness to find the truth these days, and his site did take me right to the horse's mouth so to speak (1st link). We have bad times ahead of us. The best thing you can do is know what's going to happen and be prepared for it. Recently here in Portland they have been doing military drills downtown, having black helicopters landing on the taller buildings with armed military men doing drills for "urban combat". It's funny that this is being done here in Portland where we have one of the highest concentrations of activist in the country. Read more here (after doing a google search it was surprisingly hard to find info about this):

HERE.

I was at work downtown when they were doing this and it scared the shit out of me. I though for sure they were instating martial law over the city. The next day they kept us up until nearly midnight flying over the southeast side where we live. More info to come. Keep your fucking eyes peeled, get a passport, and be safe!

:KILLER PLAYLIST:
Josh Lay - Asphyxiation Worship - 7"
Baculum - Never Trust A Handyman - tape
Vargr Wulf - Nature Presence - cd-r
Sterile Garden - Bind Them - cd-r
Swamp Horse - Gravity - tape
Concrete Violin - Eyegouge - cd
Blood Libel Cult - tape
Envenomist Devine Intervention - tape
Willful - Reverse / Restraint - 2x tape

The Future

2008-06-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

Well, It seems I will now be writing reviews for the Heathen Harvest website along with still doing some here. I will be reviewing the releases that HH sends me first, and then I can write up things that I come across myself through trades or other means. I’ll also be doing some interviews (D/A A/D, etc.) for the site. So expect me to post links here to reviews written for HH, along with some new ones done for this site. I think this will be really good for me to get your stuff seen by a bigger audience, as well as practice my writing skills, writing a few thousand words a month. So keep checking back, and see where things go. Thanks!

-Andy

Doldis - Guest Speaker At The Maggot Reunion - 3" cd-r - (dark winter moon recordings)

2008-06-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

Doldis - Guest Speaker At The Maggot Reunion - 3" cd-r - (dark winter moon recordings)

Doldis is new project from Sweden that's attacking at a fast pace with a slew of releases in his short career. We recently did a trade and I've really enjoyed everything he sent me, but I decided to go with this 3" burner for review.

The first track, "False Saint, I Shall Unmask You" starts out with some high speed bass rumbles, leading into short cut-up burst of high pitched static and messy clouds of midrange riding the waves of bass. At about the middle of the song it shifts into harsh drone territory with the full frequency spectrum being represented. There is a really nice lo-fi, but thick and well mixed sound to Peter's stuff that really suits my taste well.

The second song, "Smoke Shall Hide The Sun" starts out with mid-range, choppy feedback, slowly smoothing out into a nice drone. Instantly this stops to be completely overwhelmed with sub-bass. This is a really good example of the choppy editing used on a lot of Doldis songs. I like it. It's not something you hear everyday, and makes for a more interesting listen. The two parts switch back and forth, and sometimes play at the same, until suddenly your hit with a blast of harshness, only to melt back into the other two main parts of the song. This is a really good track!

The third and final track, "The Fear In Your Eyes" hit's with some heavy fucking bass right from the start. Quick jabs of static-ridden bass with a lot of echo hit hard, paving the way for some thickly textured vocals, and mid-range harness. This morph's constantly into different versions of the same basic sounds, with a lot of movement and the same rapid fire editing as described above. This track has a really cool trashy power electronics vibe to it, while still maintaining hint's of harsh noise, and heavy drones.

This one of many really cool releases out right from Doldis, and I think it would be a great place to start and see if you are into what he is doing. Black and white artwork with woodcut alchemist/religious overtones, that same to be a reoccurring theme throughout most Doldis releases. A killer E.P. from one of my new favorite artist!

Stoj - EvilPolitics1 - 3" cd-r - (Hikikomori Records)

2008-06-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

Stoj - EvilPolitics1 - 3" cd-r - (Hikikomori Records)

Here is the first release by the new Danish artist know as STOJ. It also marks the first release by the promising new Hikikomori Records. This is something really different for me to review here. Being a mix of old-school industrial, tape collage type cut-ups, and straight up catchy synths. This really reminds me of when the cyber punk movement was in full effect, mixing politics with technology, and samplers were king! I think the term "coldwave" would a pretty good description of this e.p. in most respects. Although there is more disjointed, mechanical beats going on here than just the simple four on the floor beats of that sub-genre. I can definitely here a strong influence for artist like Feotus or Muslimgauze floating throughout this disc.

The first track "Genocide" starts out with rhythmic metallic’s breaking way to strong repetitive beats, and what sounds like a mid-eastern horn of some kind as the main synth line. Heavily effected metallic sounds, being played in reverse, along with foreign language samples, gunshots, and a woman’s screaming bring you into the political nature of the songs here after.

"Propaganda" start's out with heavy bass drums, interspersed with unaffected metallic drumming, and other tiny metallic sounds floating from speaker to speaker. The synths on this track are more subdued, adding bass and mid-range atmospherics. At some points it sounds like a recording of a dial-up modem being manipulated. There are also samples of a woman’s voice quietly talking hidden within the rest of the sounds. This track really shows off Stoj's production abilities with everything sounding just right in the mix.

The third track "Sea Devil" is one of my favorites on the E.P. Starting out with more metallic drums, and field recordings of an ocean slowly morphing into the main beat of the song. The synths kick in with a very nice analog sounding lead, that brings the first really strong melody into the album. Samples sounding like they came from a police scanner make their way in mid-way through the song, keeping to the political nature of all the tracks.

The next song "Journey To Jahannam" begins with soundtrack sounding ambient sounds, before the first sub-bass sounds of the album slowly plod into the track. Like the other songs, the "snare" drum sounds are in fact heavy manipulated metal hits, and synth glitches. Static laced synths worm their way in to the mix along with plenty more slowed down vocal samples. This track oozes’ with ambience and old-school industrial style.

The final track "OFF (Oil For Food)" gets downright funky, with some really prominent synth and organ work fueling the acoustic sounding drums in a herky-jerky toe tapping rhythm. This is the first song on the album using English vocal samples of a man talking about the way that America lied to it's people to start the war in Iraq. It seems an odd choice to me that most overtly political song of the album is also the most musical and traditional. Very cool.

The artwork is very Russian looking to my eyes. Mainly due to use of red and black, but also because of the stark grainy "messed up television" looking images used. Much like the music the artwork is very political in nature, and seems to be of equal importance to the overall aesthetic of the album. Full color cover art, with a pro-printed cd-r (nice!), inside a small jewel case.

All in all this is a really nice e.p. from this new artist. I would like to hear more variety in the rhythms and time signatures, but I'm sure the straight forwardness is a part of the intention behind this music. I will look forward to hearing a full length sometime down the line where the basic ideas of the songs can be stretched over an hour rather than just twenty minutes. Very good first effort!

Sewer Goddess - Cold Pleasure - c-15 - (negation is freedom)

2008-06-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

Sewer Goddess - Cold Pleasure - c-15 - (negation is freedom)

Here is an awesome new tape from Sewer Goddess of Massachusetts. The first song "Cold Pleasure" hits hard with deep bass pulses moving along an undercurrent of crackly white noise, and warbled synth leads. Towards the end of the track a creepy vocal sample worms it's way in adding to claustrophobia. The second song "Shit Stained Skin (Low Cost Victim)", is brief but powerful. A really scummy lo-fi atmosphere is presented, with intense vocals buried in the mix. Just when the track really gets going it ends as quick as it started. Side B begins with "Policy of Extermination", an intense dose of heavy synths bubbling over with mic feedback, and a harsh rhythmic clanging to keep you in line. This is probably my favorite track on the tape. The final song "Give Me A Corpse" is a cover version of one of my favorite artist, Atrax Morgue. Very nicely done, with the same minimal, stuttering synth, and processed vocals that we all know and love. All around I love this tape and it get's played at least 2-3 times a week since I got it. It's done in a style that I crave so much, but very few artist now a days seem to do. After a few tapes and a 3", I'm sure a lot of people would agree that Kristen needs to start work on a full length sat! The 13 minute length of this tape makes me think that maybe it was first intended to be a 7"? If so it's a shame that didn't happen. The minimal artwork, with a black tape is cool but a little sterile.

Churner - White Trash City - 3" cd-r - (Dark Winter Moon Recordings)

2008-05-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

Churner - White Trash City - 3" cd-r - (Dark Winter Moon Recordings)

Starts out with 2 seconds of spoken word leading into a 20 second midrange wall. The second and third tracks seem to be made of junk metal and a lot of high pitched speaker feedback. Really cool atmosphere and pacing, sounding like he was in a concrete basement somewhere going nuts with contact mics and a pile of selvage. Towards the end of the third track it sounds like a very distorted drum beat fades in from the abyss. Nice touch. The fourth track is a little harsher but still keeps it's industrial feel with it's use of deep droning vocals that lead into silence with quick burst of sound. The final track is a harsh noise version of the junk metal abuse taking place in the first few tracks. I really has a lot of movement and good layering, which is something I feel is missing from a lot of noise right now. I'm sick of walls, and live jams. Cheers to Churner for not following the trends.

The artwork on this is awful. I'm sorry but I just don't dig it at all, and I think it really detracts from the music inside. I think a lot more people would be in this if it wasn't presented with goofy, pixilated joke covers. All in all, cool first listen from Churner!

REI REA - Iron Hill - cd-r - (crater records)

2008-05-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

REI REA - Iron Hill - cd-r - (crater records)

I can't believe how long it took me to come across the awesome Rei Rea from Canada. We did a trade recently and I got a few of his disc's, all of which are great, but since I think this is the newest one I'll start here. Rei Rea is definitely working in the dark ambient, atmospheric side of things. The sound seems to draw just as much from industrial and drone stuff as it does from traditional ambient music, and maybe even some shoe gazer bands (my wife said it reminded her of slowdive on some parts). One of the coolest things about his sound, in my opinion, is the use of bass guitar. While there is a lot of synth and sequencer work going on through out the entire album, the bass is what really carry's the tracks along and give them a unique touch. It pulses along, drones beautifully, and occasionally gives way to some amazing harmonics, like on the second track "Fret Noir". I also really enjoy how occasionally he sneaks some very well placed rhythmic parts into his tracks. This is done in a great way with snare rolls, industrial sounds (train whistles?), and even an acoustic sounding bass drum every once and a while. It's never done in a way that sounds like dance music though, adding atmosphere more than anything. It's hard to come to a comparison for this music, but I guess if I had to I would say maybe a much darker Danna and Clament mixed with S*Core, or something to that effect. All in all I really enjoyed this album along with the others I was sent, and have become a true fan of Christopher's music based on them. Very nice packaging in a hand made cardboard sleeve, with a black Crater stamp on the disc.

A.S. Pearson - Broken Dreams And Blue Jays - c-45 - (snapped in half tapes)

2008-04-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

A.S. Pearson - Broken Dreams And Blue Jays - c-45 - (snapped in half tapes)

This nice little slab of white plastic is the newest offering from D/A A/D front man, Alex Pearson. This is the first in what will hopefully be an ongoing series of pure analog synth recordings done in a more ambient style recorded straight to tape, and never touched by digital hands. As with most of his this release's is pretty bass heavy, but unlike D/A A/D there is also an underlying since of melody, and plenty of long, engaging drones. This still hits pretty heavy though, and I would hesitate to call it straight up drone or ambient. While it has the characteristics of both those styles, the tones are still very beefy and unrelenting in a way that is purely Alex's own. All an all I enjoy this tape very much, and for people like me who can't get enough synth action it's one of the best things I've got in the mail recently. It's a shame that it's limited to only 20 copies. Comes with a small business card with the info, and a Toronto Blue Jays baseball card from the 1980's, all in a tiny zip lock bag. Very cool sounds, and nice, thoughtful packaging. Get it quick!

Flea Apparitions / Doldis - Split Tape - (Heavy Nature Tapes)

2008-03-31T16:36:00.000-07:00

Flea Apparitions / Doldis - Split Tape - (Heavy Nature Tapes)

The tape starts out with the usual weirdo ambient/industrial/tape gunk and drones that Flea Apparitions is known for. Lot's of warm drones weave in and out of stuttering drum machine rhythm, until the beat disappears and you get a few minutes of really nice drones to end the song with. Not the best I've heard from FA (it's hard to top the AMAZING other tapes he has out) but still a fun listen and really nice elaborate tape machine magic as usual.

This is my first exposure to Doldis, and have to say it's very nice! Great deep death-industrial/dark ambient tones. It seems to be coming from analog sources and has great lo-fi but well produced sound. Pretty bass heavy for most of the song, but great spacey moogesque synth fx float in and out giving it a great dark psychedelic feel. This really makes me look forward to hearing more of his stuff.

All and all an awesome split, by two artist that compliment each other very well. The cover art is crap though, and flea apparitions name is fucking spelled wrong on the cover!! The fact that Heavy Nature would let these tapes go out with such an obvious mistake is crazy. Also in my personal experience, and those of my friends that have worked with him, he likes to screw people over on their artist copies. So take that for what it's worth. I don't want to take away from the music though on this tape, because it rules and is well worth the listen.

Two Tapes from Suicidal Tendons

2008-03-29T17:29:00.000-07:00

S.T. - Redneck Vol. 5 - c-10 - (Alienated Hominid Records)

First up we have a c-10 by the Kelso madman on AHR. It starts off with about 45 seconds of him plugging in his gear, and getting the pedals ready. Out of nowhere you are hit in the stomach with a brick pried from a wall of harsh noise that doesn't let up. Good, solid harsh mid-range walls with a lot of movement and a bubbly undercurrent of bass. It says there is two tracks, but really it's just one spread out on both sides of the tape. Killer! Cool artwork from AHR with a color insert.

Suicidal Tendons - Black Teeth - c-30 - (Snapped In Half Tapes)

Is this a S.T. ambient tape?!? Well close, but not exactly. The tape starts off with gear slowly being turned on, with each tiny sound being feed into a delay loop that grows and grows. A nice eerie, crunchy feedback loop rolls along, crackling and changing ever so slightly. After the play button clicks up and you are broke from the daze of the past 15 minutes, it's time to flip it over. It slides back into the same rhythm and you continue to be stoned by the noise. Just before the tape ends there is a nice surprise. Double killer! Amazing packaging from SIH contains 3 inserts, including a book review and a translucent painting of the dark one himself. It's all enclosed in a small zip lock bag.

Two great tapes from Matt! Get em for sure!

igOr / OGOGO - Solo View CD - (III Records)

2008-03-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

igOr / OGOGO - Solo View CD - (III Records)

Well here is a weird one for me. This is not something I would normally get into, but I'm really glad he sent one for review. Igor is a guitar teacher from L.A. that has spent much of his time adapting the styles of people like Charlie Parker, John Cage and even Bach to his avant guitar style. It's really cool that he does music like this instead of the normal boring blues/cover band type stuff that most people in his position are into. He mixes these guitar techniques with weirdo drum machines, out of time organs, and a lot of pedal effects. The first track is my favorite, sounding like some kind of crazy jam session with Sun Ra and Kraftwerk, with a maniac guitar on the lose and turntables being tortured. Though I get the feeling that all the sounds are produced by the guitar alone. The second track starts out with church bell like harmonics, with more turntable abuse, and great guitar effects sound like an analog synth. The third track sounds like alien waiting room music, with sputtering drums and CRAZY guitar that I would have thought was a synth for sure if I didn't know better. I don't mean to sound like some hack writer, and I know the comparison has been made to many albums, but these first three tracks would be completely fitting coming out of the cantina band in Star Wars. Crazy alien funky jazz. The fourth track "Whatever Parker Wants" is where I start to have problems with this album. The repetitive jazz scale riffing is a little hard to take on a lot of these tracks. While I understand that two of them are re-workings of older tunes (from Parker and Bach respectively) the guitar noodling tends to grate on my nerves after a while. There are some great moments that come and go, but there is always that constant repetitive soloing in the back ground that is very distracting from any of the more atmospheric elements presented. I think that these tracks would be greatly improved with some stronger beats, and a little shorter time span. If he wants to go the more musical route, he should go all out with some heavy beats (live drumming?), and thicker structures. I know a lot of you probably play guitar though and can find more interest in the (extremely skilled) guitar playing than I can as a synth player/drummer. The production on this album is really nice, with a lot of stereo panning, and a smooth digital sound. Comes in a slick digipack on a pro cd. I would love this if it were a 3" but as a full album it's a little hard to take all at once. It's a very interesting release though, and is a lot more original than what I lot of so-called "experimental" artist are doing now-a-days.

Corvus - Eating Chemicals - c-60 - (Soundo Maso Records)

2008-03-04T23:54:00.000-08:00

Corvus - Eating Chemicals - c-60 - (Soundo Maso Records)

Corvus is the new side project of Australian, Alex Palmer who also does the project Ambulance Voice. According to the liner notes he started this project as an attempt to create "eerie soundscapes," and I'd say he seceded very well. There's a lot of windy ambience going on with time stretched metallic sounding gongs and bells. The occasional distorted vocal also creeps in from time to time, along with droning guitar. This material is very loop oriented so if that's not your thing you might wanna pass, but I enjoyed it quite a bit on my first few listens. It has a nice trance inducing vibe, and doesn't get boring over the span of 60 minutes. Cool first effort!

Nice full cover psychedelic j-card that would make Christine 23 Onna proud.

Kawaiietly Please / Teh Valley Of Gwangi - split c-15 - (Soundo Maso Records)

2008-03-04T22:08:00.000-08:00

Kawaiietly Please / Teh Valley Of Gwangi - split c-15 - (Soundo Maso Records)

What we have here is (I think) the first release by both of these new artist. Soundo Maso Records is new label from Germany and seems to be going at pretty good pace.

Kawaiietly Please is a harsh noise project from L.A. It's pretty heavy on the high end with some nice crunchy bass from time to time. It's all around pretty decent short tracks of harsh vocals and static. It's a good length and has a lot of changes, but like I said this is a new project and probably needs a little more time to come to it's full potential. Big props to KP for being a female who makes straight up harsh noise with no gimmicks, beats, or bad singing!

Teh Valley Of Gwangi is some kind of crazy weird mixture of chiptune 8-bit sounds mixed with blasting drum machines, down tuned guitars, and pitch shifted vocals. He describes the sound as grindcore, but the songs on this tape have a lot more break downs going on than blastbeats. The Nintendo synths are awesome on this and if they don't bring a smile to your face chances are you have a white belt and a lame haircut. I can't see listening to this on a regular basis, but I can see coming home, grabbing a beer, putting this tape on at a nice high volume, and being instantly put into a good mood. What more could you ask for than that?

Nice full color j-card with neat old Japanese monster poster art and otaku drawings of the bands!

Flea Apparitions - self titled - c-30 - (ESR)

2008-03-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

Flea Apparitions - self titled - c-30 - (ESR)

Here's a fucking awesome new tape from Pittsburgh’s Flea Apparitions. I love the way his recordings sound like they were recorded on the most primitive junk available, but still have a nice clattering, creepy vibe that comes from having a strong handle on his gear and recording equipment. Weirdo field recordings mingle with burnt out synths and obsessive tape manipulations. Some old man's voice creeps in from time to time. This is definitely an album you need to listen to on headphones to get the full effect of what's going down. It kind of reminds me Aube at some points but with a much more organic sound, instead of the clinical looping Aube is known for. I think fans of a lot of different styles of experimental music would love this tape. Sure it falls under the noise category, but it has a lot more to offer than being just a more mellow version of what other people are doing. This shit deserves to be on vinyl! Really well put together, engaging stuff. Nice cover art of what seems to be an x-ray printed on nice paper. I would have liked to have seen some of Lorne's own amazing artwork, but it's still nice. Pick this one up quick before it's gone.

D/A A/D - RATS/BATS/CATS - cd - (angel's blood)

2008-03-02T12:35:00.000-08:00

D/A A/D - RATS/BATS/CATS - cd - (angel's blood)

Here we have the first full length from Canada’s d/a a/d. This is an all around really nice disc that warrants the pressed release and nice packaging it received. Most of the disc stays in a slow to mid paced lurch. Like a zombie that seems slow, but has a nasty bite. Deep bass pulses run throughout the album with grimy mid-range that pops and sizzles through the hiss. From what I know about Alex's set-up, the main sources used here are synths, pedals, and no-input mixers. So you get a nice mix a deeeep bass and shortcircuiting weirdo static blast of mid-range and high end. It's kind of funny that I picked this one to review after the last post, because in a way this album is much more similar to the Italian death-industrial acts from the early 90's than any of the Japanese artist that most acts in North America are obsessed with. This has a real nice production value, and was apparently mastered by Kelly Churko in Japan. I'm think that means recorded in analog and mastered digitally. This is a really good creep out disc that would be just as in place in some fucked up 80's horror movie as it is next to the rest of your noise cd's. Fucking cool sleazy synth trash! Artwork is excellent, done in the typical snapped in half style. It would have been nice to have this in a jewel case though to keep it in the racks with my other "real" cd's, instead of being locked away in a box with the millions of cd-r's taking over my house. Get this shit!

Tribute to Marco Corbelli

2008-03-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

Well most of you probably know about this already, but for those of you who don't I thought I'd make this post about it. Marco Corbelli was the main man behind such amazing projects as Atrax Morgue, Morder Machine, and Slaughter Productions. He was known as one of the leading figures in the death-industrial genre. His music meant a lot to me, and was a big influence on me when I was starting out back in the late 90's. The album "Sickness Report" was one of the first noise albums I ever bought and is still one of my favorites. Ordering tapes from him was always exciting and rewarding, and a big influence on starting my own label. Marco hung himself in May of 2007. It's not surprising, but it's still very disheartening. You always hope that someone who feels the way he said he did in interviews and lyrics could find just enough hope in their artwork to push on. This of course is not always the case. To listen to a 3 disc tribute album and even better a good sampling of Atrax tracks visit:
http://www.marcocorbellitribute.com/

some shit from what about me records

2008-02-22T06:10:00.000-08:00

So I got an E-mail from some kid asking if he could send me some cd's for review. "Sure," I said and sent him my address. Little did I know the shit I would get in the mail would be so boring and worthless that upon seeing it I wanted to throw it in the trash immediately. No cover art, just cd's in cheap sleeves with some useless crap taped on it. The bands names are not even written on the cd's. I don't know these bands so having their initials scrawled across the cd means nothing to me. He sent me an e-mail describing what was what, but since I don't save e-mails to tell me what cd's I own, I won't refer to it in this review either.
The music..... The one marked "rotten noise" is just some teenage girl with a distorted drum machine doing a bad anal cunt rip off (or a rip off of one of their rip offs, though more than likely he's just following some myspace trend and doesn't know the history of noisecore at all). He say's faggot a lot like it's supposed to be offensive, but it's just boring. Having been a big fan of noisecore myself in the past and having well over 50 tapes and cd's in that style, this is by far the worst and most uninspired crap of it all. Something you would give away free at a show, and hope the person that you gave it to didn't yell at you the next time they saw you. The one marked "tiger 7" is just some guitar wanking with a little drum beat towards the end. This is actually the most inspired cd out of all of them. You can tell some time was actually put into it. It's still just boring sonic youth trying to be ambient type stuff though. I almost feel bad that someone who put a little effort into their recording was conned into being on such a shit label. I say almost though because they should have known better. Next up is the one marked "expx". Not even worth commenting on. The next and final disc is a 3-way split with "mcgruff," "sothks," and "brr". Mcgruff is some awful acoustic music that tries to get experimental at some points, but just sounds like a stoned burger king employee on his off time wishing he had girlfriend. Southks is some guy fucking around with a sampler. He's trying to do some Wesley Willis type thing, except he's not a schizophrenic bum from the streets of Chicago, but a chubby white kid who's never been laid and has a large Will Ferral DVD collection. He sounds like he's whispering on half of the tracks. Most likely because mom and dad are in the next room and he doesn't want them to hear his potty mouth. BRR ends it all with two boring as fuck laptop tracks. Just a bunch of sampled shit thrown together with nothing interesting going on at all.
Really, it means a lot to me that someone would want to send me their music to write about. I wanted to find something redeeming in these cd's, not just rip on them from the start. After listening to them all the way through with an open mind, I just couldn't do it. I've been thinking a lot about the so-called "dumbing down of America" lately, and these cd's just drill it in hard for me. A bunch of kids who watch too much south park and have no real culture of their own made these cd's. The internet gives them an outlet, but instead of making something out of such a strong freedom they flood it with pure red-blooded American ignorance. Make gay jokes, be sexist, racist, call people "uptight" who don't like it. This is just my opinion of course. You paid the $1.36 to send these to me. You read the reviews I already had posted and knew where my taste were at. I'm sure you wanted a bad review to put on your website and have all your buddies make jokes about it. So here it is...

p.s. this review has been edited to be slightly nicer.

Crash At Every Speed - Forecast - c-20 - (phage tapes)

2008-02-22T06:06:00.000-08:00

Crash At Every Speed - Forecast - c-20 - (phage tapes)

This seems to be a new project from long time texas maniac Richard Ramirez. This tape sounds a lot like what he has been doing in his other recent project Werewolf Jerusalem. That's fucking fine by me because I love the output by that project and this tape is great as well. Mid-range static walls, well composed and fast flowing, tear through the tape until the play button clicks back up and silence fills the air. Simple but thoughtful rad texas noise! Great slick cover art from phage as always. All around fun, late night drinking type of tape to get your hands on!

Balculum - WOOD - 3" cd-r - (phage tapes)

2008-02-22T06:05:00.000-08:00

Balculum - WOOD - 3" cd-r - (phage tapes)

This was a cool little surprise from an artist I've never even heard of before. Cool distorted static sweeps mixed with what sounds like bass heavy, rumbling recordings of wood being abused. It almost makes me feel like I'm a small insect. I hear the high pitched sounds of chainsaws cutting down the tree I live in. I cling for dear life as it falls, and is put on the logging truck. I poke my head out to hear hundreds of cut down redwoods swaying and shifting as the make their way down the highway. I hear the wind seep in through the cracks and crevices, the heavy duty straps as they clang against the side of the truck. Towards the end I hear all of my friends making their way out of the now dying bark to find a new home. Or something like that..... Cool simple packaging with a close up of some drift wood (of course!) in one of those cases that chodritic sound uses. Nice first listen from Balculum!

MX NIHIL - Psycho Killer - 3" cd-r - (worldnihil)

2008-02-22T06:04:00.000-08:00

MX NIHIL - Psycho Killer - 3" cd-r - (worldnihil)

What a ripping little e.p. this is! Awesome thick layers of harsh electronics. It sounds like a mix of loops, synths, vocals, maybe some junk metal, and lot's of crunchy distortion. The heavy stereo panning gives it a nice claustrophobic vibe with a full range of sounds coming and going at a rapid pace. More and more as the years go by I realize the importance of tone in noise records. Nothing is better to me lately than getting something with a lo-fi, trashy vibe that is still mastered at a nice high volume and makes good use of panning. This 3" meets all of those requirements perfectly, and is the perfect length for lot's of replays. Awesome cut'n'paste style artwork that looks kind of like a mix between crust punk and more traditional industrial styles pasted on a spray painted sleeve. It reminds me a lot of 7" packaging, which I think is the way to go when doing an e.p. like this. All around cool release!

Griefer - Russian Business Network - c-20 - (negation is freedom)

2007-12-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Griefer - Russian Business Network - c-20 - (negation is freedom)

This is my first time hearing the project Griefer from Canada (besides some nice youtube clips), and I gotta say it's pretty damn good! The first track comes in with fast paced machine like rhythms and a good dose of distortion on the synths. The synths on this album sound really nice and seem to my ear like a good mix of digital and analog equipment. The recording quality over all has this same feel to it, being well produced but not to crisp or digital sounding. I really like the music on this track, but don't care for the vocals that much. The music on this track is so good that I feel distracted by the clean vocals. I've only listened twice though so this is the kind of thing that will probably grow on me. The second track is more loop based with a deep bass rhythm chugging the track along. The vocals on this track are perfect with nice distortion, making them more of another texture to the song than overt yelling. I really enjoyed this song and see why it was the title track for the tape. Side B is where the tape really starts to get good in my opinion. WIFC.DLL starts it off where side A ended mixing awesome electronics and rhythms with some cool delay effects on the vocals. This is a really fist pumping nice track! The tape ends with "Zero day for sale", and excellent creepy instrumental that throbs and pulsates into you skull and creeps into your skin. Not sure what the lyrics are, but they seem to be about computer fraud. Very cool idea that gets away from the stereotypes often associated with this type of music. Nice cover photo and simple layout for the j-card. I would have been nice to include some labels on the tape to know which side is which, but no big deal. This is a really nice tape and unlike a lot of what I have gotten lately it has a lot of replay value.

Invertebrate - Spineless - c-30 - (Alienated Hominid Recordings)

2007-11-28T22:18:00.000-08:00

Invertebrate - Spineless - c-30 - (Alienated Hominid Recordings)

Static white walls made of squirming guts and pissed off centipedes. While side A hits hard and doesn't let up, side B finds all the jars of an entomologist laboratory broken open with the sound of thousand different species communicating at once. This is a really cool DENSE tape that has been perfectly timed and brought about. Cool cover featuring BUGS. I think this project is being taken slowly and I look forward to hearing more. Nice one!

The Two-Year Curse + Joseph Andreoli - collab. cd-r - (Blasbeats For Freedom)

2007-11-28T21:36:00.000-08:00

The Two-Year Curse + Joseph Andreoli - collab. cd-r - (Blasbeats For Freedom)

This cd comes as kind of a cool surprise to me. I'm not sure what I expected. I know what TT-YC sounds like, but had now idea about the other guy involved (I guess he's in some math rock type band). When the two joined up to record these two long jams the result comes out as almost sci-fi soundtrack like in some ways. If you just want harsh all the time then this disc is not for you. If you have an open mind though to a lot of different kinds of electronic music you might really enjoy this like I did. It has an ambient fell to it building up into floating psychedelic mind melds that would make most laptop programming nerds jealous that these sounds can be made by human hands (and recorded in one take no less). Nice simple packaging printed on the inside of an old paper bag. It's nice to see a collab. that comes out being something totally different than the members involved solo stuff.

I Died / Oubliette - Split c-20 - (black and purple tapes)

2007-11-28T21:11:00.000-08:00

I Died / Oubliette - Split c-20 - (black and purple tapes)

I died starts it off with some crazy space sounds that most likely are a large jet plane's engine being run through a phaser pedal. Big sweeping builds and dives being cut with a laser and thrown around an empty reservoir. Towards the end some low end bowel tones creep in and then, like a u.f.o. sighting, it's gone. Awesome!

You probably know what to expect from Oubliette by now. 2 tracks of yellin', metal thrashin', chain draggin', neanderthal 4-track mess in a room with so much natural reverb it must be some kind of mongoloid church. Awesome!

Cool cover with some kind of mythical anteater/camel beast. All the info is hand written, which is a very nice touch. Spray painted tape. I died puts out some great tapes on his B&P label so hit him up for a trade.

Cannibal Ritual - Thirst For Revenge - c-90 - (self released)

2007-11-28T20:51:00.000-08:00

Cannibal Ritual - Thirst For Revenge - c-90 (!) - (self released)

90 fucking minutes of balls to the WALL harsh noise. Heavy as fuck static walls that throb and pulsate without relief. While there is subtle changes within the tracks, once they hit about the 30 second mark you know what your going to be in for during the next 5-10 minutes. Noise like this is really hit or miss with me. Sometimes I find "wall noise" boring, but the tone is perfect on this album and I could listen to it again and again. The recording quality is really top notch as well which helps out a lot in getting the subtleties across as well as the raw power. Cool color printed j-card with artwork that you would expect with an artist with such a name. This reminds of scoring a killer grindcore demo back in the day. It might be on a cheap maxell tape but professionalism is in the sounds and ability to convey the themes of the artwork. This tape FEELS like an 80's exploitation flick.

Culver - Slave Girl Warmth - 3" cd-r - (Universal Tongue)

2007-11-23T13:06:00.000-08:00

Culver - Slave Girl Warmth - 3" cd-r - (Universal Tongue)

This a nice little 3" from an artist brand new to me, Culver from the U.K. Deep ambient vibes is what you get here, heavy on the bass side just the way I like it. The track builds sloooowly, being mostly unheard until it starts to creep out of it's shell around the seven minute mark. Machine like stuttering bass fades in and blocks out the rest of the world with little change until the track ends. While it's not super original it's charm lies in it's simplicity and patience to bring your mind along for the ride. Excellent packaging making use of transparency paper and really neat cover photo. Cool first glimpse at this project!

Bolz'n - Spaltfunktion - c-30 - (yehonala tapes and utarid tapes)

2007-11-20T20:52:00.000-08:00

Bolz'n - Spaltfunktion - c-30 - (yehonala tapes and utarid tapes)

Here we have some fucking killer grind from the German group BOLZ'N. This is the tape form of the original L.P. released by yehonala in Germany and utarid in Malaysia respectively. You get 10 tracks of awesome female fronted dirty grindcore mixed with tech metal weirdness and harsh noise cut-ups in between tracks. This reminds me of the second ASSUCK album mixed with maybe some of the older relapse bands but with a style all it's own. The little noise parts in between songs are actually done really well and add a lot to the uniqueness of the band. The lyrics seem very personal but are written in a really abstract way. It's hard to tell the real meaning behind them just going by the English translations. The artwork is fantastic with a full color print job of a gruesome painting. Comes with a lyric sheet in German and English. If you love raw and dirty grindcore, get this tape!

Black Bloc - S/T - c-20 - (pestology records)

2007-11-12T15:03:00.000-08:00

Black Bloc - S/T - c-20 - (pestology records)

Very cool tape from one of my favorite projects going right now. Awesome, thick industrial noise that is a pleasure to listen to multiple times through out the week. It's good mix of 80's industrial, harsh noise, and bits and pieces of power electronics. Cool hand made paper case, that unfortunately was xeroxed to dark for me to be able to make out the words included on the back cover. Great idea, but poor execution I'm sad to say. I just wish labels would look at what they are printing before you have 100 hard to read to copies! You buy it for the music though and not the cover, and this tape is well worth it!

Gasmask / My Black Gloves - Split Cd-r - (smell the stench)

2007-11-12T14:29:00.000-08:00

Gasmask / My Black Gloves - Split Cd-r - (smell the stench)

Gasmask starts things out with clipping mid-range fighting to be released. Once that happens it's an all out war of sound going on after that for the next 25 minutes. Thick, crunchy bass and sickening high end wails. I guess this could be described as "walls" but I don't really care for that term for stuff like this. Yes it is constant and as thick as a brick, but it also evolves and mutates during it's run. Ends with bass distortion and delayed vocals. This is one of the few tracks I've heard in while that gives me that crimp in the back of my neck that I've only felt besides noise when getting tattooed for multiple hours. Endurance!
My Black Gloves is a newer power electronics project with just a handful of releases out. The sounds are actually really full and come and go in a very produced, thought out, cut-up manner. The vocals are typical for this style but done well, with lyrics focusing on true-crime events. All and all this was an excellent surprise and leads me into looking for more of his stuff.Typical crude smell the stench artwork that gets the job done but could be done much better. Great release, check it out!

Burial Hex - S/T - 12" LP - (SNSE)

2007-11-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

Burial Hex - S/T - 12" LP - (SNSE)

I must say it took me a while to get used to this one. Once I did though it really grew on me. Almost power electronics styled atmospheric noise. It's sounds like a lot of field recordings were used in the mix along with creepy old analog synths and harsh gravel and ash filled vocals. Fans of death-industrial styled stuff will LOVE this. I like to listen to this while reading a good scary book or working on artwork. It just sets a great creepy tone. I recently got to know my neighbors and found out that they were big D&D players. We decided to throw down at my house one night with a case of oatmeal stout and this record playing over and over again (yeah I'm a nerd)! Great packaging with pasted inserts on the sleeve and a cool slick insert inside. Heavy high quality vinyl.

Love Letters - Slime Dynasty - c-30 - (snapped in half tapes)

2007-11-12T13:38:00.000-08:00

Love Letters - Slime Dynasty - c-30 - (snapped in half tapes)

It's been a while since a new Love Letters tape came my way (compared the one a month I used to retrieve from my mailbox). As always it's great, crunchy, lo-fi stuff coming from this married N.J. duo. I love the way it sounds like a room full of small electronics exploding and catching fire in a rapid fire meltdown, with small snips of silence leading way to the next catastrophe. By now you probably know what to expect, but if not this would be a great way to start. Great artwork with cool inserts and pretty tapes.

D/A A/D - DEATHTOURTAPE - c-30 - (snapped in half tapes)

2007-11-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

D/A A/D - DEATHTOURTAPE - c-30 - (snapped in half tapes)

I was lucky enough to get one of these without attending one of the shows for this past summers tour that they were made for. Awesome, dense, bass heavy swirl electronics. This sounds like a no-input mixer with some delay and distortion effects on it possibly? Definitely a show I would want to see if I lived in Canada during this tour! Recorded, mastered, and manufactured in one day. GREAT artwork on orange/yellow transparent paper with red tapes. Not sure if you can get one of these still, but it would be worth the effort to send an e-mail to Alex and find out!

iamseamonster - cloudcoverednightsky - 3" cd-r - (iasr)

2007-11-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

iamseamonster - cloudcoverednightsky - 3" cd-r - (iasr)

Another awesome 3" from Taylor's ias project. The previous review applies to this one as well, though that disc is more straight forward while this one has more of a build up to it. 3 tracks with deep bass and smooth fade ins from glassy guitar effects. Fantastic, well thought out stuff here! If I had the money I would release an ias L.P. without hesitation. Comes in a folded envelope with wrap-around sleeve and inserts.

iamseamonster - mother:womb - 3" cd-r - (iasr)

2007-11-12T12:52:00.000-08:00

iamseamonster - mother:womb - 3" cd-r - (iasr)

This an excellent minimal drone e.p. from the totally under rated Texas project iamseamonster. 2 tracks of guitar/bass drones that clock in around 10 minutes each. This reminds me of the more clean psychedelic style that often comes out of Europe more than the states. Waves gently lap at your feet, your ankles feel a little wet, then your knees, before you know it the monster has you in his arms deep beneath the sea. Excellent packaging coming in a small printed envelope with inserts and painted disc. Great stuff.

Hive Mind - Ashen Geometry - c-20 - (throne heap devotional)

2007-08-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

Hive Mind - Ashen Geometry - c-20 - (throne heap devotional)

You know what to expect. Thick, heavy bass and hiss from the MI. synth master HIVE MIND. 20 minutes of sludge some how goes by very quick. Excellent absorbing music as always. Very cool silver on black screen printed artwork. Get this!

Mystified - Mellow Utility - cd-r - (ambolthue records)

2007-08-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

Mystified - Mellow Utility - cd-r - (ambolthue records)

Here we have another album from St. Louis artist Thomas Park who has been churning out albums under the Mystified moniker at a very high rate lately. The first track is his typical "looped riff" style, with a continuous loop being put through different stages knob twiddling. The next three tracks are in a more drawn out, droney, melodic style. I really enjoy these type of mystified tracks the best. Track 5 is a barely audible bass hum. Maybe I would have better luck listening to it if it was on my stereo and not my laptop. The next track seems to be digitally manipulated field recordings that sounds like raccoons rummaging through your trash at your new house on mars. Track 7 is a nice heady layered remix of another artist (bco) with the all mighty "waves" that I have been seeking out lately, rolling in and out like high tide. Harmonic Interference is a perfect title for the next track. It sounds like two old rusty machines sharing information that sounds computer static to most, but sounds like a sci-fi adventure to you and me. The next track has an almost throbbing gristle feel to it, with the clunking percussion and whiny synth work. The album ends with vocal samples that slowly fade into nice heavy radio static (one of my favorite sounds). The artwork is simple but works well. I would like to something more creative in these types of releases but that's just me. Just because the music is mellow doesn't mean the cover art has to be boring.
All in all this is a very nice release. I think with less loops and more of the thick drones Mystified could really make some amazing albums. A louder mastering job would do wonders as well. This is a very cool cd to listen to while relaxing or reading a good book, but with a few small changes Thomas could be making excellent minimal records that would appeal to a much wider audience.

IDX1274 - I Died - Rotted Brain - "Qualite Superieure" - Buisness Card cd-r - (roil noise)

2007-08-27T11:40:00.000-07:00

IDX1274 - I Died - Rotted Brain - "Qualite Superieure" - Buisness Card cd-r - (roil noise)

3-way short and sweet collab. from Oregon fiends. Full range stutter assault. This should be the first track on your next 3"/card mix tape. Great packaging. Comes with a rolling paper.

The Oak Trio - Furnishings- c-60

2007-08-09T22:14:00.000-07:00

The Oak Trio - Furnishings- c-60 - (loveless tapes)

Very fucking cool collaboration. Deep heavy drones, guitar gutting, synth crushing all around beast of a tape. Features members of love letters, hands to, and wilt. This is really just a great mix of the individual styles of these artist mixed into 6 long tracks. This is mixed so well you could easily play it over and over again. Fans of the darker, nastier, brooding side of noise will love this one for sure. A rare but effective xeroxed cover from loveless, with a nice sandy paint job on the tape. I think this one is sold out but if you can get it from the artist involved or the hanson distro act fast! It's worth it!

Fecalove - self porn - c-20

2007-08-09T21:45:00.000-07:00

Fecalove - self porn - c-20 - (alienated hominid)

Lo-fi microphone abuse recorded with "cock in hand, precarious conditions". Not something I would listen to every day, but pretty great for what it is. Lot's of variation, and weird little interludes. Needs to be mastered at a louder volume though. Ok artwork but not as good we all know tisbor can do..

IDX1274 - Rotted Brain - Live - 3" cd-r

2007-08-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

IDX1274 - Rotted Brain - Live - 3" cd-r - (burnt sound)

Really nice collaboration from these two Oregon noise fiends. Moving thick textures flow nicely, with a full range from low to high. This might come close to being called "walls" but to me is more interesting than that. Every once and while choked screams bleed through and then disappear back into the mix. This gets lot's of play in my discman while reading before bed. It's harsh, but got a warm tone and is easy to enjoy. Goofy Halloween pictures on the cover. With a very nicely painted cd that looks and feels like sandpaper.

Thurston Moore - Free/Love - c-25

2007-08-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

Thurston Moore - Free/Love - c-25 - (Throne Heap Devotional Music)

In all honesty I was not to impressed by this. The first side has nice amp drones, the second side has some cool finger work. It's a solid tape, but I guess I just expected more. I will give him credit though for using very few (if any?) pedals and still making some interesting sounds. Maybe this style has just been ruined for me by asshole hipsters who act like they are sooo creative because they can fuck with an out of tune guitar. I'm sure this more of an "old dude jamming for fun" type of tape though. Excellent artwork as always from this label.

Cannibal Ritual - Last Road To Hell - 3" cd-r

2007-08-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

Cannibal Ritual - Last Road To Hell - 3" cd-r - (noise annihilation)

This is a mean little 3"!!! Cannibal Ritual from germany lay's down 7 tracks in just under 8 minutes. The source material used to make these tracks comes from german grind/thrash bands Yacoepsae (who I love), and Sanitys Dawn. As you can imagine taking these bands, putting them on a tape, and pushing them to the limits with his pedals makes some really great, crunchy short blast of harsh noise. Nice minimal artwork with a clean design. My only complaint about this is that is much to short. What about the other 14 minutes left on the disc? Look for a review of the full length C.R. tape to come soon. Get this!!

Black Bloc - The Strangulation Of Free Expression - cd-r

2007-08-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Black Bloc - The Strangulation Of Free Expression - cd-r -smell the stench

Black Bloc from New York combines lo-fi electronics with a peace punk/crusty lyrical and vocal style. Mixing equal parts radio static, political speech's, metal feedback, slight guitar choking, and spoken/shouted vocals, Don takes us through 10 tracks in just over 42 minutes. The main appeal of these tracks ,in my eye, is the lo-fi production value and punk rock aesthetic. There is never too much distortion to drown one part out from the others. Everything is mixed equally and the tracks stand clear on their own terms. It almost sounds as if speakers are all over over the room and everything is at an equal volume throbbing and rolling through multiple delay pedals. This sound seems to rely much more on mic feedback, echo, and delay more than huge amounts of distortion or heavy processing. This could easily be compared to the Grey Wolves mixed with Crass, and perhaps a certain early Broken Flag artist that I can't quite put my finger on. Quite enjoyable hazy yet energetic electronics covered in a layer of rust. As for the artwork, to be honest, it's pretty bad. Just xerox's pasted onto a slimline jewel case. The art is done in the traditonal peace punk cut and paste style with stenciled slogans. Due to being made on a computer, it is very pixelated though. It gets the point across, but could be done much better. The music is great though and the ideas are well presented so check it out!

new blog

2007-08-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

yeah, yeah, another review blog. Just something fun to do. If I buy something from you or do a trade with you, it will probably end up here sooner or later. If you really want to send me something to listen to, of course I won't stop you. Don't ask me to listen to mp3's though because I won't. Thanks for reading.
-Andy Quitter
http://myspace.com/suburbiamelting