Clocking in at one hour, thirteen minutes, "Initiations" represents a journey, a metaphysical odyssey of uncertain outcome. Somnambulant, subterranean oscillations... undulating analogue synth and gentle percussion.... dark ambient soundscapes. The album ends with the half speed collisions, static miasma and white noise squawl of 'Bo -II- Ne', the listener deposited on shores unknown, prostrate at the feet of the infinite mystery. Kneel, o ye acolytes, before an astral-industrial opus of vast depth and occult magnitude. 2nd edition in jewelcase.
UK 10.50£
Europe 11.50£
World 12.50£
QUANTITY
DEAD RAVEN CHOIR - 'My Firstborn Will Surely Be Blind' CD (Aurora Borealis)
Recorded in Poland on archaic Soviet Bloc technology,"My Firstborn Will Surely Be Blind" sees Dead Raven Choir in full throttle audio assault with total disregard for all conventions of audio fidelity, with great songs of the 20th Century by artists diverse as Townes Van Zandt, Richard Thompson and Cole Porter torn limb from limb and dragged through Smolken's forest home. Curiously upbeat in parts, though with harrowing and bizarre artwork. "A ghostly fog. A hollow sonic death rattle: Doom with pneumonia" (The Wire). Digipak.
UK 10.50£
Europe 11.50£
World 12.50£
QUANTITY
HEAVY WINGED - 'Waking / Shaking' LP (Aurora Borealis)
The vinyl-only "Waking, Shaking" release consists of two lengthy tracks: 'Tidal Blackness' is a 23 minute cloud of improvised guitar and bass drone, underpinned with sparse percussive elements and dappled with the rays of ethereal melodies. This track, recorded live in Oakland in 2008, represents the more gentle side of Heavy Winged in some ways and is largely soothing. The second side harbors 'Morning Flesh'; 18 minutes that veer towards the caveman Krautrock of the recent "Alive In My Mouth" LP, drums pounding, Neanderthal guitar chugging, though with a melodic haze drifting across the musical landscape like a lysergic mistral, leading the listener ever further into the shifting sands of the forbidden zone.. Ltd x 500 copies on transparent grey vinyl.
UK 14.00£
Europe 17.50£
World 21.00£
QUANTITY
K11 - 'Voices From Thelema' Enhanced CD (Aurora Borealis)
"Voices From Thelema" is an action of instrumental transcommunication with short wave receivers. It was realised inside the ruins of Thelema Abbey, Cefalù, Sicily - founded by Aleister Crowley in 1920. K11 is a project of Italian sound / installation artist Pietro Riparbelli that deals with the world of radio signals, trans-communication and other invisible phenomena, to create a dimension where the only sound sources are signals from shortwave radio receivers. Deluxe digipak with 32 page booklet featuring photographs from the recording process at Thelema Abbey. Also features a short film shot on location at the Abbey.
UK 10.50£
Europe 11.50£
World 12.50£
QUANTITY
L'ACEPHALE - 'Malefeasance' 2 x LP (Aurora Borealis)
"Malefeasance" is a lengthy and complex affair that further explores L'Acephale's fascinations and strikes headlong into the darkest of musical vistas. The journey this time is perhaps even more academic than the debut "Mord Und Totsclag": further ethnographic audio elements are now present, more spacious passages, a deeper approach. A mix of ambient, warping tones, black metal, chanting, ethereal keyboards, drones, acoustic guitars, noise, field recordings and Tibetan ritual music. The last two tracks best show the nature of Set Sothis' collaborations with Markus Wolff (Waldteufel, Crash Worship), sharing some of his vocal and percussive styles. By no means do L'Acephale make music for the casual listener. In many ways they transcend the preconceived ideas of what may be expected: L'Acephale are most successful at operating beyond the constraints of genre altogether, and 'Malefeasance', with its dark, dreamlike and harrowing atmospheres, is their testament. Ltd x 500 copies on heavyweight vinyl in a matt sleeve with A1 poster and booklet.
UK 16£
Europe 21£
World 26£
QUANTITY
L'ACEPHALE - 'Malefeasance' CD (Aurora Borealis)
"Malefeasance" is a lengthy and complex affair that further explores L'Acephale's fascinations and strikes headlong into the darkest of musical vistas. The journey this time is perhaps even more academic than the debut "Mord Und Totsclag": further ethnographic audio elements are now present, more spacious passages, a deeper approach. A mix of ambient, warping tones, black metal, chanting, ethereal keyboards, drones, acoustic guitars, noise, field recordings and Tibetan ritual music. The last two tracks best show the nature of Set Sothis' collaborations with Markus Wolff (Waldteufel, Crash Worship), sharing some of his vocal and percussive styles. By no means do L'Acephale make music for the casual listener. In many ways they transcend the preconceived ideas of what may be expected: L'Acephale are most successful at operating beyond the constraints of genre altogether, and 'Malefeasance', with its dark, dreamlike and harrowing atmospheres, is their testament.
UK 10.50£
Europe 11.50£
World 12.50£
QUANTITY
PREDOMINANCE - 'Dark Stars Unfolding' 2 x CD (Loki Foundation)
The unique sound of Predominance combines dense and atmospherical soundsculptures with symphonic drones, pulsating rhythms and visionary-majestic vocals, this double album marks the final release of Predominance as the project already ended in 2003. Divided into 2 parts the disc one: ARCHIVUM contains selected tracks from the first tape the first LP various compilation tracks and unreleased material. The disc two: LIVE collects high quality live recordings from the whole period of activity and includes all the outstanding vocal tracks for what Predominance was especially known for. Presented in a beautiful double digipak.
TENHORNEDBEAST / MARZURAAN - 'The Law Of The Needle / Into Countless Battles' CD (Aurora Borealis)
TenHornedBeast is the dark vision of Christopher Walton, part of the much feted Endvra, masters of 90s dark and occult ambient. 'Law Of The Needle', clocking in at over 28 minutes, is an oppressive opus of doomed drone, both monolithic and multifaceted. Marzuraan contribute 13 minutes of narcotic guitar haze. Their previous gruff metal grunts have been replaced by a subdued, almost crushed vocal. This is epic, like a bassier, looser, Mogadon dosed JESU with a man past caring roped in to give his thoughts on where its all gone wrong. Printed on heavy textured card and with 2 die cut runes. Comes in a PVC archive bag with a transparent sticker.
UK 10.50£
Europe 11.50£
World 12.50£
QUANTITY
THE STARGAZER'S ASSISTANT - 'The Other Side Of The Island' CD (Aurora Borealis)
'The Other Side Of The Island' is the soundtrack to the sculptural works of David J Smith. In addition to his percussion duties with Guapo, Smith has spent the last two years bringing his visions to life; life that emerged slowly, painstakingly, out of wax, coal, copper and lead. In much the same way, the soundtrack itself slowly writhes organically before the listener: the groan of the motherlode, the shifting of tectonic plates, the song of the Earth's crust. In collaboration with longstanding musical cohort Daniel O'Sullivan (Guapo, Miasma & The Carousel Of Dead Horses) and audio engineer Antti Uusumaki (Mothlite), Smith has created a strange work comprising of layered vocals, percussion, electronics and prepared strings. The Stargazer's Assistant offer up the soundtrack of eternal, elemental labour. Jewelcase with metallic print.
WOLFMANGLER - 'Dwelling In A Dead Raven For The Glory Of Crucified Wolves' 2 x LP (Aurora Borealis)
Wolfmangler is the musical vision of D Smolken, a Polish political émigré, formerly of Dead Raven Choir. His music is slow, grim, noisy, black and shambling; a deconstructed hybrid of twisted folk and hinterland doom metal. Bowed double bass, electric bass and violin merge with sinister growls and whispered lyrics as Wolfmangler improvise dissonant doom riffs around lyrics taken from Hank Williams Jr, Georg Trakl and others, rich with the symbolism of life and decay. Wolfmangler create a listening experience at once unsettling, twisted and darkly beautiful. Comes with 2 vinyl-only bonus, previously-unreleased tracks! Heavyweight vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with 2 posters.
WOLFMANGLER - 'Dwelling In A Dead Raven For The Glory Of Crucified Wolves' CD (Aurora Borealis)
Wolfmangler is the musical vision of D Smolken, a Polish political émigré, formerly of Dead Raven Choir. His music is slow, grim, noisy, black and shambling; a deconstructed hybrid of twisted folk and hinterland doom metal. Bowed double bass, electric bass and violin merge with sinister growls and whispered lyrics as Wolfmangler improvise dissonant doom riffs around lyrics taken from Hank Williams Jr, Georg Trakl and others, rich with the symbolism of life and decay. Wolfmangler create a listening experience at once unsettling, twisted and darkly beautiful.
YRSEL - 'Requiem For The Three Kharites' CD (Aurora Borealis)
Yrsel create complex, multi-layered and highly atmospheric music that fully explodes the genres of drone, doom, and electronica resulting in a glorious glacial melt of sound and texture. Yrsel is a collaboration between The Austrasian Goat, primarily an experimental Doom / Black Metal project, and Ondo, an equally prolific dark electronica project. Conceptually, the album deals with the Three Graces (Kharites) of Greek mythology, symbols of grace, beauty, pleasure, and the creative impulse. A requiem for the loss of culture in an ever spiraling material world, a twilight ode to the mythic manifestation of our higher faculties. In this context the drones, glitches and whispers form the perfect soundtrack to such dark materials. The album dissolves slowly from its thunderous opening, finally leaving the listener in a deep void of palpable loss. Ltd x 500 copies in a deluxe silkscreened wallet.
