Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Luxury Mollusc - Osseous Labyrinth Vestibule (Cursed Monk Records,2018)

After one very old and mysterious tape from LORDxGONZO we are back in present, here is the CD i received just a few days ago, and discogs says it is from 2018 so it is hot off the press. I already saw Luxury Mollusc few years ago at ZNFI festival so i know i can expect some fine harsh noise. Six track ahead of us, a little bit under 40 minutes total, While i am writing this we are few minutes into first track, very nice atmospheric and a bit rhythmic harsh noise filling the air around me. Some beats, like banging metal pipes are coming from all around me, making me feel like i am in some sort of submarine where every bolt and part scream under pressure. Also some high pitched screams and squeals are coming closer and closer while all rhythm already disappeared leaving us with just harsh noise covering the screams more and more until everything die out with just one silent scream is heard fading away. Second track leads us deeper into this horror underwater story. Sorry if i am missing the point here, i don't know if it was the idea, but i still cannot shake off the thoughts of some catastrophe under water. So here we have some deeper harsh sounds and a feeling like everything is crushing down, no more metal, no more intense screams, just here and there you think you heard the voice but quickly it is drowned in noise. Suddenly everything slows down, almost all noise disappear, and just some machine hum is left with loud blasts here and there. Everything stops. We are left in silence with some distant drone far far away. Third track welcome us with some noise that comes out of the silence, run past us and is lost again somewhere in the distance. Like dozen of trains just coming and going. We are in silence again for a moment, and some ritual begins, tons of bells all around us and a whispering voice speaking in tongues, choking, screaming... It made me lost a track of time, just to realize new track already is starting... but like always second half of album i will leave a secret, so head to a bandcamp at least to check rest of it...
I must say this is one serious piece of harsh noise, it is obvious that a lot of work is put into this, and as much as i am a fan of shit sound, it is really great to hear something with a high quality also. I would dare to say this album can be played side by side with any of big harsh noise names and you wouldn't be able to say it is inferior in any aspect, in many it even surpasses them. Also i have to mention lovely digipack cover, simply every part of this is a masterpiece. Surely one album that you shouldn't miss, it is made in 50 copies so act fast! And now i have to track as many of old albums that is possible!
You can preview and buy on Cursed Monk Records website


Sunday, May 27, 2018

LORDxGONZO - fuck you generation Y, fuck you (BRUITxMERDE,?)

I dont know much about this tape since there are just titles on small piece of paper, no label, no year, but i know enough-it is a LORDxGONZO! And that should be enough for any harsh noise fan..  I love this minimal approach since it puts more focus on sound, and noise from Lord Gonzo always deserve our full attention. Here he like always goes straight to the point - high pitched squeel opens the tape just to be followed by very dynamic harsh noise. It is very fast and loud start, here and there interrupted with short pauses after which noise blasts back stronger! Best thing in this one is that Lord Gonzo doesn't repeat himself, he use some effect or sound, blast the shit out of it and move forward to next one. In the stretch of few minutes he takes you through various styles of harsh noise, and in some brief moments he even introduces to us his slower side. Please dont expect some fancy artsy drone here, it is still everything very harsh just on slower pace. But thats just for a moment, he is pushing pedal to the metal again, everything is speeding up, wave after wave of noise is hitting us just to stop all of a sudden. End already? I will give it another spin right away, and you should do it too. Check online-if you are lucky, someone is maybe selling his copy(by the way, while i am writing this, there is one on discogs. . .).


Thursday, May 24, 2018

Grinder Bueno - Demo #2 (Underground Pollution Records, 2017)

Just got this tape in mail and immediately I put it in walkman - anything noisy from France always promise some nice ears destruction especially if it is released by Underground Pollution Records, so no time to lose - let's get straight to business! Tracks are untitled 69-91, so we have 22 of them in front of us, around 10 minutes of pure filth!  Grinder Bueno doesn't disappoint anywhere during those 22 - right from the start blasts and walls of noise started to pour all over me! Its a noisecore at its finest -yes there are instruments and band but it is all so well integrated in one uniform noise shit - just here and there you hear voice or drums or guitar winning its fight over the others but it never goes into music fields - its just pure raw and filthy noise from beginning to the end! But what I like most is the fact that listening to this tape gives you a feeling of attending their gig - it is something that shows they are firmly standing behind their sound - they don't need stage or crowd in front of them to bring their best shit out! (Also every UPR tape is recycled one so you will be able to listen some of the finest french pop or random shit after the noise ends - so you get more than you bought)
I believe you wont find this in digital form, so just head to Underground Pollution Records  and get your tape!

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Anonymous Masturbaudioum - Exquisit Nylon (Craneal Fracture Records, 2016)


New day, new review. I just picked up a tape from a pile of tapes ready for review and drop it in my backpack without checking what I took. And here I am, nylon fetish cover in front of me, so I guess HNW is waiting inside. To be honest I am really rarely in mood for HNW nowadays. I think that this subgenre became too sterile and hermetic, they made up more rules than people do in music. This release does it all by the book, cover is in line with what HNW listener wants to see, and sound is pure HNW... It started with brighter sounding crackles for a few minutes, just to drop into low, deep, muddy sounding static noise. Sound is in fact pretty good because it is very minimal and not pushing the loudness in red. This is a good soundtrack for a rainy day or a cold cellar room where I work and listen to this. Freezed to the bone with wet air coming into lungs and hnw in ears - sounds like a great combo! So since we will stay in these wet, deep sounds until the end of side A, I'll stop writing and continue drowning myself into both sound and surroundings. Just to conclude, even if I was sceptical before i started review, it turned out to be pretty pleasant experience even for me as a non-fan of static noise...
Get your tape at Craneal Fracture Records page


Saturday, April 14, 2018

886VG / Animal Machine (No Brain Prod., 2012)

Here we have two projects that i am very familiar with. We shared some gigs, appeared on few splits together. and i always love their output. I will surely be highly subjective so i will just try to give some general feeling that this split is offering. Side A - we have Animal Machine - like i expected, starting with some uncompromising noise loud from start. Only difference is that we have some porn samples in the background. I know some will say "oh i have seen it before, nothing original blah blah " but I don't care-i love it! Its loud, its fun, its straight to the point. If you look for pretentious art noise with long descriptions of albums and done on pro tapes then you are in a wrong place. This is total opposite:tape is recycled, just simple info inside the cover and sound is brutal-what else to ask.. Only thing better than Animal Machine tape is AM live so if you ever have a chance-go check it and thank me later.
So let's check out Chilean friend 886VG on a side B. Starting with some drone synth but i am pretty sure it won't drone for a long time. And yes! Screaming noise starting some half minute later. And stopping into silence just to start again a second later, now more deep sounding but very dynamic and brutal. We had very loud and harsh first side but this side is showing some real aggression! It is active non stop-few cuts here and there but you barely can catch a breath and new noise barrage is starting. By the way 886VG is coming to Europe this June, starting from Italy, through Slovenia (he will play ZNFI festival), and heading to Serbia and who knows where after. Be sure to check if he is coming nearby. And since i think he and Animal Machine are friends i wouldn't be surprised if they share some gigs together. So if you need some noise holiday this summer check 886VG tour schedule and head out there!
(I know this album is from 2012 and since it is made in 26 copies it is surely long gone, but quality of noise on it simply deserve review, even 6 years after)

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Melinoe - Hand And Hand Into Extinction (Machine Tribe Recordings, 2016)

Melinoe… I am not familiar with this project so let's see what it has to offer! Album name has a depressing vibe to it so i guessed sound will follow that direction. And yes-it starts with some droney, echoing distorted humming noise. Sounds like static at a first glance, but in fact its everchanging. I love the atmosphere and i could listen to it for a long time, unfortunately its pretty short track for what it offers. Next track is called “empty and frantic” and its more on a buzzing side of sound with again tons of distortion over. It started again very slow and unchanging but after some time you realize you are in totally different place of sound spectrum with static blasts over some distorted synth drone. Again it could be longer, it was just starting to suck me fully in when it ended. Again side B will stay a secret until you get a tape or download it from bandcamp.
It's very good atmospheric album, with very simple and direct delivery, no artsy shit here, just good sound!
Take it from melinoe.bandcamp.com


Friday, February 9, 2018

Averauschen - Symbiote (Machine Tribe Recordings, 2016)

So here we have first of three Machine Tribe Recordings tapes i got in last package. Its tape from Averauschen (sleeve says that it is one off between Bonechurch and Princess Coldheart. Bandcamp and Discogs informed me that this is released originally in 2010 and that this is 2016 version(now you see how much of an effort i put in every review here).  Oh but this is a tape review and not a review of a reviewers hard work, so let's get back to work.
Tracks are titled only by their length so we start with 3:54. It is a dark ambientish track with spoken word over sounds. Speech is slowed down so i will have to use this nice speed control button on my walkman next time to see what is all about. From there on it goes in tracks that are all very dark industrial ambient sounding. Most of sounds appear slowed down and stretched with cracklings and sometimes some bell-type sounds can be heard in the distance. Very good tape for walking through empty streets but only if you are in no rush and can fully dive into these sounds. My favorite is 3rd track of side A. Side B i will let as secret that you will discover when you grab this tape (there are only six of them and since its a collab and i also own one-only three of them are up to grab!)
But luckily technology is our ally this time so go to: bonechurch bandcamp page for this album