This is a 9 track CDR. It’s an eclectic collection of Noise experiments, found sounds, cut up, harsh textures, ambient drones, rhythmic loops and various other odds and ends. Some of this comes off as a bit on the quirky side, based on the squirting and snorking (I know that isn’t a word) nature of the sounds, at others it seems more straight forward. There is some nice work here, and I like a lot of the sounds, squirting or otherwise, because there is a precision to them. They are sharp and distinct, and even though many of them seem to be processed similarly, that clarity in the mix is a nice way to let the character of the project come through. There is a lot of ground covered here, ranging from minimalism to pretty dense, and it is all woven together pretty cohesively. I’ve seen some good reactions to other releases from this project and now understand why, in addition to being impressed that it is actually different than a lot of the stuff you see praised for seemingly no reason. – Scott
SCRATCH & SNIFF ENTERTAINMENT
Chefkirk – Tax Cuts For Nose Jobs
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a CommentCharger – Confessions Of A Man (Mad Enough To Live Amongst Beasts)
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
It’s kinda funny to me that the “big labels” are picking up these kind of bands now… Earache has Rabies Caste and Cult of Luna, Ipecac grabbed Isis, and now Peaceville has Charger. It’s almost like the we need a “Godflesh” band trend we saw in the early 90’s. Peaceville chose better with Charger than they did back then with Sonic Violence I think, though Sonic Violence were pretty cool in their own right, they just never caught on. I had never heard of Charger, and with a name like that probably wouldn’t have bothered if I had, but this is great. Heavy, downtuned dirges, thick energetic grooves, screaming raw and slightly distorted vocals, discord, feedback. Ugly music. The despairing, tortured drone ruptures into driving mid tempos and faster crustier breaks. The production and playing is raw but powerful and the scathing vocals compliment it well. It combines for a fullness and a ferocity beyond a band like Eyehategod, who might be an easy rudimentary comparison, but not an accurate one. Charger balances the different tempos and dissonant chords to crushing ones well, and compose some potent tracks because of it. The slower stuff has more power against the faster breaks and visa versa, peaks and valleys… it makes for a much more engaging ride. “Confessions…” is a dramatic, vigorous display of sonic disfigurement wrought with fury and reflection. – Scott
PEACEVILLE
Chaos As Shelter – New Year In New Jerusalem
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is actually the first record Chaos As Shelter recorded, but it is only now getting a significant release, and still ranks among the very best of his ample catalog. “Next Year In New Jerusalem” combines obscure dark textures with subtle ethnic instrumentation and percussion, and a comprehensive atmosphere of aging. The material has a historical and cinematic presence, an epic, grandiose quality that is always understated. There is a real warm and sultry quality to the material here that invokes the region explored masterfully. The tension and pride of the struggle with the history and climate wind their way into these spacious, fluid, soundscapes, and make this a very complete release, beyond the pristine sources, reserved melody and rich construction. “Next Year…” is more than a Dark Ambient record, more than an Ethno Ambient record, it has brought those elements together with a concise vision of something much greater, and painted it with a finite hand. – Scott
CROWD CONTROL ACTIVITIES
Centrifuge – Visions Old, Feeling Cold
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a CommentThis is a 5 song CDR MCD. “Shunt” begins with a low key, bass and clean guitar dirge, darkly melodic, clean vocals, that has a psychedelic edge. At just over 3 minutes the distortion kicks in and the melodic elements transform into a more Doomy Rock vibe. “Ethanol” has a distorted bass foundation and a heavy Rock core. The clean singing sort of stabs out short lines that decay over the simplistic dirgey riffs. There is only one track here that comes in under the 6 minute mark, as they draw out the plodding bass concentrated progressions, and develop the Stoner Rock vibe. Though Stoner Rock is a bit of a cheap description really, it doesn’t go that far, but the riffs are too rock based to be real sludgey, and aren’t really Doom enough to be Doom. It is essentially morose heavy “Rock” The vocals swim in reverb for a more disembodied feel, that helps add to the altered state impressions, and the guitar occasionally indulge in some more dissonant, melodic and relaxed breaks. Ultimately you can’t quite pigeon hole what Centrifuge is doing here and I’m not sure how I feel about it. There are some solid grooves, and I like the more abstracted guitar moments, the distorted low end works great… I’m maybe a little uncertain about the vocals, and the tendency to draw out lines till they fade away, but at the same time they do fit pretty well. There is a lot of mood here, and I also can appreciate that, but something is stopping me from really being over the top for this, and I don’t quite know what it is. It may simply be that I loved this bands first two demos from several years ago, and their more recent work has gone a little more traditional than those recordings. This has grown on me even over the short course of a couple listens, and no doubt will have some appeal for many of you. – Scott
Carved In Stone – The Forgotten Belief
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is a 6 song MCD from this German (?) Neo-Folk project that incorporates a lot of traditional Northern European elements. Based around delicate acoustic guitar melodies and flute, with some additional synth and harp, the music has a fragile mysticism to it, that can be quite beautiful. This is all the work of one woman, and her voice has a strength and tragedy to it through out. The vocals on this style of music in particular can kill or save a record, here she does a very nice job. The lyrics are delivered both in English and German as well, which I quite liked. The tone on “The Forgotten Belief” is quite mournful and lonely throughout this, and the tempo downtrodden. The instrumentation is all quite effective, this is not a case of some hack thinking it will be more traditional if they manage to fumble out something on a native instrument. She clearly knows what she’s doing and has created something quite lovely. – Scott
SCHWARZDORN
Babyflesh – New Wave Of Cynicism
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Babyflesh takes a fairly basic approach to their craft. Lay down a rhythmic machine or militant drum loop and let it ride. There really isn’t a lot of development or layering to these tracks. It is all about that percussive cycle. There are reserved elements of staticy distortions, feedback or minimal electronics that accompany the foundations, but it is always the repeating loop that stays at the focal point. “Suicide Song” adds a drawn out shouted moan to the mix, and that helps to divert your attention and is an effective approach for the accompanying music. But when the track is 6 and a half minutes long with the same plodding beat and very few other elements save for those vocals and some ambient feedback it begins to sound like a lock groove after awhile. “Overdose Of Hate” follows the same path adding a higher frequency loop to compliment the grinding low end one that drives the piece. “Here Comes The Pain” is nearly 8 minutes long and again finds its base on a cycling machination. It’s pushed a bit farther back this time and some samples, and a cavernous sort of atmosphere cover it like a fine dust. This to me is far more effective, even though the components are virtually the same as the previous tracks. It builds more mood, because it’s mixed in a way that the loop can be focused on or become almost a subconscious underbelly to the dreary tone, but again, for 8 minutes it would be nice to have some more depth. The next one, “You Or Me” sees the return of vocals and sampling to the mix, reverb soaked and delivered in a clear shouted voice. At the six and a half minute mark the primary loop drops away, and what is left is a metallic ambience with a slight melodic edge to that the piece out. I enjoyed that. “Mantra For The Nihilist” has a particularly downtrodden feel to it that I liked, the vocals are a monotone spoken style and the scraping loop and bottom end pulse fit it well, it’s also the shortest track here at not quite 4 and a half minutes, aside from the intro. The nine minute “Sleeping With Knives” ends the disc as a subtle ambient bit of drone. I can’t help but think as I listen to this that these loops are all just a few seconds in length, the heart of each piece, wrung out for all their worth, and then some, for the next six or so minutes. It feels lazy to me. That is not to say that these tracks are without atmosphere, and I understand that repetition can be valuable in creating a mood. At maybe four minutes they would be more involving tracks, but everything gets drawn out and with no new elements being introduced to capture you it becomes tedious. I like the lo–fi grimy tone of the sounds used on “New Wave of Cynicism.” It’s a mood that I have always been fond of when done right, thus I think the project has potential to be something quite cool. However, there needs to either be more going on, more evolution or the tracks need to be shorter to keep the listener engaged. This isn’t a bad release, but the ways it could have been better become clear as it goes on. – Scott
VENDLUS
Bacillus – Re-Emergence
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is an 8 song CDR, that comes in a small box with a surgical mask and some little pictures of diseased folks. Out of the spotlight for five plus years this marks Bacillus’ return to the Noise scene most effectively. The long running focus on disease ominous microbes and the like continues and is reinforced with titles like “All It Takes Is One Cough” and “It Starts As A Rash And Ends In Death.” and dialog sampling on the subject. Sonically, the material mixes the churning and grinding low end of the Death Industrial aesthetic with elements that are at times more atmospheric, and at others closer to Harsh Noise depending on the track. The core textures are ominous and fairly abrasive throughout this though, the distortions crisp, rugged and yet still with a bit of a dirty lo-fi edge. There are some nice high frequencies used with an “insects in the laboratory” like squirm to them that play to the theme well, particularly on the track “And There Is No Cure Available.” In addition to these elements loops emerge, and even obscured bits of sampled melody. The pieces are all on the short side for the most part, but “Re-Emergence” is a really quality release, with each track having distinct character and presence. Thoroughly impressive. – Scott
CHONDRITIC SOUND
Bastard Noise – Sound Engine
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is a 6 song release that pulls together live material from a couple years ago, with a couple of collaborative pieces and some apparently new stuff. The first piece, “A Pedestal To Support The Invaders” is a live collaboration with Jesus Philben built around atmospheric drones and pulses, sputtering 8 bit electronics and some corrosive feedback elements that all build a nice brooding atmosphere. “Killing Stick-Men” is a brief piece beginning mid and hi frequency fluttering, and then transforming into a snag of said frequencies with some added low end throbs, it’s abrasive but extremely clear in production so every little fragment comes through. “Asphalt Creature Sickness” is another relatively short piece by BN’s standards. This again falls into the abrasive but pristine category, and incorporates some really piercing high end with the addition to some panning atmospheric elements to the stuttering noise. “Destiny Carved By Internal Failures” was recorded in 2001 and combines a tonal ambient foundation with a harsh noise attack and does a bit of a switch off between chaos and calm throughout. However the ambient elements are retained even when the noise erupts. “Human Denial” is a mail collaboration with Guilty Connector recorded back in 2001. It begins with some deep ambient drones, and guttural and screamed vocals emerge from the humming textures before the harsh noise bursts through the door to consume the track. Frantic surges of noise across the frequency spectrum rage above the drones, incorporating rhythmic loops and even distorted beats at times add an additional dimension to the atmospheric mania. “Seeding Interstellar Space” was recorded live on the radio in 2001 and runs a nearly 27 minutes. This track again runs the spectrum explored on the rest of the release, ambient elements, abrasive electronics and harsh noise are all woven through the piece with a nice cross section of sounds and handling of the mix to keep it moving and interesting. There is some goof stuff on “Sound Engine” – intriguing sounds, good combination of moods and aggression, nicely handled evolutions and growth and a clear distinct production. – Scott
PAC REC
Bastard Noise & Christian Renou – Brainstorming
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is a 6 track collaborative release, between Bastard Noise, and Christian Renou, best know for his project Brume. I’ve always kind of felt Bastard Noise were pretty hit and miss, and Brume I like, but never feel compelled to listen to for some reason, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this one. What I got is really something quite excellent, and certainly my favorite thing I have heard from either of the involved parties. “Upgrade To Extinction” is a nearly 20 minute epic to open the disc, combining pained screams, and an excellent mix of heavy, burning electronics, glitchy cut up and subtle tonal ambient that shifts and evolves throughout and builds a strong fluid but dense atmosphere that fits the tracks title well. “Evipan Natrum” is next at just over 13 minutes, rooted on a deep pulse as it begins, static and drift textures fade through the stereo field, creating a sort of scientific barrenness in feel. An uneasy calm that is a bit jagged around the edges courtesy of some upfront injections of digital fragments and more biting electronics. “Sodium Annethal” incorporates an analog synth melody into a rather hallucinatory froth of rhythmic loops, sampling and odd electronic hums and squawks. It’s a very swollen sounding track, large in presence, and grandiose. “Königstiger” begins with eroding throb of heavy distortion that falls away to a liquid expanse of airy tones and rippling soft sonics. While it begins rather luminously as the piece builds more ominous textures, and sizzled sonics find there way in and corrupt that atmosphere to something grimier. “Solaris” balances the distant atmosphere of a forgotten train station, reverberating against the environment with the volatility of the lab beaker. Slow drifts and clanks echo out and volcanic gurgles of harsh electronics rise and fall in the foreground. “Remains of Paradise” ends the disc, coming it at just over 11 minutes. It begins with an almost ethnic ambient sort of feel in the percussive sounds and windswept drift, but the percussion is rather random rather than rhythmic. Then the growled shouts and pained screamed emerge, and the music takes on a plodding, warlike rhythm, the textures assume a darker posture and the noise elements become more and more evident. “Brainstorming” is a really exceptional release, for its well conceived sound design, absolute clarity in its production, and the way in which the pieces build and evolve. There are a lot of dynamics and details in every corner of the music here, and it is pristine in its delivery of those. The packaging is also very nice, and even features the lyrics to the tracks with vocals printed in a clear varnish. In a time where must have releases seem fewer and farther between, I would call this a must have for the fan of evocative Noise. – Scott
DESOLATION HOUSE
Bastard Noise – Live In Japan
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is two epic tracks, one over 40 the other over 30minutes recorded live on two different dates in Japan. Track one travels a fairly ambient path, slow shifting vaporous textures and subtle feedback, resonant metallic sounds and cryptic electronics gradually sneak in and the piece begins to swell some. With the peak coming in the last ten minutes of the track, growing denser and louder, but still quite ambient. The second piece is extremely minimal ambient, essentially a low airy tone and seemingly little else, it morphs very little and doesn’t hold your attention. To see this as a live show I would expect to be most disappointing, particularly since the cover of the release shows people sitting at laptops in a live setting. The first piece was enjoyable, not necessarily 43 minutes enjoyable, but the second is 30 minutes long and really minimal and quiet, with little to even grab your attention, let alone hold it. I’m guessing this was a, “we have it we might as well release it kind of thing” and perhaps their following will appreciate it more than I do, as I have never really been that swept up by Bastard Noise, they have some really strong moments, but have never really sold me completely. – Scott
HELICOPTER
Bastard Noise – Skull Wave
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is a single track, 46 minutes recorded live in California. “Skull Wave” is another chapter in the more ambient side of Bastard Noise. Deep tonal drifts wash across the stereo field, and cryptic electronics scurry beneath the drone. It’s a subtle piece, but one that remains interesting and fluid throughout. I think it’s a much better representation of solid dark electronics than the also recently released “Live In Japan” CD. The material here is more complete, and shows much more depth. There is a nice brooding atmosphere that trails through the whole piece, that has a introspective emotional edge to it. Very nicely conceived, particularly for a live piece. – Scott
HELICOPTER
Bdong – Trite & Accessories
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Bdong is a project I have seen live a couple of times and he always delivers a great set, but this was the first I had heard anything recorded. This is a 4 song CDR with nice jewel case packaging. None of the tracks have titles as far as I can tell so I’ll just give you the general impressions. The sound is a powerful style of Dark Ambient, that is tonal in its foundations with smooth drifts of deep bass and at the same time a humming tension. Within that murk there are scraping distortions, flittering electronics, sparse percussive elements and suggested melody that creep up. None of it pushes to the foreground and thus maintains the bottomless ambience well, though at times it becomes more threatening than passive in nature. I think that’s one of the things I like so much about this project is that it is “big” ambient, it’s not reserved. There is a lot of foreboding and presence to it, it doesn’t simply exist as a background. And it manages to do that without having to introduce a lot of more abrasive textures, they are there at times, but not often. His construction is extremely fluid and subtle, in a way that makes the pieces are more active than you first realize. The tracks are all 7+ minutes with some surpassing the ten minute mark, but they keep you engrossed. The project doesn’t seem to have any real ambitions as I can’t find any sort of website or information, and there isn’t even any contact info on the disc but if you stumble across anything by Bdong in a distro it’s well worth seeking out. He does some very quality work, that he’s apparently content to more or less keep to himself. – Scott
Bereft – First Degree Of Separation
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is a 5 song cassette release for this new project from the man behind Force Of Nature Productions. Bereft incorporate lo-fi Death Industrial and Power Electronics elements to form a gritty, throbbing foundation. “Searching For Relevancy” opens side one with sparse, heavily processed screams and harsher noise/feedback stabs peel out from the steady hum to flesh out the piece. “Untitled” closes out the first side with a caustic surge eroding distortions, and pulses with a real bristling sort of intensity that gets reinforced further with the rabid vocals. “Heresy” opens the second side with a cyclic mix of grandiose distortions, receding crackles and sputtering sonics; again with the limited but intense vocals. “Bled Out” begins quietly by comparison with a low pulse and some sizzled static, this tone alternates as it builds with some squawking hi end and the most pronounced vocal attack of both speaking and screaming. “Destructive Impulse” is the last rack and is probably the most raw and abrasive of the lot, built around the same ideas as the others it comes across as a bit more unruly. I’m not sure what the length of the release is, but all of the tracks seem closer to the 6-8 minute mark than say the 3-5, with the exception of “Bled Out” maybe. Each track is fairly consistent in its individual sound , and that coupled with the dirty, lo-fi vibe through out the release gives it an older feel that I like. “First Degree Of Separation” is a promising debut and carries a fierceness within it that you don’t always hear, even when you know the project had that intention. – Scott
TRUCULENT RECORDINGS
Bestia Centauri – The Self Immolation Rite
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is the first pro-CD release from Somnambulant Records after a long line of well done CDR’s, and again they have done a nice job with the packaging. It’s a jewelcase CD that comes with a good sized full color booklet. “The Self Immolation Rite” consists of 4 seemingly untitled tracks all between 11 and 13 minutes long. The concept of this piece relates to a group called The Order of the Nine Angles, who asked Beastia Centauri to contribute sonically to this rite. The project was given free reign to re-interpret or invent something all their own, and chose the later. All of this is outlined in greater detail in the booklet. I have actually heard the ONA’s rendition of this, and reviewed it at some point in Worm Gear’s history. I agree with the Bestia Centauri position that the original piece was too literal and that all of the spoken elements prevented the mind from wandering too far, in fact I’m almost certain that was the gist of my review. Perhaps as a ritual that was necessary, but as a transcendent piece of music it was in the way. This re-imagined version of the rite has done away with that and allowed the imagination to dictate the course. The pieces are based around a spacious sort of ambient drift, but are well layered and active with lots of different bits of electronics, faded reverberations, inhuman creature type sounds (and I mean that in the best way possible, there is nothing remotely hokey about this), sweeping textures and a general feeling of descent. That of falling past layer upon layer of oddity and introspection. The surrealism of dream and delirium. This for me is the most interesting of the Bestai Centauri material that I have heard, and it surpasses the original rendition of “The Self Immolation Rite” in virtually everyway for me as a listener vs. a practitioner. The depth and detail that is woven into this and the evolution of the sound and mood paints just enough of a picture that the imagination can get a foothold and yet doesn’t dictate anything. Depending on your frame of mind, personal history and affections this piece of music could lead you down any number of paths and that to me is a far more effective and inspired work than something that takes you by the hand and narrates. – Scott
SOMNAMBULANT RECORDS
Bestia Centauri – The Antediluvian Earth
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is a 4 song CDR, is a nice oversized color sleeve. The title track opens the disc with 17 and a half minutes of subdued ambience. Subtle drifts grazing past each other and the chirps and mutters of electronics insects scuttling though the vaporous soup. “Ambulant Shadows” moves in similar waves, panning tones, with varied electronic accents, very crisp sounding as they pierce up from the foggy foundations. There is a melancholy movement to the sounds, that is somewhere between dreamlike pleasantries and nightmarish shape shifting. “Beneath Exsanguinated Suns” is the third piece here, reinforcing the sound of scurrying creatures and the ecosystem of a murky wasteland. Each of these gray windows grows seemingly a little darker, and slightly more animated. The final track, “The Measureless From Caverns Rise” rounds the disc out with a final nearly 14 minute stint at the microscope. “The Antediluvian Earth” works great as a complete listen, every piece compliments the last, and there are intricacies throughout, it is a nicely conceived piece of work. – Scott
AFE RECORDS
Beyond – Houkai
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is a three track CDR in a slimline DVD case. Two of the tracks are remixes. One of those remixes is Beyond remixing a track by Stijn Van Cauter, and the other remix he is deconstructing his own work. But first up is the virgin piece “Blightstrider.” It’s a 12 minutes piece born of deep sub bass tones, scattered distant whispered vocals and the clattering of stones falling down deep crevasses. The piece pretty much sticks to those types of sounds throughout its duration, but there are some distant rhythmic hints, and subtle melody that creep in very far back in the mix. This helps keep you drawn in right about the moment when you feel like you’ve gotten the point. The sound of wind gusts come in and build to finish the track out. “In Pain (TSYA remix)” is next at just shy of 11 minutes. This is more animated right out of the gate with panning loops of metallic tones and feedback, still presented in a rather ambient fashion, but with more bites than anything in the previous track. This swirling collision of loops and cycles swell and shift for the first half of the track without really bringing much new into play. They gently fade back and a different collection of loops and cycles emerge. Late in the track a low end throb comes in and provides a nice bit of body beneath the higher range squeaking loops, but at that point its impact is a bit defeated because the track has gone on so long relative unchanged that I’m not sure I cared anymore. The ten minute “Torn (Decay Remix)” is the final track, and clearly the noisiest of the lot. The liner notes say this is a track the project had recorded for another releases that has been “remodeled via tape destruction.” It again utilizes evolving loops, using heavily saturated distorted low end and cutting feedback tones and remains rather set in the presentation that it begins with throughout. Because of the crunchy edges to the distortion you are given the impression more is happening, and it feels denser overall than the other pieces in part because of the thick low end. In the later part of the track and synth melody comes in that is a nice touch, and helps to make this track the standout of the three for me. None of this stuff is bad, and there are some good atmospheres created here but I don’t really hear anything that stamps this as Beyond I guess. Because the approach is relatively simple and repetitive there isn’t a lot there to provide identity for the project and it comes off as being a decent effort but nothing you haven’t really heard before. – Scott
Beyond Description – A Road To A Brilliant Future
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
15 tracks here, three of which are listed as bonus tracks, from this Japanese Hardcore band. I’m not really familiar with their past releases, but this disc is great. Blasting rhythms, furious drums and a raw yell inject all the energy here. The guitars have a heavy metallic tone and a nearly relentless pace, pausing for brief periods to mix in some mid paced accents to the driving speed and even a few of melodic leads. The pacing of “A Road To A Brilliant Future” is completely infectious grabs you from its first moments and carries you through all of the material with a furiousness. Lyrically the themes range from personal to social to political and they are printed here in both English and Japanese. I’m going to need to check out their back catalog because this is really enjoyable stuff. – Scott
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Birdflesh – Night Of The Ultimate Mosh
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Wow… with titles like “Kid of the Brown Vomit” “Bowelthrasher” & “Coffinfucker” my hopes for this were not high, not low either, but I was expecting average slightly kitschy Death /Grind and little else… but this is flooded with intensity and power. Searing blast breaks, nice slower breaks that remind me slightly of the hey day of German Thrash cranked up and modernized and well phrased and impassioned death growls and screams. Not to say that this is a thrashy album, it is Death /Grind down to its putrid marrow. The writing is catchy and memorable, not overly complex, but consistently interesting and infectious. Perhaps most refreshing, is that it stays that way through 22 screaming tracks, something too many of their peers aren’t able to pull off. This is really well done, and thoroughly fun and enjoyable. I really like the production on this to, it’s not to compressed sounding or overly produced, it’s got a raw edge, but is still clean and loud, and just plain furious. I’m damn impressed… – Scott
RAZORBACK RECORDS
Black Moon Halo/Ruin Everything – Split
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
This is a split 20 minutes cassette tape featuring two tracks from Black Moon Halo, and one lengthy piece from Ruin Everything. First up is Black Moon Halo, a side project of Larry Kerr of Steel Hook Prostheses notoriety. “The Blackest Day” is an isolated and chilly synth piece, with a pulsing rhythmic base and inhuman vocal gurgles. “Behead & Behold” is the second track from BMH it has a more foundry type ambience, with cycling clatters that build in volume and urgency to an almost tribal insdustrialism. Ruin Everything creates a single, subtle piece of cryptic ambient with a scraping electronics thread running through it softly that creates a cold and treacherous feel effectively. It’s quite lonely sounding, and yet has a threatening presence at the same time, particularly as the track begins to swell a bit and add some details as it moves forward. A really nice little release. – Scott
DADA DRUMMING
Black Moon Halo – Cernvnnos
•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment
Black Moon Halo is the more Dark Ambient leaning project of one of Larry Kerr of Steel Hook Prostheses. Drifting, cryptic passages that focus on Celtic mythology thematically, there is a ominous underbelly that that digs it’s roots into. Deep bass drifts, reverbrative tones and sweeps make up the foundations. The addition of simple beats, percussive elements, obscured vocalizations and melody creep in to add further decoration. “Cernvnnos” is a subtle, haunted foray into Dark Ambient, effective in it’s relative simplicity. This is a CDR – Scott
CYBER-BLAST RECORDS
Worm Gear 