Half Makeshift is the solo project of Pennsylvania's Nathan Michael. L'anse Amort contains four tracks that expand on the density of his debut "Aphotic Leech", creating more space and reflection, more peaks and valleys. The monumental 17 minute opener "Whale Heart" builds from a simple melody and crackling electro-static to eventually collapse under its own weight in a huge Nadja-esque wall of drone riffery , while other tracks are comparable to Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore. "L'anse Amort" is epic in a way most "post-rock" bands can only aspire to. Comes specially packaged in a outsize gatefold sleeve.
K11 - 'Metaphonic Portrait 1230 A.D.' Enhanced CD (Actual Noise)
K11 is the nom de plume of the Italian sound artist Pietro Riparbelli. For "Metaphonic Portrait 1230 A.D.", Riparbelli entered Assisi Cathedral (completed in 1230 A.D.) in the Umbria region of Italy, not far from Riparelli’s hometown of Tuscany. The audio was recorded in the cathedral’s lower basilica, the oldest area, where the relics of St. Francis Of Assisi reside. Utilising short-wave radio as his primary instrument Riparbelli has captured a haunting array of cavernous sounds, displaced signals and found ambiance. With the addition of some voice and organ elements, "Metaphonic Portrait 1230 A.D." sounds not unlike the recordings of Philip Jeck and William Basinski under the influence of Crowleyean Magick and Sacred Geometry. A video shot inside the cathedral by Riparbelli is included on the disc to give the listener a visual picture of the aging structure. As in all K11’s work, the themes of magick, religion, numerology and esotericism are present throughout this reverent document of aural mysticism. Digipak.
Judd and Becky Hawk are joined by Greg Wilkinson (Brainoil, Pig Heart Transplant, Earhammer Studios) and Nathan Misterek (Graves At Sea). On "The Coronation", the two elements that make up the current Laudanum sound - punishing, bruised sludge doom and bleak industrial noise experiments - are fused ever more tightly together into a cohesive soundtrack for the slow collapse of modern life and culture. The intense low frequency pummel of Wilkinson’s bass rumble is itself an apparent cause for some of this collapse, such is its massive earth-shaking power. Becky’s crushing drum beats rival Dale Crover in sheer intensity and brute force. Judd’s repetitive stone slab riffs carrying the weight of the world, and Misterek’s vocals, colliding with Becky’s, coating the whole thing with the mournful, evil magick of life’s coming oppression. This is The Coronation of the end. Digifile.
MRTYU! - 'Blood Tantra (Rituals De Sang Du Culte De Tantra' 2 x CD (20 Buck Spin)
Imagine a crossbreed of ("Salt Marie Celeste" era) Nurse With Wound, Khanate and Throbbing Gristle and you can start to imagine the sound of New Zealand's Mrtyu! The sound is a mix of back woods New Zealand and modern urban decay. When the deep bass detonations lash out on 'Rites of Death in Body Temple' you're not quite sure whether it's the sound of an ancient Aboriginal ritual or the menacing 808 war march of a midnight low-rider with its lights low and sawed-offs strapped. Harsh noise, Industrial Sludge and Narco-Metal meeting at the crossing of the Styx. Mrtyu! is Antony Milton (Black Boned Angel). Reissue of two extremely limited releases. 6-panel digisleeve.
NADJA / BLACK BONED ANGEL - 'S/T' CD (20 Buck Spin)
A monumental cross-continental collaboration between Canada's prolific neo-doom duo Nadja and New Zealand's pitch black droners Black Boned Angel. The two 20+ minutes tracks contained on this self-titled collaboration have a less accessible vibe then the Jesu-like track on last year's 'Christ Send Light' EP. There are no vocals to be heard. They are comprised in equal parts of Nadja's fuzzed-out, lurching and hazy dream-doom, and BBA's razor-sharp metallic riff-shards. Extended passages of riff-static noise bleeds one track into the next while deep space eerieness looms ever present in the shadows. Finally the whole thing collapses under the weight of its own self-created black hole. This is the end. Digipak.
PUSSYGUTT - 'She Hid Behind Her Veil..' CD (20 Buck Spin)
Multi-instrumentalists Brittany McConnell Blake Green reside in the rural landscape outside of Boise, Idaho, where they create their dark, foreboding sounds away from the chaos of America’s large cities. "She Hid Behind Her Veil…", is comprised of a single track over 45 minutes in length. The sound occupies a dense space where the heavy, metallic drone sound of Black Boned Angel intersects with the minimalist string arrangements of Phillip Glass and the more ambient doom tendencies of Japan’s Corrupted. With its use of violin textures, the album sounds as much like a classical movement as an art-doom release. Draped in a cloak of gothic black doom ambiance and eerie, unsettling moods, "She Hid Behind Her Veil…" is an apparition of ghostly vision from one of America’s more isolated environments. Digipak. Pussygut changed their name to Wolvserpent in 2010.
"What if Z’EV had written the intro to Darkthrone’s “Blaze In The Northern Sky?". With that question in mind Finland’s Rakhim unearth "Crimson Umbrella"; a two-track fit of kraut-noise psychosis, schizophrenic percussive clatter and layers of effects and over-processed vocal chants and screams. The nightmarish deconstruction of the 2 lengthy tracks bare only trace elements of main members Krypt and Rudimentor’s day jobs in Circle and Pharaoh Overlord, with Rakhim indulging in sonic terror too far gone for the aforementioned bands. Although the album’s title makes reference to L.A.’s great Jesters Of Destiny, Rakhim would more aptly call to mind Wolf Eyes filtered through a lengthy Faust tape jam. Best experienced through headphones at appropriately ear-bleeding volume. Silver on black digifile.
Samothrace plays ultra heavy doom with harsh alcohol-soaked vocals. And yet a somber melodic sense also permeates the 4 long tracks on "Life’s Trade". Not in the overused, weepy Euro-doom tradition, but distinctly Midwestern, soulful and blues inflected. The songs shimmer with desperation, hopelessness and pain, both world weary for the plight of the oppressed and also intensely personal. The melodic interplay of guitarist Bryan Spinks and Renata Castagna is distinct in doom played this heavy and each song is meticulously crafted for maximum emotional impact. Recorded and mixed by Sanford Parker (Buried At Sea, Pelican, Nachtmystium), "Life’s Trade" rates as a stunning debut by a band soon to be on top of the doom genre.
THE BASTARD NOISE / THE ENDLESS BLOCKADE - 'The Red List' CD (20 Buck Spin)
A split album between two titans of the North American underground! “The Red List” marks a huge turning point for US noise legends Bastard Noise. The harsh noise and power electronics they are well known and revered for here is mixed into a foundation of brutal modern hardcore with progressive tendencies, recalling their seminal past ties with Man Is The Bastard. The Endless Blockade's contribute a 14+ minute modern power-violence epic, alongside two remix tracks from the "Primitive" sessions; the first remix by Noah Creshevsky, the second a brutal harsh noise blast by Canadian audial assaulter The Rita. A sick offering!
WOLVSERPENT - 'Gathering Strengths / Blood Seed' 2 x CD (Crucial Blast)
Previously known as Pussygutt, the duo of blackened psych-drone metallers from Boise, Idaho changed their name to the much more ominous sounding Wolvserpent in 2010. The name is the really the only thing that changed, as the occult hypno-doom and grim, folk-stained nightmares that populated their previous albums are all intact here. This release collects both the "Gathering Strengths: LP (Olde English Spelling Bee) and "Blood Seed" LP (20 Buck Spin), both of which were previously available only on limited edition vinyl. The material has been remastered for this format, and comes in an 8-panel digipak that features both the original album artwork as well as new imagery that further compliments Wolvserpent's avant-garde witch-sludge.
