avant-garde

Swans – Oxygen (2014)

October 22, 2024

A curiosity of an EP, worth it for the early version (off a M. Gira CD from the past) as well as the acoustic version (which is just harrowing. All are worth hearing, especially if you love the version on To Be Kind. The edit and the live version are pretty pointless, though.

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Swans – Not Here / Not Now (2013)

A great live album, and one of the few that I personally own. There are some great takes here, and the sound is fairly clear, but the additional demos are lacking somewhat. In regards to the album itself, it stands in the shadow of We Rose… which came before it and was much more prominant with a full pressing release (not just limited), and it also stands in the shadow of the monumental The Gate…

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Swans – Time Is Money (Bastard) (1986)

I am beyond shocked that after 13 years of writing about music mostly full time I have yet to touch on the epic that is Swans’ Time Is Money (Bastard) single. One of my favourite songs ever, if only for it’s intense and unforgiving drum attack. The title track is all drums, reverb, snarling vocals and not much else. Truly uncompromising and terrifying music. They don’t make ’em like this no more!

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Shining – Blackjazz (2010)

October 9, 2024

My initial thoughts after returning to this record 14 years later was that it had not aged well. However, I firmly believe this is due to the production, rather than the songs. By the time the middle instrumental part of “The Madness and the Damage Done” had rolled around, I remembered entirely why I fell so much in love with this record in the first place. I’m not sure if the mix of jazz and…

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Current 93 – I Have A Special Plan For This World (2000)

October 8, 2024

I don’t think it would be unfair to say that David Tibet is a bit up his own arse. Respectfully, Current 93 meanders rather spectacularily through many styles and phases over the years. I Have A Special Plan For This World is far from anything you’d get on Thunder Perfect Mind or Dog’s Blood Rising. Instead, it is a 20 minute ramble over some ambient sound effects. I mean, if you’re into that, then fine….

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Peste Noire – L’ordure à L’état pur (2011)

August 1, 2024

Peste Noire continues to entertain at the least, with the ongoing twists and turns of his – or their – uh, music. This one contains a lot of dancey industrial beats, which was not what I was expecting, I’ll be honest with you. Again, as I’ve said a few times now regarding Peste Noire, when it sticks to the black metal, that shit is fierce and incredible. And I’m not one to piss and moan…

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Peste Noire – Peste Noire (2013)

July 31, 2024

I appreciate the innovation and experimentation present in this release, in fact I find it more enjoyable than the previous three Peste Noire albums (but it does not hold a candle to my sweet, sweet love that is La sanie des siècles). Moments of flat out, uncompromising black metal are rare, but when they hit, they hit hard. Otherwise, this thing comes on like some mad French painter throwing shit at a barn wall, or…

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Electric Masada – At The Mountains Of Madness (2005)

June 13, 2024

The concept of “Grails” is probably overused in this record collecting renaissance age (or should I say over-memed?). This Electric Masada album however, was a grail of sorts for me. It has always remained tantalisingly out of reach; a mysterious Zorn-led experimental jazz supergroup consisting of a who’s who of the avant-garde elite which I could not ever hear. I refused to pay £25/£30 for a Tzadik import, it wasn’t available on streaming services, and…

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Van de Graaf Generator – Pawn Hearts (1971)

June 12, 2024

Gorgeous, bright, vibrant, incredible, exciting, exhilarating – these are some of the words I would use to describe the absolute aural treat that is Pawn Harts. I’m no prog guy, as you can probably tell, but this was an incredible experience.

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Khanate – Clean Hands Go Foul (2009)

May 25, 2024

Ugh, what a nasty mess! In what barely constitutes music in parts due to how sparse and desperate it is, this disturbing full length release by Khanate is highly recommended for those fans of the sick and twisted and / or the slow and tortured. The vocals are savage and raw, barely holding together the shambling backdrop of glacial sludge. Clean Hands Go Foul is worth checking out for the 32 minute closing track alone,…

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Test Dept. – The Unacceptable Face Of Freedom (1986)

May 12, 2024

A harrowing collection of socio-political clips set to a gruelling background of industrial soundscapes and clanking, pounding machine percussion. Lyrics are sparse but effective, and the whole work gives off a unique sense of claustrophobia and desperation.

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Curta’n Wall – Siege Ubsessed (2023)

May 7, 2024

After a series of splits and EPs, the bizarre Curta’n Wall drops a full length album. I was a tad concerned that something so whacky would translate into a full length format, but for the most part it seems to fare quite well. Every time I feel like things are about to get a little stale, Curta’n Wall switches things up, or transitions into a new song / section / instrument that immediately renews my…

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Devin Townsend – Ocean Machine: Biomech (1997)

May 4, 2024

Historically, I’ve had a hot / cold relationship with the solo albums of Devin Townsend. Much to my surprise then, when going back to the very first one from 1997, I found that I truly enjoyed this album. Devin’s “wall of sound” production is in its infancy but still mostly present; sheets of guitars and synths are the backdrop for this collection of compositions, setting the stage for the growing levels of bombast that would…

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Tom Waits – Rain Dogs (1985)

Tom Waits – Rain Dogs (1985)

April 24, 2024

Rain Dogs comes in the middle of a trio of absolutely classic releases from Tom Waits. The man was, truly, on a roll with these studio albums. There’s something so magical and unique about these songs and the feelings that they conjure up. Rain Dogs is also a rare album where its remaster has caused me to appreciate it more, at least in regards to listening digitally.  Such a brilliant album.

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Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel – Nail (1985)

Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel – Nail (1985)

April 12, 2024

I’m probably not qualified to talk about this in all that much detail, but what I can say is that Nail is a bizarre collection of sounds, sitting somewhere between Holy Money era Swans, Big Black, Test Dept., Mr. Bungle, The Cramps and Nine Inch Nails, whilst also having the honour of predating most of the bands in that list. It is an album that’s taken me multiple attempts to digest, not because I find…

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Jarboe – Mahakali (2008)

Jarboe – Mahakali (2008)

March 23, 2024

I first bought the Mahakali album in 2010 or 2011 and despite being massively into Swans and even some of the guest players here (Atilla for example), the album didn’t really resonate with me. I found it slow, frustrating and directionless. I’m not sure what has changed, but coming back to it thirteen years later and I am immediately blown away by this thing. I listened to the whole thing through for the first time…

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Muslimgauze – Iran (1988)

Muslimgauze – Iran (1988)

March 4, 2024

This is like the Muslimgauze version of Scorn’s Deliverance. The whole thing is just folded over on itself over and over and over and reworked into different sounds (at least, that’s how it feels). It’s easy to lose yourself in this half hour of sheer atmosphere, which is really quite sinister.

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Beherit – Electric Doom Synthesis (1996)

Beherit – Electric Doom Synthesis (1996)

November 20, 2023

Pardon me for being tride in offering the plain fact that this is just more or less H418ov21.C Part II. There are slight differences, for example Holocaust’s production skill has come along a little bit and it therefore isn’t as spare perhaps as it’s predecessor, but for the most part, if you like sparse, ambient electronics with a slightly spooky cyber feel, you’ll be right at home here.

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Vangelis – See You Later (1980)

Vangelis – See You Later (1980)

November 16, 2023

An interesting effort from the legendary Vangelis, with the trademark dreamy atmosphere. Here the tones are a lot lighter and airy, giving the whole record a nonchalant feel. I couldn’t resist the album at only £3 for the 12″ vinyl, but after owning this for about a decade I have only played it a handful of times. The end of side A and the side B track “Suffocation” are probably my favourite. Unfortunately, my copy…

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The Death’s Head Quartet – The Death’s Head Quartet (2001)

The Death’s Head Quartet – The Death’s Head Quartet (2001)

You can take one look at the staffing for this record and know immediately what kind of aural carnage you can expect. That being said, DHQ does have some sense of experimental maturity to it that I would not expect from something involving Seth Putnam. Anyway, if low, rumbling, post-apocalyptic sounds are your thing, then check out this improvised record.

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DNA – A Taste of DNA (1981)

DNA – A Taste of DNA (1981)

August 23, 2023

All over the shop, ants in your pants, frenetic punk music with art house leanings. I guess this is an early precursor to the no-wave scene? Not my area of expertise so apologies if that’s not right (edit: RYM has it down as No Wave music). This is fuckin’ carnage, kinda reminds me of Half Japanese or even early Locust stuff. Was really cool to find out Ikue Mori drummed on this thing too.

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H.N.A.S. – Im Schatten der Möhre (1987)

H.N.A.S. – Im Schatten der Möhre (1987)

August 10, 2023

An interesting collection of sound collages and other seemingly-randomised occurrences or little tangents of sound. Do I understand what’s going on here? Fuck no, but that doesn’t really matter to me. All of the different textures comply to an overarching ambience of unsettling mystery, of an uncanny atmosphere that can only come from an inability to put a finger on what exactly was the purpose of the work. I can’t remember how I came across…

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Ensemble Kluster – Klopfzeichen (1970)

Ensemble Kluster – Klopfzeichen (1970)

July 30, 2023

Spooky, plinky-plonky noises fed through tape loops and other analogue methods of shaking you to your very core. Nowhere near as good as later Cluster and I appreciate the name change. Nevertheless, Klopfzeichen is very unsettling background noise and would work perfectly as the soundtrack to some sort of sci-fi / horror movie. As for active, engaging music – this is not it, but if you’re awake at 3am and want to feel something other…

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PainKiller – Execution Ground (1994)

PainKiller – Execution Ground (1994)

April 20, 2023

This is the third Pain Killer full length album to date (although its kinda weird to call the first two full lengths such, because they aren’t all that long). Execution Ground breaks the mould, entering far, far spacier territory. You can really feel the influences that Mick was experimenting with at the time; dub, ambient etc. (let’s not forget Laswell has albums in this territory too). The album is a far cry from the jazz-grind…

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Liturgy – H.A.Q.Q. (2019)

Liturgy – H.A.Q.Q. (2019)

April 14, 2023

Holy shit this is one of the most insane things I have ever heard. Incredible, explosive, volatile yet so delicate – honestly, words are escaping me right now as I start to try and solidify my thoughts on this thing into one digestible soundbite. It is worth mentioning that I am familiar with Liturgy’s earlier works, specifically Aesthethica, but its been a long, long time since I checked in on this project. My initial reaction…

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Endon – Through The Mirror (2017)

Endon – Through The Mirror (2017)

February 26, 2023

This was sold to me by Bandcamp as grindcore, and – impressively – the album which brought Hydra Head back from the dead. Endon’s music here is far from grindcore, in my opinion. Yes, there are intense passages of absolute carnage, which I suppose could come close to something like Cloud Rat, but Through The Mirror dreams far, far bigger than such a restricting genre tag. Endon is more or less post- everything and everywhere….

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Luc Ferrari ‎– Und So Weiter / Music Promenade (1969)

Luc Ferrari ‎– Und So Weiter / Music Promenade (1969)

So there’s a little story to this. At the end of “Gravedancer” on Pig Destroyer’s epic Terrifyer record, there is a minute or so of bizarre, troubling dialogue between what seems to be several people. The main core of the audio is of a man and a woman arguing. The argument seems to get quite heated, and the woman screams out several times, as if being attacked or thrown about. They also seem to both…

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William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops (2002)

William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops (2002)

When you wake up in a empty house and the weather outside stops you from going anywhere, and you’re trapped staring at the dull light of your work-issued laptop… its time for a listen of something as heavy and as involving as William Basinski’s Disintegration Loops. Or in this case, part 1 of the 4 part series. Getting stuck into this is a massive undertaking, but not as massive as say, The Caretaker and his…

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Psychic TV – Cathedral Engine (1994)

Psychic TV – Cathedral Engine (1994)

I’ve listened to this many times over the years where instead perhaps I should have branched out a bit more into other Psychic TV stuff (there’s so much of it!). This is a fantastic piece of work, though; a very thorough exercise in sinister and brooding atmospheric music. Not quite on the knife-edge of noise, Cathedral Engine definitely uses a “less is more” approach compared to some of the other projects by those involved, but…

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Current 93 – Thunder Perfect Mind (1992)

Current 93 – Thunder Perfect Mind (1992)

December 28, 2022

I did a lot of digging into Death In June’s politics recently and a lot of people pointed me at Current 93’s “Hitler As Kalki”, which is on this album. It contains a lot of wishy washy references to Kalki and places Hitler in there as the one who will come to destroy the world (or whatever), but for the most part this stuff is so esoteric and dare I say rambling I see no…

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The Locust – New Erections (2007)

The Locust – New Erections (2007)

In 2007 locust released what would be their final studio album to date. It’s actually incredible how much time has passed since this final studio album and it still even now feels kinda weird to be talking about the band in the past tense. Even from the first few notes, you can tell that New Erections is a different beast to what has come before. The record is full of the bleeping blooping batshit crazy…

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Death In June – Heilige! (2000)

Death In June – Heilige! (2000)

September 7, 2022

This is probably the best live album I’ve heard from this project so far. It seems to offer something interesting aside from the usual 1 man acoustic renditions of all the hits. The recently deceased Albin Julius is a part of the live show, providing a layer of electronic sounds. This live document was taken around the Operation Hummingbird era, so that makes sense. But yeah, a lot of classics from various eras of Di6’s…

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Clown Core – Toilet (2018)

Clown Core – Toilet (2018)

May 4, 2022

What an absolute beauty of an EP. I first marked this down for LIW’ing in 2020, so it was a pleasure to come back and check it out for this review. I absolutely love the mix of jazz, noise and I suppose, even grindcore. There are muted electronic passages that invoke the realms of vaporwave and 80s nostalgia, before the madness comes back and smacks you upside the head. A topsy turvy listen, for sure.

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Kamasi Washington – The Epic (2015)

Kamasi Washington – The Epic (2015)

April 1, 2022

I’ve approached The Epic multiple times since release and have struggled to find the words to do it justice. Therefore, I’ve decided after another recent listen through at the beginning of the year, to throw all pretense of “doing it justice” to the wolves and just commit this monster of an album to the site. Is it too overblown for me to state that The Epic is the Bitches Brew of our generation? Possibly. Bitches…

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Voices – Frightened (2018)

Voices – Frightened (2018)

I’m not sure why Voices’ output fell off the radar in the mid 2010s, after the quickfire one-two of albums in 2013 and 2014, but I’d have to assume that it had a lot to do with Akercocke becoming a functioning entity again. In a running theme with a lot of the posts that I have made here recently, I completely missed this record around the time of its release, finally catching up with it…

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Sigh – Scorn Defeat (1993)

Sigh – Scorn Defeat (1993)

March 18, 2022

I am very much late to the party here. I saw Sigh in I think 2010 at a French music festival. Before that, my only real experience with the group was seeing their albums advertised inside my copy of Principle Of Evil Made Flesh (I think they may have been on the same label as Cradle Of Filth at one point). Anyways, I wasn’t blown away by the live show (particularly how they piped a…

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The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble – The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble (2006)

The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble – The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble (2006)

January 21, 2022

I saw this ensemble live in Roadburn Festival, at either the 2011 or 2012 edition. The work they performed there was much more ambient, downtempo and minimal than this self-titled record. It is an album that reminds me of Ulver’s Perdition City, yet of course sounds nothing like Perdition City. The self-titled offering of Darkjazz here however is a cinematic, urban offering that flitters between traditional instrumentation and pulsing electronic passages; one works off the…

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Charlemagne Palestine – Strumming Music (1974)

Charlemagne Palestine – Strumming Music (1974)

January 19, 2022

I checked this out on the back of Michael Gira of Swans’ enthusiastic descriptions of it during an interview a few years ago. There’s probably a lot more going on here than I can do justice with words on my crappy “what I’ve listened to” blog, but expect long, meandering, overlapping piano compositions. If that sounds like your kind of thing, get involved.

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Flux Information Sciences – Last Mixes (2013)

Flux Information Sciences – Last Mixes (2013)

December 21, 2021

Flux Information Sciences were admittedly a band I only ever heard of because they had an album out on Michael Gira’s Young God Records. The Last Mixes is a compilation of well, some of the last stuff the band ever did. Apparently. It’s not listed anywhere as an official release, and one of the band members has commented on the YouTube upload of this saying he doesn’t know where the hell the uploader got these…

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Chihuahua – Violent Architecture (2021)

Chihuahua – Violent Architecture (2021)

December 18, 2021

Chiwawawawa are from Manchester and play an interesting blend of noisy rock and a slightly more melodic vein of indie music. Without wanting to be derivative or to put these guys in a box, Violent Architecture has an awful lot of Black Midi vibes, and the final track has parts that sound as if they are lifted directly out of Swans’ “Bring The Sun”, but this is so blatant it simply must be some sort…

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Theatre Of Ice – A Cool Dark Place To Die (1985)

Theatre Of Ice – A Cool Dark Place To Die (1985)

December 15, 2021

We played this on a night shift last year, after reading online about how its one of the evilist things ever recorded, or some such overblown statement. A Cool Dark Place To Die is, frankly, comical in its concept and delivery. Coming across like a mix of shit dungeon synth and even shitter “death-rock” like Christian Death and the like, Theatre Of Ice ham it up in every way possible, and then obscure everything with…

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w i n t e r q u i l t 愛が止ま – O’Discordia (2021)

w i n t e r q u i l t 愛が止ま – O’Discordia (2021)

December 3, 2021

I was recommended this by @cassette_goblin and I can’t for the life of me put my finger on what the actual fuck is going on here. Is it black metal? Is it jazz? Shit, RYM has it listed as vaporwave, which is in an interesting intepretation. Honestly, do I like this?… Not really, no. But fuck if I’ve ever heard anything like this in my entire life, and for that, Winterquilt has my undying attention…

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Sunn O))) – Black One (2005)

Sunn O))) – Black One (2005)

November 8, 2021

Eternity! (It’s certainly taken me an eternity to review this album). Black One was the first Sunn record I ever bought. When I was 16 or 17 years old, I didn’t immediately ‘get’ this. I wanted big fat drones in my face, blowing me out of my chair. What I got were intense atmospheric compositions that went over my head initially. I think it took seeing Sunn live with Attila on vocals to truly understand,…

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Black Midi – Cavalcade (2021)

Black Midi – Cavalcade (2021)

October 27, 2021

Is it really time for another Black Midi album? Fuck, I’m old. The years, they fly! Anyways, the band have come a long way in a short space of time, shedding the rawness of Schlagenheim for a more refined, almost jazz approach to songwriting. Parallels to Disco Volante era Bungle are perhaps too easy to make, and also do this album somewhat of a disservice. Whilst it is no doubt complimentary to be compared to…

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Robbie & Mona – EW (2021)

Robbie & Mona – EW (2021)

October 10, 2021

I found out about this Bristolian duo through the Instagram account @scvmrat. Turns out she had posed for this record cover and its voyeur / BDSM kinda vibe gave me industrial or power electronics vibes. I was even more curious when I found out the band played “dream pop”, and so added EW to my listen list. Dream pop is a pretty good way to describe this. The term generally makes me think of stuff…

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The Mars Volta – Amputechture (2006)

The Mars Volta – Amputechture (2006)

July 12, 2021

Fantastic record! What a shot in the arm (no pun intended regarding current worldwide climate) for my interest in The Mars Volta and their later work. It is easy to write this off as disappearing up its own arse, but this is spaced out, gloriously complex, Latin-influenced and drenched in saxophone and weird jazz movements. Add all of this to the band’s already interesting songwriting and you have an intense melting pot of gorgeous tracks….

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The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 6 (2019)

The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 6 (2019)

July 7, 2021

And so ends the journey into the world of dementia, as led by The Caretaker. Part 6 is utter chaos and confusion (for the most part, at least), a fitting end to this harrowing project. How accurate is this? Who knows, especially for a story told entirely through the medium of sound. Either way, one must heavily commend The Caretaker on his monumental effort, and of course, for the light and focus that he has…

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Swans – Swans (1982)

Swans – Swans (1982)

June 25, 2021

Swans’ self-titled EP is a far cry from the punishing experimentation that the band would originally become renown for. Gira and his ever-revolving musician friends are no strangers to growth and change, but Swans’ self-titled is probably the only one time where they truly belonged to a scene or movement and didn’t stand out on their own. Loosely associated with many of the tropes of the no wave scene, Swans is an awkward record taking…

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Lou Reed & Metallica – Lulu (2011)

Lou Reed & Metallica – Lulu (2011)

Small town girlllllll! Haha! Now, I’m no stranger to weird and wonderful music, and of course one of the sad caveats that come with such worlds: music that is up its own arse, or collaborations that are just doomed to fail but float along on the artistic merit of those involved. I’m not want to shit on these worlds, but what Metallica and Lou Reed attempt to do with this “bold” and “challenging” record just…

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Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells (1973)

Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells (1973)

June 24, 2021

Tubular Bells is a fucking mad one, if you stop and think about. Like, I don’t know why the first part of this very uplifting and experimental journey was used in the unsettling as fuck movie The Exorcist (I’m sure Oldfield’s record label wasn’t complaining, sales wise!), but there we go. The “famous five minutes” aside, Tubular Bells is a mammoth release, where variations on a theme are looped over and over as Mike experiments…

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Repulsion (1965)

Repulsion (1965)

May 25, 2021

Roman Polanski’s Repulsion has been on the to-do list for a very long time, even more so since I saw Catherine Deneuve in Belle De Jour. I’m not sure that I like Repulsion as much as Belle but she’s perfect for this role, regardless. Deneuve has a still, fragile beauty which betrays no flicker of the chaos unravelling in her character’s mind. Which is, of course, perfect for such an artsy black and white psychological…

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Secret Chiefs 3 – First Grand Constitution And Bylaws (1996)

Secret Chiefs 3 – First Grand Constitution And Bylaws (1996)

May 12, 2021

I’ve probably opened a whole bunch of posts with this line now, but nowhere else is it more applicable than here: Secret Chiefs 3 are a trip! 1st Grand Constitution is a trip! With a line up featuring (of course) Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance, Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn and Bungle drummer Danny Heifetz, this Secret Chiefs record is the spirit animal of Bungle’s Disco Volante. Genres? What in the absolute fuck is a genre?…

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Sunn O))) – 3: Flight Of The Behemoth (2002)

Sunn O))) – 3: Flight Of The Behemoth (2002)

March 12, 2021

Some lovely head-buzzing drones from the earlier portion of the Sunn O))) discography. “Mocking Solemnity” and “Death Becomes You” are excellent offerings, as is the uhhh, interesting take on Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls”, which is of course, completely and utterly unrecognisable. The biggest drawback with this album is the middle two collab tracks. I love Sunn O))), and I love Merzbow, but fuck if these works are not irritating as fuck. The second…

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Muslimgauze- Mullah Said (1998)

Muslimgauze- Mullah Said (1998)

February 28, 2021

Mullah Said is my first taste of the prolific and highly revered sound art of Muslimgauze. I find something about this deeply unsettling; dark, meandering soundscapes are the order of the day, steeped and drenched and plunged over and over into dense Eastern weavery and instrumentation. I shall be returning to this project, that is for sure.

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Chrome Hoof – Beyond Zade (2006)

Chrome Hoof – Beyond Zade (2006)

Chrome Hoof have been on the to-do list for longer than I would ever care to admit. How blown away was I when I finally checked them out? Well, read on! LOL. Beyond Zade is one of those awkward releases that kinda sits somewhere between an EP and an album, but either way, that doesn’t really matter, what matters is the musical content, of which I can safely report is absolutely bonkers in all of…

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Thought Gang – Thought Gang (2018)

Thought Gang – Thought Gang (2018)

February 26, 2021

The Thought Gang moniker has cropped up here or there on Twin Peaks soundtrack records (and the show itself, lets not forget). From the bizarre, softly spoken offerings on the FWWM OST, to the frenetic jazz given to The Return, it was awesome to finally listen to an album’s worth of material from this Lynch / Badalamenti collaberation project. As perhaps predicted, this is a mixed bag of tunes, more of a collection than a…

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Einstürzende Neubauten – 1/2 Mensch (1985)

Einstürzende Neubauten – 1/2 Mensch (1985)

February 21, 2021

Possibly a hallmark of the industrial genre? Do I even need to prefix that sentence with “possibly”? I read online that someone called this a “random tapestry of sound”. That particular review wasn’t a good one, but the phrase stuck with me. At first, 1/2 Mensch can no doubt seem random, but what this is is a carefully constructed monolith of industrial noise, encompassing all the atonal and rhythmic duality that comes with such a…

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The Residents – Not Available (1978)

The Residents – Not Available (1978)

January 28, 2021

What in the nine hells? I suppose I had to start somewhere with The Residents and this was a place as good as any to randomly jump in. I can’t quite put my finger on what is going on here. I feel either I’m missing the greater picture or that Not Available needs a few listens to truly unfurl itself. Its unsettling, a little weird, and a little catchy too. I look forward to hearing…

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Mr. Bungle – The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo (2020)

Mr. Bungle – The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny Demo (2020)

January 27, 2021

I understand that one should expect the unexpected when it comes to Mr. Bungle, and I understand that this is a revisit to a pre-self titled world, but I did not expect this to be as metal as it is. Sure, the inclusion of Scott Ian on guitar and Dai Lombardo on drums probably goes a long way in facilitating this feel, but there is not a single saxophone, trumpet, jazzy interlude or glockenspiel to…

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Deafheaven – Ordinary Corrupt Human Love (2018)

Deafheaven – Ordinary Corrupt Human Love (2018)

I slept on this when it first came out in 2018. Like, totally under the radar she went. Sometimes I have this habit of zoning out for months, even years, at a time when it comes to music scenes, and then I find myself playing catchup. Thankfully, this fourth Deafheaven record was worth chasing after. The band push their shoegazy, black metal influenced noise further into more abstract and interesting directions. Can this even be…

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< READY > The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 5 (2018)

The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 5 (2018)

January 19, 2021

Welcome to hell. Another series of 4 20-minute-plus slabs of terrifying ambient noise from The Caretaker marks the next step into the hell of dementia. Stage 5 is easily the most aggressive, opening with what is more or less harsh noise; the musical memories from earlier stages are now mangled into nightmarish visions that bear zero resemblance to their original form, instead present themselves as a collage of frightening… shit. It’s just noise, and its…

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Mushroomhead – Remix 2000 (2002)

Mushroomhead – Remix 2000 (2002)

January 2, 2021

I never realised how truly rare Remix 2000 was until recently. Fuck knows where my copy is, probably buried under some junk in the attic. Anyway, Remix 2000 builds on the original Remix CD that came out in 1997, and features – how did you guess? – remixes of Mushroomhead tracks from the first two records. There’s probably nothing of value here if you’re not a huge Mushroomhead fan, but its worth noting that the…

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< READY > The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 4 (2018)

The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 4 (2018)

December 26, 2020

The fact that three of the four tracks on Stage 4 of this excellent examination of aural dementia are called “Post Awareness Confusions” should tell you a lot about where this project is going. I mean, I suppose we all know where this is going, its just we don’t know how its going to be interpreted into sound. This is one of the main things which has made this entire journey so exciting yet equally…

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Bogus Blimp – Chords.Wires (2000)

Bogus Blimp – Chords.Wires (2000)

December 22, 2020

Its not often I get to say this with much conviction, but this album is a bloody weird one. Bogus Blimp are strrraaange as fuck, with Cords.Wires taking you on a meandering trip through all sorts of vibes and audio collages. Its not all vignette-style aural wandering however, there does appear to be a smattering of fully-formed, more traditionally structured songs thrown in too, but for the most part, this is a bizarre journey. I…

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The Locust ‎– Plague Soundscapes (2003)

The Locust ‎– Plague Soundscapes (2003)

November 21, 2020

When I was a teenager this record used to make want to go out and punch cars. Nowadays, I just like to sit and bask in the sheer audacity of the audio mindfuckery on offer. Like, this * shouldn’t * work, but it is just perfect. The way the synths and guitars just feed off each other in some bonkers loop, before you even get to the drumming and the hydra-headed vocal attack. If you…

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Gorguts – Obscura (1998)

Gorguts – Obscura (1998)

From the opening chords I am always hooked into the perfectly orchestrated chaos of Gorguts’ world. Obscura is at first impossibly dense to comprehend,  but once you have aligned yourself to the distilled insanity that is on display here, then truly there is nothing like it. Perplexing technical death metal for the thinking gentleman or woman.

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Swans – Omniscience (1992)

Swans – Omniscience (1992)

November 7, 2020

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t initially underwhelmed by Swans’ 90s output, especially coming in as a fan of the sonic destruction that was Filth, Cop, Greed etc. – Omniscience however, the live album I believe for the Love Of Life album, showcases those rigid and dark folk songs in the stretched out sprawling live incarnations one would expect from Swans. Even the morose electronic-laden and acoustic guitar driven rock melodies that the…

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Mike Patton – Adult Themes For Voice (1996)

Mike Patton – Adult Themes For Voice (1996)

October 16, 2020

Oh shit fam, Mike Patton, that guy from Faith No More? Yeah, he’s done a suuuuuper weird record on the side! It sounds nothing like FNM LOL he’s bonkers! Adult Themes For Voice was recorded on tour by Patton in a series of hotels rooms or whatever, and is a record built entirely out of vocal samples. Yeah, it sounds like complete shit at first but yknow, maybe I’m growing my Covid19 hipster lockdown beard…

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The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 3 (2017)

The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 3 (2017)

October 3, 2020

Another year (or thereabouts), another stage in Caretaker’s magnum opus. Stage 3 is where the changes are not so subtle. At this point I’ve kinda figured that the old, jaunty 30s-style tunes from parts one and two are supposed to be memories, and as we descent through each stage, the memories become more and more fractured and broken. Stage 2 introduced minute differences; small fractures and unsettling off-colour compositional changes. Stage 3 is a bit…

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50 Ways To Kill Me – Fun Funeral

50 Ways To Kill Me – Fun Funeral

One of those awkward, weird things that sits between noisecore and just kids fucking around. Then again, FWTKM has always had an unusual streak. I traded away this tape many, many moons ago (it was the Sludgesicle Records re-issue).

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Midsommar (2019)

Midsommar (2019)

What in the sweet holy fuck did I just watch? I’m not a film writer so my language and terminology is not developed enough to really do this film justice, but Midsommar was a twisted, genuinely disturbing journey into the world of off-grid cults. I’m not entirely sure of every message that the creators were trying to convey, but its very interesting watching how things transpire, if not a little (a lot lol) terrifying doing…

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Bill Laswell – Axiom Ambient: Lost In Translation (1994)

Bill Laswell – Axiom Ambient: Lost In Translation (1994)

September 21, 2020

This is probably the busiest and most involved ambient record that I’ve ever heard! Haha! I suppose its due to the sheer number of ambient producers who create a stunning custom patch and then just put a book on the lower end of the keyboard for 55 minutes and call the resulting dirge a new record. I’m being obtuse of course, but hopefully you get what I mean. Laswell has pulled together a small world…

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Current 93 – Dogs Blood Rising (1984)

Current 93 – Dogs Blood Rising (1984)

Dogs Blood Rising was my first experience with the work of Current 93. The record threw me at first, as there are no songs per se, just large, meandering passages of sound collages. “Falling Back In Fields Of Rape” heavily scratched my de ja vu (turns out the Death In June song with the similar title / lyrical layout to this is a “cover” of this ginormous undertaking of a track). All in all, Dogs…

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The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 2 (2017)

The Caretaker – Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 2 (2017)

September 14, 2020

I feel like I’ve been here before, and I suppose that’s exactly the point. Stage 2 of the gargantuan Everywhere At The End Of Time series on dementia sees mostly a rehashing of the themes and tunes of Stage 1. But, if you’re listening carefully, now and then Stage 2’s compositions will throw you out of the loop. Every now and then, through the record crackle and swinging 30s numbers, The Caretaker works in a…

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Årabrot – The Gospel (2016)

Årabrot – The Gospel (2016)

August 27, 2020

Årabrot play an interesting blend of rock and metal; from the noisy to the soothing, the chaotic to the serene. Their history is long and intriguing, but I start here today with The Gospel, which comes on a bit like Great Annihilator-era Swans through a twisted, modernised and European lens. That trite description of course does them no justice, but I thoroughly enjoyed the record and look forward to listening to more.

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Tom Waits – The Black Rider (1993)

Tom Waits – The Black Rider (1993)

August 16, 2020

There are many elements to Tom Waits’ records that are odd or abstract, but The Black Rider seems to take this formula one step further. As far as aural textures go, tonally it is not a million miles away from Real Gone. The difference in this particular little pudding is the songwriting; the tracks are almost vignettes, little insights into bizarre microcosms that are weaved for our aural enjoyment.

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The Caretaker- Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 1 (2016)

The Caretaker- Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 1 (2016)

The whole concept of Caretaker’s Everywhere At The End Of Time series was something I found incredibly interesting. The six parts of this series are supposed to document the mind’s decline into the unknowing hell and fear of being consumed by dementia. Stage 1 here, gets things off to an eery but jaunty start; swinging tunes that I’m led to believe are original compositions of The Caretaker himself, but easily sound pre-WW2. Things loop around…

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Mushroomhead – XX (2001)

Mushroomhead – XX (2001)

May 22, 2020

XX was the record that began my love affair with the bizarre world of Mushroomhead. It may be a re-issue of older material, which is presented here in various forms of remixed, remastered and completely re-recorded states, but to most if not all Mushroomhead fans outside of the USA, this was the first encounter. My favourite band was Slipknot, so when I was 12 years old, surely you can understand why I gravitated towards bands…

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God – Possession (1992)

God – Possession (1992)

May 4, 2020

God is a fucking mad trip, mate. Kevin Martin (The Bug), JK Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu) team up with a whole host of other musicians (I’m sorry for not listing them all!) to create an absolute mindfuck of a record. Possession was my first brush with God (what a sentence), after meaning to check them out for donkey’s years. On first impressions it comes across like a blend of earlier, dubbed-out industrial Scorn records and something…

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Swans – Deliquescence (2017)

Swans – Deliquescence (2017)

May 1, 2020

I caught Swans on their final tour and was very disappointed to find that they had run out of copies of this hand made gem before the date I attended. Since then, I have been slowly but surely telling myself “one day, one day” but lets be honest, I’m never going to pay Discogs collectors prices to silly pricks who are just tryna scalp me. So, I’m afraid, I have gone against Gira’ wishes and…

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Tzusing – 東方不敗 (2017)

Tzusing – 東方不敗 (2017)

April 21, 2020

My first taste of Tzusing began with 東方不敗 (Invincible East in English). At first I wasn’t sure if this was for me, but a few tracks in, and the true unique style of production has completely unwoven around me. Yes, it’s techno – dark, heavy techno – with eastern influences and sounds, but don’t write this off like some cheap psytrance bullshit. The tracks here are meticulously designed, and are a refreshing ride. 

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Scorn – Evanescence (1994)

Scorn – Evanescence (1994)

April 13, 2020

Evanescence is probably the most popular and well received of the early Scorn records. It featured James Plotkin on guitar duties, and was to be the last album to feature Nicholas Bullen on bass and vocals. From the opener you’ll notice a few things are different here. Hip hop or drum n bass style beats are now starting to trickle into the band’s full lengths, but be fooled not; Evanescence is still a dark, moody,…

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Scorn – Colossus (1993)

Scorn – Colossus (1993)

Colossus is a trip. In only a year since their debut, this record showcases the sheer progression that Scorn was making as a project. It would perhaps be lazy of me to say that Colossus continues in the vien of the moody, dubby second half of Vae Solis, but truly it is something much more sparse, harrowing and desperate. The songs are length trips, spaced-out and drums are drenched often in reverb. The feel is…

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Dead Raven Choir – Wine, Women and Wolves (2003)

Dead Raven Choir – Wine, Women and Wolves (2003)

March 25, 2020

Beautiful, glorious, dreadfully obtuse acoustic guitar strummery, wallowing in the depths of the avant-garde and the straight-up pretentious. But hey, its okay, because you surely must know that going in to this record or you wouldn’t be here in the first place. This record offers 13 rituals of dark, atmospheric musings using the acoustic guitar partly as a conjurer of atmosphere, and secondly as a weapon. For fans of the strange and the occult, I…

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Mayhem – A Grand Declaration Of War (2018)

Mayhem – A Grand Declaration Of War (2018)

March 16, 2020

Well, I absolutely snoozed on this, that much I can tell you. Imagine my shock then, when chucking this on and thinking “oh, cracking, a remaster should even out the rougher, more heavily compressed edges of A Grand Declaration…” – the difference here is staggering. It sounds as if the record has been completely re-recorded. I half expected Attila to crop up and do some throat-singing. The immediate notice is the absence of the overblown…

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Sutcliffe Jügend – Blue Rabbit (2012)

Sutcliffe Jügend – Blue Rabbit (2012)

February 26, 2020

Sometimes power electronics can be a little try hard,  especially when try to capture the impact of the older days.  Blue Rabbit however is genuinely terrifying; a brooding, disturbing entry from a great of the genre. All of the narratives are pretty macabre, but the title track itself is particularly harrowing. Musically, it is a little bit dialed back compared to some of their peers, instead of blasting your face with noise, the band let…

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Tool – Lateralus (2003)

Tool – Lateralus (2003)

In my younger days I always had a large respect for what Tool was doing, but in the constant lust for what was fast more brutal, or even more offensive, albums like Lateralus fell to the wayside for me. Thankfully, now in my wizened old age I can return to such records and see the beauty in them. Lateralus is like watching the mechanism of a very expensive Swiss watch in slow motion; all the…

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Lingua Ignota – Caligula (2019)

Lingua Ignota – Caligula (2019)

February 22, 2020

There’s a lot of buzz and hype around this woman right now, so I was afraid of being disappointed. I can happily (is that the right word?) confirm however, that this is a dark and disturbing listen. I’m getting heavy Gnaw Their Tongues vibes off this, but the blend of dark atmospheric noise and classical music, along with multilayered vocals, it’s pretty unique. My one complaint is that the album is top heavy, and trails…

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Sunn O))) – Pyroclasts (2019)

Sunn O))) – Pyroclasts (2019)

February 19, 2020

I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I said that Pyroclasts blew my mind. It’s the group’s second record in a fairly short period of time, so I wasn’t expecting the world when going in to this, but Pyroclasts showcases enormous slabs of drone rituals, each one as massive and totem-like as the last. The tones are stunning; avalanches of folding sounds and gargantuan waves of distortion.

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Ulver – Perdition City (2000)

Ulver – Perdition City (2000)

February 18, 2020

Creeping, brooding, claustrophobic. Yet, somehow beautiful, delicate and sprawling. Perdition City came earlier in the band’s discography, as they veered away from black metal to making these contemporary and what I can only describe as urban soundscapes. Glorious stuff.

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Painkiller – Guts Of A Virgin (1991)

Painkiller – Guts Of A Virgin (1991)

February 6, 2020

Painkiller is not a million miles away from the early Naked City stuff, if not a little more streamlined – if that is even the right word! Guts Of A Virgin, as you may be able to guess by the title, is a much more brutal affair. The controversy surrounding the album’s censorship aside, this is a disturbing and batshit insane mishmash where the lines between jazz and grindcore are completely blurred.

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Björk – Vespertine (2001)

Björk – Vespertine (2001)

January 29, 2020

Vespertine is another classic in the original run of stunning Björk albums, and a welcome return to form after the miss that was Selmasongs (unsure if that counts as canon, being a soundtrack album). Vespertine is looser, much more abstract and flowing than Homogenic that came before it, and I suppose you could say that initially it suffers, lacking direction, however this formula turns out to really work well for Björk, and many of the…

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Thee Oh Sees – Orc (2017)

Thee Oh Sees – Orc (2017)

January 24, 2020

What a mixed bag of craziness. Think classic / occult rock vibes meets prog weirdness. Refreshing, but definitely a bit meandering in places.

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Merzbow / Genesis P-Orridge – A Perfect Pain (1999)

Merzbow / Genesis P-Orridge – A Perfect Pain (1999)

January 20, 2020

Considering the weight that both of these names bring in the noise, industrial and power electronics world, this collaboration record is unfortunately a bit of a mixed bag. The noise is brooding and atmospheric, with the odd ear piercing flourish. Genesis’ “vocals” however, massively take me out of the whole thing. I get it, it’s noise. It’s not uncommon to have vocals distorted. But when the pace is so slow and deliberate, as with most…

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Swans – Greed (1986)

Swans – Greed (1986)

It’s hollow, menacing, ethereal and brutal. Yes, of course, it’s early Swans. I often hear of Jarboe’s presence in Swans described as a “thawing” of their sound. Sometimes that doesn’t really sit right with me, considering how punishing the records continued to be up until, and maybe even including, Children Of God. Jarboe’s presence perhaps, is a “thawing” of the jagged edges which were present on Filth or Cop; the band are simply choosing a…

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Moondog – Moondog (1969)

Moondog – Moondog (1969)

January 12, 2020

The cool class of rhythm, blues and I suppose Latin American style percussion meets the pomp and bombast of more traditional classical movements. Moondog has always been an interesting project by a very interesting man, and this self titled offering is a testament to that fact. Highly enjoyable.

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Sunn O))) – The Grimmrobe Demos (2000)

Sunn O))) – The Grimmrobe Demos (2000)

January 8, 2020

There is something relaxing about the incredible weight of Sunn’s music. The Grimmrobe Demos is the band’s first release, where they brought their Earth worshipping drone to the masses.  There is even a track titled “Dylan Carlson”, which is loosely based on an early Earth recording. Recorded live, there’s not much in the way of the variation or experimentation which permeates the band’s later drones, this is pure, grimm as fukk drone music. <a href=”http://sunn.bandcamp.com/album/the-grimmrobe-demos”>The…

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Om – God Is Good (2009)

Om – God Is Good (2009)

I don’t know if God is Good (maybe if God is truly yourself?) but Om’s magical, hypnotising music truly is… good? Fuck that, it is outstanding. For all the experimental or religious music out there, there really is nothing else like Om in this world, and God is Good is as good (lol) a place as any to start with their discography.

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Mike Patton, Ikue Mori, John Zorn – Hemophiliac (2002)

Mike Patton, Ikue Mori, John Zorn – Hemophiliac (2002)

January 7, 2020

I played this through a couple of times a while back and I’ve honestly struggled to think of the words that could best describe this aneurysm of experimental free form jazz. I mean, I guess it’s jazz? I don’t even know anymore. This is one of those truly experimental records; obscene even that it has you scratching your head but morbidly curious enough that you can’t stop listening.

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John Zorn – The Hermetic Organ Vol. 6 – For Edgar Allan Poe (2019)

John Zorn – The Hermetic Organ Vol. 6 – For Edgar Allan Poe (2019)

January 5, 2020

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hear John Zorn completely spazz out on a church organ? No, me neither, but now thanks to an ongoing series of recordings, we – the unsuspecting public – have been given the opportunity. The Hermetic Organ Vol. 6 – For Edgar Allan Poe (I don’t give a bloody fuck who it is for, mate!) is a little bit up its own arse, but sometimes the…

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