ALTAR OF FLIES / SEWER ELECTION - 'Split' LP (Release The Bats)
(2008) Split slab of vinyl from two of the best acts currently dwelling in the depths of the Swedish underground scene. Altar Of Flies continues with his dark and eerie forest rumblings. Buried claustrophobic lo-fi insanity straight from hell with heavy outbursts of feedback, which could have been outtakes from an old Dario Argento soundtrack. Sewer Election fill the flipside with the nasty "Rotten Corpse" - a crude and disgusting piece full of monotonous, freezing coldness. Mean-spirited ugliness from both bands. Mastered by Patrik Jonsson (Dødsdømd). Limited to 325 copies.
UK 12£
Europe 14£
World 16£
QUANTITY
CLOAMA - 'Revisionist Knowledge' CD (Freak Animal)
(2005) Return of the more cruel and vicious side of Cloama! This CD goes two different of directions. 1st 4 tracks are live-without-audience recordings recorded with amplifiers and couple of good microphones. Painful and straight-forward power electronics with vocals. 2nd part of disc is studio recordings and this electronic-genius, known from Strom.ec, makes analogue synthesizers and other tools sound personal with his trademark style. Very stylish designed artwork in cardboard box cover with 4 insert cards.
DESIDERII MARGINIS - 'Songs Over Ruins' CD (Cold Meat Industry)
(2001) Reissue of the debut album by this Swedish Dark Ambient legend. "The tune of a little bell overlaid by strange voices seemingly far away. Melodic atmospheric ambient sounds, one piece with straight rhythms, the other very slow and quiet like musical description of a tree without its leaves, cold and waiting for spring that never comes...". A highly effective, cold and sparse ambient release, certain to strike a chord among listeners of Raison d'Etre.
UK 11£
Europe 12£
World 13£
QUANTITY
DVT - 'DVT' CD (Cranial Fracture Recordings)
(2002) Starting with thick, richly saturated rhythms and bellicose samples, then moving to aggressive "in your face" power electronics. A straight up powerful confrontation with hard vocals; no compromise. Samples burst and crushing noises collide as declarations echo in the distance... then comes the death winds, the obscure voices and the high pitched scraping, testing the eardrums (and speakers)!
UK 5£
Europe 6£
World 7£
QUANTITY
FIRE IN THE HEAD - 'Meditate / Mutilate' CD (Eibon Records)
(2006) Power Noise – not for the weak at heart! The straightjacket has been removed, the medication has worn off and the delusions have intensified. F/I/T/H (Mike Page) has returned to spread the poison with “Meditate / Mutilate”, a schizophrenic and volatile mix of seething, harsh electronics, dark ambience and tortured vocals. From the blackest depths of neurosis to the apex of unrestrained psychosis, the ten tracks on this CD hone F/I/T/H’s dual-edged blade to perfection. The assault has just begun. There's a world out there. Prepare to bleed. Digifile.
(2005) Dynatos (an old Greek word meaning potent, powerful, robust, vigorous etc). This haunting work should be perceived as a sermon about what a person is able to do but chooses not to, or what is impossible for them to do even, if they want to do it. These anonymous masters choose to preach in the language of electro-acoustic music instead of the language of words, which mean nothing in the tempted world. The album comes in a special packaging designed by ZonderZond: hard cover with the CD itself wrapped and fixed inside a piece of beautiful brocade. Russian import, ltd x 350.
UK 11£
Europe 12£
World 13£
QUANTITY
IRMOLOGION - 'Irmologion' CD (RAIG)
(2003) Irmos 1-9 in sequence is of great importance for the perception of the of music. This resembles a horror-documentary soundtrack redefining one's dark vision of the world intoxicated by deceit, illusions, and errors. Consistently dark and deeply disturbing chants grow up from distorted references to hymns and raise up everything to the level of apocalypse. Here, the ceremony is no more a source from which the author draws his inspiration but an act provoking him to create a stunning alternative and send this painful challenge to the tempting and rupturing dogma. . A beautiful piece with hand-made cardboard packaging. Russian import. Limited to 350 copies.
UK 5£
Europe 6£
World 7£
QUANTITY
JARL - 'Wound Profile' CD (Autarkeia)
(2007) Reissue of the debut cassette album from Swedish electronics genius Jarl (aka Erik Jarl / IRM), now remastered for CD. The album consists of two record sessions: one of them (6 tracks) was recorded in 1999, while the other (1 track) was recorded 18 months later. Those closely following Jarl's music may recognise the early sound of Erik’s compositions in "Wound Profile", reminding of the first IRM records. Clear-cut, abnormal, psychedelic rhythmics, its distorted, massive repetitions, analogous loops of synthetic sound generate the emotions of anxiety, morbidity and degeneration. "Wound Profile" can be characterised by emotional straightforwardness and brutality. Ltd x 500 copies in a digipak.
This self-titled limited edition album is both an official debut by the project and a perfect introduction to their creative activity as it collects the most intriguing recordings from 2004-2005. Inspired by the ambiguous works of German prophet poet and translator Stefan George (1868-1933), Lebenswelt to a great extent sounds aristocratic, remote, and dark, with many references to the modern European symbolist movement. Mixing distinctive drones and ambiences with repetitive industrial hammerings, well-designed noise layers, and varying rhythmic structures, they depict apocalyptic industrial canvas with morose and hopeless atmosphere. Presented in a stunning cardboard package. Russian import.
UK 10£
Europe 11£
World 12£
QUANTITY
MARK O'LEARY / GUNTER MULLER - 'Skyshifter' CD (Creative Sources)
"...the duo weave a shimmering tapestry of alien drone, scattering bits of harddrive flotsam across squalls of ringing jetsam. "Improvisational" this recording might be, but aesthetically more than a few chronologically cultural links are forged with pioneer soundscapers of yesteryear (Xenakis, Stockhausen, Babbitt, Subotnick) more so than any straightforward diagrammatical connection with post-jazz avant-gardists... the duo delight in erecting a quakebasket quiverfest of extraordinarily well-articulated electronic music: gently warbling pulses course and murmur as they feint between preening tone clusters and software backwash, a bubbling cauldron of intense sonic energy that is factory resistant to pigeonholing." (The Squid's Ear).
UK 9£
Europe 10£
World 11£
QUANTITY
METHADRONE - 'Retrogression' Enhanced CD (Subdrone Recordings)
Re-release of the ‘Retrogression’ EP (Nothingness), now on professional CD. Death / doom metal with industrial influences and a touch of sludge, based around two bass guitars. Reminds of ISIS. With Craig Pillard (Womb, Incantation). The bonus material consists of two video clips and a cover of SWANS’ ‘Sex, God, Sex’. The CD comes in a slimline DVD-case with full colour cover and is limited to 1000 copies.
UK 11£
Europe 12£
World 13£
QUANTITY
METHADRONE - 'Sterility' CD (Foreshadow Productions)
US-based one-man project Methadrone is spearheaded by Craig Pillard (ex-Incantation), also known as bass player of doom metal band Evoken. Under the moniker of Methadrone, Pillard dives into murky waters of impenetrable sonic depth created by heavy and torturous guitar sounds. From the very first tunes of the title track “Sterility” you are taken down to witness the perfect musical desolation and dryness entrapped in eight inches of the silver plate. Methadrone's sound has evolved into more organic and original entity, defining Craig’s style and maturity as an independent musician. "With lights out and headphones on enter into the world of sound where no life dwells". Features guest vocals from David Galas (Lycia).
UK 10.50£
Europe 11.50£
World 12.50£
QUANTITY
MUX - 'The Second Confession' CD (RAIG)
Another great discovery from the St Petersburg scene. Using analogue synthesizers, assorted instruments and digital processing, this duo churns out sludgy, rhythmic tracks with scraping sounds and rusty textures that wouldn't sound out of place on a Mental Destruction album. Handmade cardboard packaging. Russian import.
UK 5£
Europe 6£
World 7£
QUANTITY
RICHARD CHARTIER - 'Archival 1991' CD (Crouton)
Throughout his recent work, Chartier has continued to present sound as design - clean, simple design, implying colors and direct lines and shapes; a spotless, modern room; a series of colored screens. His release on Crouton predates this taste, when things were a bit more complex, a bit more intense. As his recent work sucks the listener into white space, Archival 1991 takes you straight into a black hole, in the most comfortable way imaginable. This is a different kind of clean simplicity. The work is beautiful, stunning, and most of all, complexly powerful. The recording is based on two compositions from 1991, using analogue and digital synthesizers. In 2003, these original pieces were used as source material for this new work, resulting in an extremely intriguing revisit, and aesthetically true to much of his work from the same period. Presented in a 6-panel sleeve in a hand-numbered edition of 500 copies.
UK 10.50£
Europe 11.50£
World 12.50£
QUANTITY
SKM-ETR - 'Screwdriver City' 3" CD (Freak Animal)
SKM-ETR's previous full length CD 'The Rugged Meat Cleaver' caught plenty of attention in the Power Electronics scene. With this MCD, SKM-ETR takes a more straight forward Power Electronics approach. Hard electronic walls of noise filled with hateful vocals. Very nicely presented in a little foldout cardboard sleeve with inserts. Professional CD, limited to 500 copies. ACT FAST!
"Martial pop at its most militaristic. 'Wonderland' is a controversial album by a controversial performer. SnowW.White is a female performer in a male-dominated scene... a uniformed musician marching to a beat that varies from ambient to bleak battle scenes where the sound of war vies with the cries of men for our attention. Wonderland and SnowW.Wwhite and ready for war..." [label description]. Straight-forward military pop. Hydra is a division of the Salvation Group.
UK 11£
Europe 12£
World 13£
QUANTITY
TAINT - 'Sex Sick' CD (The Ajna Offensive)
Supposedly the 37th Taint release! "...one of the most depraved Noise / Power Electronics acts in action today. Seems like forever since Taint has graced our presence and he sure as shit doesn't disappoint. Extreme noise, feedback, hard, burrowing frequencies, and profoundly disturbing samples, with some killer vocals on this one too. In fact, on a whole, this is more of a power electronics release than a straight noise release.. .though, if you're thinking this is a softer sound, you're sadly mistaken. Sick? Yes. Great? Um, yeah, that too.." [Malignant]
UK 10£
Europe 11£
World 12£
QUANTITY
TSJUDER - 'Kill For Satan' LP (Zerstörungs Produktionen)
Blasphemous, grim and violent Black Metal straight from Satan's bowels. Light a match & stand back! Tsjuder describe themself as 'chainsaw black metal' and that's a pretty good description for the music they play. Not too polished, not too raw. Truly one of the best bands from Norway. Hand-numbered edition of 999 copies.
UK 12£
Europe 14£
World 16£
QUANTITY
VA - 'Somehow They Knew...' CD (Vrihaspati / Steinklang)
(2006) Peter Savelkoul of A Challenge Of Honour presents his new label sampler. The song styles vary from Neoclassical Soundtracks over Martial Hymns and from mesmerizing Folk pieces over trippy Ambient-Tunes, to violent Power-Electronic attacks. All tracks / versions / mixes are unreleased and most of them are exclusive for this release. Features: A Challenge Of Honour (2 tracks) Code 243, Comtesse Du Nord (2 tracks), Ex.Zero, Laharis, Praetorio, Straight Mental Institute, The Arkwoods and Un Defi D'Honneur. Ltd x 500/
UK 8£
Europe 9£
World 10£
QUANTITY
WALDSONNE - 'Wanderer' CD (RAIG)
(2008) Waldsonne's debut full-length album. Of the 11 album tracks on "Wanderer", 4 tracks are from their "Strahl" demo EP (all re-recorded), 5 are pure instrumental compositions, 1 comes with textless vocalisation, while others are sung in English, German and Russian. The band combines clean mandolin, guitars, Irish harp, and violin into a fairy acoustic blend of music with roots in medieval folk and heathen rite chants. The female singing leads the song at times strong and majestic though always tender and seductively romantic. On some tracks the quartet is supported by percussionists and a flautist. The whole work shines with heartwarming and inspiring tones, it’s all about magic and fascination but not about dark melancholy and depression. Russian import.
UK 10£
Europe 11£
World 12£
QUANTITY
WOMBA - 'Evidence Of Letta' CD (RAIG)
The fascinating allure of sound sculptures, organic and industrial flotsams of the WOMBA origin, catalyzed by the manipulations of the local underground scene's most prolific lunatic Tikhon S. Kubov. It is neither a return to the aggravated sonic assault of the preceding album, nor a reproduction of the kind of noise you would expect nowadays - but somewhat more soft. A refined post-industrial symphony of nostalgia, sentiment and lust. Normally, it works without breaks as one single piece, but the montage specific character allows a listener to spin one's own web of twenty four audio-cells by programming the ‘Letta’ tracks to playback in any order. “Make your own Evidence!”. Presented in a stunning cardboard package. Russian import.
(2002) Starting with thick, richly saturated rhythms and bellicose samples, then moving to aggressive "in your face" power electronics. A straight up powerful confrontation with hard vocals; no compromise. Samples burst and crushing noises collide as declarations echo in the distance... then comes the death winds, the obscure voices and the high pitched scraping, testing the eardrums (and speakers)!
