Archive for December 2024

Excellent black metal. Perfect measures of melody and necrotic lofi hell. Matches the horrors of the unknown and the profane darkened secrets of the universe with the more grounded and relatable experience of the simple pleasure of loud music. Entranced together, we must drink of this cup and become ascended. Or something.

I’m almost loathe to say it, because naturally I’d like to think that I would personally prefer more challenging and experimental music, but PiL’s Album – a fairly straightforward and pleasant record in comparison to some of their others – is their best album to date chronologically. The meandering weirdness of the previous records is dialled back, and the songs whilst not particularly traditional in how they are laid out are indeed more streamlined than…

Me: Mom, I really want the new Godflesh record. Mom: No, Linesinwaxxx, we already have Godflesh at home Godflesh at home: (fr though this is fucking excellent, even for such a shameless rip off)

Looking at the cover of this thing you’d expect some sort of Orange Goblin style stoner or biker metal (I am also perhaps used to seeing this sorts of devil women on the walls of tattoo shops which only strengthens that association). Of course, you will not get anything of the sort here. Lords Of Acid are a legendary techno / dance act from Belgium, and Voodoo-U is their second album. This thing rarely lets…

Cold, decrepit, miserable, depressing, tepid, deathly, drab, sorrowful. This is what DSBM should sound like, no? Thankfully, early Xasthur helped set the bar for such hideous, menacing music. Nocturnal Poisoning is a journey through a pit of mourning and unfathomable darkness.

More happy, cheeky chappy punk with naughty lyrics from everyone’s favourite demented sex pests, The Dwarves. As with most records in the latter part of the group’s discography, the vibes vary wildly, from thrashy crossover stuff, snotty skate punk and even silly slicker stuff. There’s also some songs appearing here that were on the previous album, so no idea what that’s about.

This one’s a bit harder to find than it should be in today’s digital and terminally online life, but it’s well worth hunting down. It shows Exploited flexing their muscles a little and exploring some other styles, especially in the ways of postpunk. Of course, this is Wattie and Co we’re talking about here so things still hit hard like walking out in front of a truck on a country road. Speaking of which, my…

It’s almost unbelievable that Dimmu Borgir once sounded like this, if you take the last 25+ years of songwriting into account. This EP possesses a much more “second wave” sound than basically everything else in their discography, including the debut For All Tid.

A surprisingly streamlined and focussed effort from PiL, who have thusfar been getting more and more abstract with each passing studio album. Their 4th does not eschew all of their postpunk weirdness, but the rigid, military-precise backbone of 80s synth pop underpins most of the songs here. The band have had tight rhythm sections in the past, but you could set your watch by this one. John Lydon also has a lucidity to his presence…

Thoroughly enjoyable psych / doom / stoner stuff with very cool artwork. As you would except, this thing meanders all over the place, with lots of guitar solos and spacey musical motifs throughout. Do not expect the wheel to be reinvented, but if you want a solid, well-written and fun album, look no further.

The patchiest entry into the otherwise excellent Dungeons & Catacombs compilation series; III is mostly excellent but is dragged down by a few compositions of questionable quality, as well as a fucking cover of a Christmas song and also a Burzum cover. These entries heavily give the impression that the series is running out of steam and really cheapen what is otherwise a nice little collection of dark dungeon tunes.

Dra Sad II has a totally different vibe from the first, with a much more dreamy and ambient feel. These elements have always been present, but are much more apparent here, especially in the fantastic closing track, the 16 minute “Neghu”. Very inspiring!

After very much enjoying Dra Sad III fairly recently I decided to go back and start at the beginning. The first entry is very epic indeed, like the soundtrack to some very important battle that will decide the fate of the realm, or something. It is also incredibly well produced. It is the perfect soundtrack for grinding out levels in your RPG / MMO of choice.

Wow, what a mess! But truly, such a dark and evil and satanic mess! Shambolic yet endearing in the same way as I suppose Graveland is, minus all of the Viking shit. Drunken, soused, pickled black metal from within the unholy boundaries of Finland.

This album is just one giant breakdown and I am absolutely here for it. The underpinning monolith that is Jah Wobble is very clearly absent, but despite this I would not say that PiL has suffered massively for his absence. Perhaps they are even more meandering and dreamy now than before, but they still do a good job of keeping their maddening songs grounded in a solid bass rumble. I can’t say that the other…

Considering how great the later Beatles albums are, Yellow Submarine seems like a bit of a side step. The records have been growing and growing in experimentation and I suppose maturity for lack of a better term, but Yellow Submarine just seems totally pointless to me, especially considering it’s significance in the overall cultural zeitgeist and image surrounding The Beatles. Granted, a lot of this has to do with the film, but I can’t help…

Imagine my surprise at realising I hadn’t written about this one yet! It’s only one of the most well-known Davis records, it’s no big deal haha Anyway, Kind Of Blue is a legendary record that needs little introduction or preamble from someone of such ill repute as myself. Released in ‘59 however, it is a far cry from the sometimes maddening experimental pieces that would come from Davis and the various incarnations of his band….

Exultation Of Cruelty, seemingly coming out of nowhere (although I hardly keep up with the breaking news when it comes to Finnish black metal), takes the crown for black metal in 2024. It is one of the strongest Satanic Warmaster records ever made, which is pretty fucking exciting considering how long this project has been going for now. Comparisons to Judas Iscariot are apt, but a tad reductive. It still sounds like Satanic Warmaster to…

An interesting blend of metal; a true cauldron of styles and approaches, with a fantastic yet grounded production. It is easy to get lost in the cheese and polish when it comes to making anything power metal adjacent, but Adramelch’s debut stays bolted firmly down to earth. My one personal complaint is about the vocals, which I am really struggling to enjoy, but that’s a personal thing, no doubt. Interesting one, this. I have no…

I’ve been spinning this a lot recently. It’s a fairly excellent slice of black metal, and one that surprises me more and more on repeat listens. I don’t have pages of notes about this, but it’s recommended.

One of the better “off the beaten track” offerings in the “magick metal” world. At first, it comes across as yet another murky entry in the style, but as the record unfolds it takes some surprising twists and turns. The guitar playing in particular is of note; with doomy, stoned riffs and ripping, widdly soloing. Despite this, the production is decidedly low key, ensuring that we remain fully entranced by and firmly Under The Spell…

I’ve come back to Metal Box countless times over the years, but I have never really been able to put my finger on what’s going on here. It walks an incredibly strange line between three things; pop sensibility, post-punk obtuseness, and chill-as-fuck dub. I don’t really know what I’m supposed to be feeling, and that’s ok, but it’s not really helped in allowing me to form some coherent thoughts on what’s actually going on, before…

PiL are a band that has always passed me by. I’m not sure why, as they surely spearheaded the post-punk movement along with other bands from the late 70s, such as Wire. The Fall, Killing Joke, and even Christian Death on the other side of the Atlantic. Sure, all of these (PiL included) would go off on their own paths, but at their gestation, the core of their sound was based on weird and angular…

Skeletonwitch are one of those bands that have always existed on the fringes of my musical periphery (lol), but Beyond The Permafrost is a fantastic record that I vividly remember coming out. It’s a bit “one note” perhaps, and the cover art looks like something a bog standard late 00s Relapse Records doom and or sludge band would use, but the groups potent mix of various metal subgenres really comes together rather perfectly. The standout…

I read on RYM recently someone calling Dwarves “Pro Tools punk” and whilst I think that’s an unfair statement in regards to singling out this band (many, many bands in various genres sound overproduced – modern metal is especially guilty of this), I can’t help but shake that thought when listening to this very latest Dwarves album. The sound is bigger and more expansive here, and the “experimental” elements of their sound are given more…

I’m not gonna lie, I did not have high hopes for this, but The Dwarves Take Back The Night really surprised me. It’s hardly original, but some of the later Dwarves records are abysmal. Not this one. The record hits harder, like everyone involved has had a shot in the arm. Musically, things lean more into thrash / crossover than ever before, and the production is a bit heavier too. Did we need another Dexter…

Christ, this is awful. A lot of this “magick metal” stuff is known for being somewhat less than stellar (it’s part of the charm, oddly), but this record is bordering on fucking abysmal. Musically, it’s not so bad, pretty mediocre but the vocals on this record are incredibly bad. They really drag it down to the point where it’s almost unlistenable. A shame.

A long record, but one that unfolds through different moods and ideas over time, so you don’t really mind the extended playtime. A glorious combination of retro-sounding beats inter-spliced with spacey, dense synth passages. Great atmospheric music.

Came for the dungeon synth, stayed for the incredibly dark and moving atmospheric soundscapes! Holy shit, if there was ever the ideal “music” to accompany some sort of forbidden occult ritual then it would be this. Brilliant!

For all their early reputation and absurd live performances; their sketchy vibe and sleazy attitude… by the time we get to The Dwarves Invented Rock & Roll they have fallen firmly and squarely into the camp of “old punk rockers singing about the same shit they did when they were teenagers.” On one hand, you can commend them for staying true (or returning to their core / root sound and sticking with it), but on…

I love the concept of this album title. Old meets new! Knight meets nerd! Ha! As far as the record goes, the excellent Quest Master blends olde worlde dungeon synth passages with more modern production and beats. The “beats” however aren’t obnoxious or intrusive, and the whole thing blends together extremely well. It seems simple on paper but it warrants multiple listens to truly appreciate the balance.

OK so, if you are able to read that title out without thinking of Groundskeeper Willie then you are a stronger man than me. This kooky, twisted proto-dungeon synth record is a rewarding listen for those who have strayed far from the beaten path. It is however, quite patchy. Some of the later tracks are very rough indeed, but The Shinning Moon (Ackh!) is worth the delve for completionists and historians of this nerdy genre.

Comes across like a long, free-form jam. Production is fantastic for a live record and whilst it’s a touch “meandering” the musicianship is phenomenal. Personally, I will always pick Live-Evil or Agartha from this era, but this is a pleasure to listen to.

A BBC radio session (not a Peel Session but cool to know Dwarves did something like this) on one side backed with a bunch of Blag solo tracks on the other. The Blag solo stuff is proper goofy, not really my thing, but it’s a nice change of pace. I just don’t think it’s aged particularly well. Record sleeve is nice lol

Well, this was fun but I find myself asking that eternal and immortal question: why? Judging by the cheeky intro track, it seems this record is some sort of retaliation to the criticisms levelled against late-90s Dwarves material for being too soft or commercial. Surely then, the way to combat this would be to a.) ignore the haters and do whatever that makes you artistically happy or successful, or b.) write some NEW snotty punk…

Quite possibly the worst Dwarves album? Over time Blag Dahlia’s voice has been morphing into a severely perverted Alice Cooper, but here on Dwarves Must Die the man’s taken a side step into the Fred Durst school of performing “arts”. It’s a weird one! LOL Honestly, what the fuck happened here? Sounds like Good Charlotte and Marilyn Manson got together to write Dwarves songs about smoking crack and fucking bitches. Disastrous! Guest appearances such as…

I’ll be honest, I got into Christine from the English re-release of Titled, so I’m a total normie when it comes to this stuff. However, I can’t help but think the whole album sounds far more pleasant in its original French, so I massively appreciate the inclusion of the bonus disk in the second language. This record, whatever its tongue, is a sparse, somewhat haunting affair; and I don’t mean in the ethereal, ghostly, fragile…

Personally, I find that Sugarfix sits between the two “eras” of classic Dwarves. Oddly, it has worse production than Little Girls but also has more melodic / fully fleshed out songs like what would come after this point. So it’s a weird inbetween, yet also somewhat underwhelming. I can’t say that it’s Dwarves by numbers because that would go against the “transitional period” sound I just mentioned above, but nothing here really jumps out at…

As a Beatles novice, their self-titled double album (or “white album”) is not an undertaking to be scoffed at. Whilst it is long and varied, and sometimes full of perplexing stuff (“number nine… number nine…. number nine…”), I do think it’s the best showcase of Beatles stuff yet, beating our Revolver which currently held my chronological top spot. It reminds me a lot of Sgt. Pepper’s too, in that for all its experimentation, there is…

An excellent collection of tracks and a brilliant place to start with Tarot. Personally, for me, the best tracks come at the beginning (the hat trick of “The Watcher’s Dream”, “Twilight Fortress” and “The Wasp” is unbeatable) but the whole record is incredibly solid and very well produced. Some folks have drawn comparisons to Black Magick SS and whilst I can see that (some passages in particular are very similar) Tarot haven’t a speck of…

Thank Heaven For Little Girls is like someone gave the Dwarves a multipack of Kit Kats. It gave them enough time to think, “maybe we should record the next album in an actual studio” haha – none of the songs here would be out of place on Blood, Guts and Pussy but the production is a fucking MASSIVE step up, making it almost sound like a completely different band. The surf / slide guitar influences…

I struggled with this one, to the point where it took several goes even just to get through it in one sitting. The previous two Beatles albums are my favourites thus far chronologically so I was surprised to find this one such a slog. I got there in the end however, with multiple listens, and was surprised to find that there’s a lot of “classics” here despite the experimental nature of the tracks in general….

Tidy slice of Oi! if I’ve ever heard one. Great, snotty punk with lots of attitude and heaps of energy. 84 has that production sound of an early demo rather than a full length but come on now, it’s punk we’re talking about so we can let it slide. I can’t speak a fucking word of French so can’t comment too much on songwriting but it sounds class and that’s all that matters.

Stylistically different from the rest of the Dwarves discography, as if they hadn’t quite decided what to do with themselves yet. At first it feels quite different but after a while you realise it’s not too far away from their original core sound, especially in production. Sure, things hit a lot harder in the albums that followed this, but Horror Stories kinda sounds like Blood, Guts and Pussy if it was recorded by The Cramps…

This is a complete waste of everyone’s time. It was a waste of Eldritch’s time to make. It was a waste of the label’s time. It’s a waste of my time, and now, via the moments of this review, it’s a waste of yours. Like, why does this guy have such a massive fucking chip on his shoulder? Maybe the problem is you, fam. Ever thought of that?

Holy smokes! What a left turn! Straight off a cliff! Holy fuckski! LOL. If I was the ancient Egyptian god Horus I’d be pretty fucking pissed that my eye was on the cover of this dreck. Does Eldritch even know what it is? Is that what the “vision thing” is? Man probably banged a goth girl once who had it on a necklace or something. Cosmic. Anyway… what the fuck is this? Like, I’m two…

Drugs. That’s how I would describe this: Revolver with more drugs. The Indian instrumentation is ramped up, as is the songs about seemingly random shit. It sounds great, though. Production, again with the silly panning of shit, is off the chart. In amongst the madness there are “regular songs” to keep the album grounded. I’m not sure why the album seems to close with a reprise and then comes back with one more song afterward?…

I don’t really have the vocabulary to accurately and sufficiently convey the more technical details around Mahler’s work and the performance from Barbirolli and his orchestra, so I apologise if this review feels somewhat lacking. Classical, especially in this meandering, bombastic (?) style, is far outside of my wheelhouse. There is, however, a certain way that Mahler makes me feel. I think to say that there is a grandiose nature to these compositions is not…

One of life’s simple pleasures is unearthing “forgotten” gems from the past in genres that you love. Enter Dragons Of Autumn Twilight then, by Casket Of Dreams; a project that has enjoyed something of a second wind in the Covid end times of 2020 onwards. In regards to this 1998 debut however; frosty, minimal synth passages meld with more almost classical style songwriting to really whisk you away to a far away land. I’ve been…

Much more solid than the previous EP. “Walk Away” is like a shot in the arm, but “Poison Door” is probably the better song. The others on the 12″ / compiled version aren’t bad either.

Long-running but otherwise thoroughly enjoyable romp in the barber beats / vaporwave stream of musical consciousness (no doubt you were able to ascertain that from the cover art, though!). This 2022 effort from this prolific project covers a lot of different vibes but works best when at its most treacle-paced. Great chill music.

Being vaguely familiar with Alan Vega (split w/ SunnO))) & Pansonic, old Suicide stuff) I had absolutely zero fucking clue that he ever collaborated with Andrew Eldritch. It wasn’t until searching for the lineup of this “side project” that I learned of his involvement. The goth world is truly transatlantic, eh? So, Sisterhood. I read that this material was originally intended for a Sisters Of Mercy record and was only released as The Sisterhood because…

A fairly drab affair out of what I would otherwise consider a classic era of output from this unusual outfit. Neither of the songs really strike me, at least not in comparison to the other absolute belters this band was releasing in 1983. If you’re lazy, the full 12″ 4 track versions of this and the following single/EP, Walk Away / Poison, is available as a bonus disk to some versions of First and Last…

It’s interesting, because of SOM’s murky and unusual beginnings, I was expecting their commercially successful debut to be much more cohesive and brighter. Alas, their first album is a pit of depressing despair; each song – even if not super slow in pace – oozes out of the speakers like molasses. Eldritch’s baritone is used consistently here, a stark contrast to the yelped or barked Adam Ant but on crack cocaine approach of some of…

Revolver is the best Beatles album to date, chronologically. The sound is warm, even, and whilst the record is chock full of bizarre panning nonsense, the songs are for the most part absolutely excellent. Best track is probably “Eleanor Rigby”, which is iconic as we all know. The only thing that sucks about this is the cover art (like what the Jesus creeping shit is that?).

The double single of “Body Electric / Adrenochrome” bridges the gap between the distinct SOM sound and the early post punk efforts nicely. The bass is much more prominent in these tracks, and whilst the vocals are still manic rather than the sultry baritone of later years, this single is very much an enjoyable SOM release.

Sister of Mercy’s first release centres around the single “The Damage Done” and its associated songs. It’s harsh, noisy post punk but again with that rigid drum machine backbone, which stops things from getting too chaotic. It’s pretty good for what it is, but it isn’t unique and is pretty nondescript. If anything it reminds me of Nick Cave’s first band, The Birthday Party.

“Temple of Love” is much jauntier and up-beat, reminding me of the stuff you’d find on albums like Floodland. It’s a change of pace from the more morose and depressing stuff found on the previous few releases, but with that same trademark rigid drum machine sound. “Heartland” is kinda meh and the Rolling Stones cover was so unexpected for me that I honestly don’t know what to make of it.

The Reptile House is the second EP release from Sister of Mercy, at least chronologically, in early 1983. It is, truly, a masterpiece of dark rock, and reminds me of Killing Joke crossed with Christian Death. The sterile drum machine and prominent bass also reminds me of other dark 80s acts such as Big Black or even Swans (especially with the same baritone style vocals used by both bands) but whilst SOM is perhaps more…

“Alice” and “Floorshow” are both a great start, with the sound of the project in its infancy but also already possessing hallmarks which would continue throughout. They aren’t the strongest tracks by the Sisters, IMO, but the production is highly enjoyable. The re-release of the 1983 12” includes some absolutely fucking fantastic pieces of music, the cheeky “1969” but most importantly the excellent, repetitive, droning, spectral (lol) track “Phantom”, which is easily the highlight here.

A vital exploration of the early SOM singles and EPs, even if it’s missing one or two after 1983. The back to back bangers of Alice, Reptile House and Temple Of Love are reason enough to get into this thing, but the earlier material at the end is also worth checking out for completionists, even if it’s not as good as the first few releases collected here.

Whilst not hitting the heights of the first volume, Artificial Intelligence II is still a fantastic exploration of electronic music in the early to mid 90s. I have to admit that outside of Autechre (and Speedy J from vol. 1) I am not familiar with the artists here. They do however, all work under one unifying theme or banner; the bar of excellence is considerably high. There’s something about AI II that definitely feels its…

Christian Death’s Catastrophe Ballet has, IMO, one of the greatest cover art pieces of all time. I have so many questions about it, and it is also very visually striking. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the music. I appreciate the work of Christian Death and their impact on the scene but honestly, the apathetic vocal style of Rozz Williams (I fully understand that this is the whole point) is so disconnected to the…