Sperrung - Elements

Ever seen videos with crazy kids jumping onto moving trains and lorries, and hanging on to them while they are driving? Could you imagine the pure excitement and thrill of doing that? Could you then imagine the devastating noise your small ears would receive? The roar of the engine and the sonic sound of the wind? I could! (not that I have tried it, or will try it!...), but a certain noise-wall act called Sperrung from Donetsk, Ukraine can give you a hint or two about that. And you can even experience that, just laying in the couch for about 75 minutes!. To describe it in a few and quick words would be, harsh and minor chaotic noise wall. Not static, but a sound with a constant variable noise element. Heavy in bass, heavy in high frequencies and lots of pebbles in the concrete machinery. 

A new release which is out on ЩЫЛ (also Ukraine based). The project Sperrung has been in activity since May 2017, and have sofar released 3 albums plus a split with Valvan (see former review). It is being made by Ilja Bilga. He is also active doing psychedelic rock and doom metal, all information regarding this can be viewed on his Discogs profile.

The label itself has been going on since 2016, and has had several releases under the noise/self-improvasation catagory. Or descriped on discogs, non-idiomatic noise. Valvan has also had releases 2 cassettes on here, for those curious enough to discover this.

It´s a decent harsh treat 2 the ears, a harsh easy-listening to the hard of hearing!... It is also a good thing to see a brutal noise-wall cassette release, being at 75 minutes!. First time i´ve seen that! And as for the cassette release/cover-art the visual aesthetic are there, and a beauty it is! A worthy investment for wall addicts.

Bandcamp:

https://shchyl.bandcamp.com/album/elements

Discogs:

https://www.discogs.com/artist/5532240-Ilja-Bilga

Bandcamp (label):

https://shchyl.bandcamp.com/

Facebook (label):

https://www.facebook.com/shchyl/

Έρεβος - Crowned With Non Sacred Symbols 

full demo 2017 

Dungeon synth hasn´t any culturally based origins. It is coming quite obvious, that people from the Latin-based countries are also worshiping the same kind of moody dreams of fantasy-based imagery. One of these is Argentina, San Juan-based Έρεβος, made by Juan Alberto Rojas also known as Sir John Erebus (as the picture/youtube-link shows). A solo one man band, delving into the sound of barbaric dungeon synth black metal. I might also tell you, that there hasn´t been any physical releases yet. 

Crowned With Non-Sacred Symbols is his first full-length demo, released 2017 (2 extra singles have also been released on his Bandcamp site). 

I´m NOT an expert in black-metal, and also not an expert in fast music!. But, I don´t mind noisy stuff, primitive stuff and moody stuff (As you´ve probably noticed). 

I can say for starters that it is incredible to think that this stuff comes from Argentina (Pretty close 2 where my tarantula comes from!). And yes, it is a pretty barbaric recording!. One minute you are being drenched in gore and filth on the battlefield, the next minute you are receiving a beautiful crown for your victories. 

We are only talking about 20 minutes of your time, BUT... Wanna have a all-to-know-what-it-is-like-to-be-Conan-for-one-day?..There you have it. It´s pretty grim, raw, primitive, northern, unnerving, melodic and atmospheric. We are not dealing with razor sharp guitar riffs, cool and complicated drums, progressive rock elements and blah blah blah... Just a straight up in your face kind of a demo, obviously he doesn't care what the listeners would think!. That´s my kind of tea (Although I drink coffee!)...Need 2 kill some orcs or clear out a dungeon with a hideous vengeance, do give it a listen with a nice and strong porter at your side (minimum 8% if you ask me). 

Bandcamp:

https://erebos1.bandcamp.com/album/crowned-with-non-sacred-symbols 

Official site:

http://sirjohnerebus.blogspot.dk/

Jacob Levesque - 

Move, Work, Architectural Witch

It is ALWAYS a good thing 2 hear something completely new. And that new stuff is all the way from the homeland of Mordor, Shire...  Yep, you guessed it, New Zealand! In this place lives the headmaster Jacob Levesque who is behind the experimental label called The Dark Thursday (Remember the earlier review Transgressia?). He is also working on several projects, which you have a clear overview on Discogs (Link below). And so in this month, he has released this interesting release, with an, even more, intriquing title called Move, Work, Architectural Witch. So let me try to describe what this is.

It´s not harsh noise, dungeon synth, industrial, wall etc etc.. It´s interesting cut up samples sound-collages, done in a VERY stimulating fashion. Sounds of various instruments clatter around, jumping from one high speaker to another. Conversations jump up and down, back and forth and then get´s choppered up through a helicopter blade. Back again with a recording in a room with some guys just chatting about photographs, videos, and stuff. Someone ends up singing Soundgarden (Suicide etc exc, ends up laughing). Later they are laughing about some Asian guy doing some kind of weird music/video shit. Next track bashes your head in with a nasty guitar sound, conversations still jump in and out like some Burroughs cut up dream. A recording is there, which sounds like a hair trimmer cutting some hair. Another recording jumps in with nice sounding drums, it then collides into a mess of guitars, violins, flutes and percussion instruments. Sounds like aliens have invaded some music studio. The sound of tapes being played while being played really fast, is also there. All end up with 2 bonus tracks, both being under 2 minutes long. Both being more in the harsh noise section, but still having that anarchic avant-garde fusion vibe going on.

Woawww... And then it ends... Lots of sound, lots of speed, lots of ... Well, EVERYTHING! ... The kind made me happy listening 2 it. Some of it reminded me of the sort of humor you might find on a record with Nurse With Wound, and the cup-up sound took me back to early Severed Heads. It´s very surreal, it´s exciting to hear... Lots of Action!  .. Feeling bored by harsh noise/wall etc ... Then this could cure you!  

Bandcamp:

https://thedarkthursday.bandcamp.com/album/move-work-architectural-witch 


Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/thedarkthursday/ 

Discogs:

https://www.discogs.com/artist/5650338-Jacob-Levesque 

Empty Chalice - 

Emerging is Submerging - The Evil

Interesting how old acts and thoughts can be revived, as it is in the same case as Antonio Airoldi´s dark-ambient/drone project called Empty Chalice. The background and idea of this project started way back in 1993, as the artist himself was into the death/black-metal scene. First Empty Chalice release came out in 2015 on a Russian label, later on a digital release and now this cassette it out now on Industrial Ölocaust Recordings. Interesting label with a history aswell, established way back in 1989! So...What has Antonio been thinking about since 1993?

To start with the Bandcamp introduction:

´Empty Chalice is the project of the noisemaker A. Creator of Obscure music, artist and worshipper of the darkest and deepest profile of the human nature´

The recording is a spiritual achievement. From the first track you are already sensing an ethnic drone influence, not far away from the likes of Zoviet France. Just giving you a hint that there is more, to this black-industrial influenced act. The next track ´Muffled Scream´ keep you on your feet, still retaining  that ethnic church-like dark-ambient calm-before-the-storm effect. And then it hits you with a beautiful third track called ´Sidereal´. Sorrow filled and sacred melodies flood your mind, while occasional earth-like rumpling noises shakes the tension a bit. Fans of Raison D´être would LOVE this! ´Emerging is Submerging´ takes you away from the ruined church, and into a bad surreal trip. Strange radio hisses, clinical hospital´ish atmosphere, metallic clattering and white noise wash over you like waves... makes you feel like being operated but not thoroughly sedated! It all ends up with you waking up in a strange dream, bubbling and steel like sounds echoes through a long corridor. Making you relax! Sort of. The last track ´Stolen Breaths and Destroyed Hope´ continues through that long corridor towards the ending gateway. repeating drones, creepy insect-like whisperings, mumbling voices talking backwards (I think). Has that disturbing Twin Peaks (Black Lodge) feel to it. The tension gets higher when (What it sounds like) lots of warped string instruments stirring the mood up. Sounds like waking up from a bad dream, and then slowly realizing that you are in fact in hell (Or still in the dream). 

There´s a lot of meat on this bone, lots of opportunities for the listeners to immerse themselves. A lovely kind of post Cold Meat Industry kind of album, back to the days when it all sounded just right and dark. Requires lots of listening, as I said earlier... alot of meat on this bone. Give it a listen with your black candles on a dark night!

    

Bandcamp:

https://emptychalice.bandcamp.com/album/emerging-is-submerging-the-evil

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/empty.chalice/

Label:

https://www.facebook.com/iorecs/

http://cardinium.com/

Erdig - Hiob

´Biblical Theodicy. Old Testament. Nature Recordings. Modern City Field Recording and Soundscape.´ From Umeå in Sweden.  A new underground act doesn't have much info on the web, the only place I have is the official Bandcamp site.

A strange and new sound to the evolving sound of Dungeon Synth.

First track takes me back at playing Bard´s tale or Forbidden Forrest on the Commodore 64, a kind of primitive and gloomy sounding 8-bit synth (But not entirely 8-bit) kick starts the tape. Extra layers of strange and eerie fields recordings are haunting the recording as well. It´s grim stuff, bound to give your nightmares!

The music continues from old and gloomy fantasy driven computer games, into esoteric and ritualistic territories. The artist improvises on the synth, but keeps the theme sharply focused! At times your feeling you are walking silently through a damp cellar, in search for that last case of Amontillado. Or being hunted through the woods by witch hunters. You are bound to a rather gloomy end, and Erdig´s Hiob tape is sure to tell you that tale. 

This is a VERY unique gem in the world of dungeon synth, there is not a trace of the goblin Mortiis here. I would rather compare it with the Italian Ain Soph, esoteric masters of black ambient. Reading occult tombs by Eliphas Levi, Crowley, Gregor A. Gregorius with this in the background could do the trick! A true cult release!

Bandcamp : 

https://erdig.bandcamp.com/ 

  

Veil of Nature - Forest Brume Demon 

Zachary Lindsay is a busy guy. Not only is he the owner-operator of Earthwalker Recordings, recording as Volcanic Queen and Veil of Nature. This Veil of Nature release is the one he wanted me to review, I can easily understand that (wearing the headphones as we speak!). Finally, I can add to the info, that Veil of Nature has been active since June 2017. So far We´ve had 5 albums and 1 split released. So we´re dealing with a productive and dedicated ANW artist here, as far as I can tell.

Regarding the recordings, have you ever seen that flick with Arnold being hunted by an alien who makes trophies out of man?. Offcourse it´s Predator, being stuck in the hot, moist, green, claustrophobic density of a South American jungle. After Arnold´s squadron have been completely wiped out, he slides down into this deep lake in the middle of the jungle. And in this lake, there is this sound of a massive waterfall, combined with this dense jungle sound. That was the first picture that popped up in my mind after the play button on Bandcamp was pressed down. 

I did afterward a little research about Veil of Nature, what I discovered what that the sound was  ´conceived with the use of field recordings and natural resources´. And that makes sense, the sound does have a very kind of natural feel to it. It does seem unconsciously familiar and therefore makes it highly enjoyable. The noise also gives you the impression, of how the wind moves through the trees, and how the sound is in the density of a forest/jungle. It´s a beautiful aesthetic achievement, recommended listening with good headphones in an isolated spot!. I think it actually slowed down my pulse! I´m thirsty for some more of this, ambient noise wall with a natural feel to it!. 

Bandcamp (release):

https://reasonartrecords.bandcamp.com/album/forest-brume-demon 

Bandcamp (Zachary Lindsay´s own label):

https://earthwalkerrecordings.bandcamp.com/ 

Discogs:

https://www.discogs.com/artist/5816855-Veil-of-Nature

 

Pansori and Ghostskull - Miasma

Actually... this is the first time I'm gonna do a review about a release/act which I cannot find anything about, and yes Discogs is a mighty tool for information about these kinds of bands. But what I do know, is that they hail from Adelaide, Australia. And this one has been made by two acts, namely Pansori and Ghostskull. Ghostskull is being described as ´Metaphysical and Spiritual anarchy.Torture chamber music, a chaos torrent´. And there are tons of releases on Ghostskull´s Bandcamp, lots of stuff to check out!. 

Can´t tell anything about Pansori, cause I can´t seem to find anything about this act. Well, let´s try to describe what these 2 acts are doing with this Miasma! . 

It´s a lovely diverse mini-album, 2 tracks both being around 10 minutes long each. It´s starts of with this lovely space-drone vibe and then further evolves into atmospheric industrial-ambient. It then head crashes into brutal and heavy industrial-noise, not in the manner of regular harsh noise!. Lovely machine-grinding noise brutalism that is! The next track starts off with this creepy Asian-horror soundtrack-ambient, which then is strengthened by heavily distorted industrial rhythms. Love those simple, dry and cold rhythms!. (Reminds me a bit of Flutwacht).. The brutal-ism does not end here!. The rhythmic elements corrode and are then replaced by heavy noise with spacey distorted squeals on top. The ambiance of the Asian-horror cinema is still stalking in the background while this is happening!. At some point, it almost sounds like the Nostromo (from the first Alien flick) disembarking from the planet LV-426.

A lovely diverse soundtrack´ish noise treatment. Well made, and bound to be heard by yours-truly a couple of times for sure!.. And I will look forward 2 hear more from this. Do spend 20 minutes of your time on it, it will not disappoint you. 

Bandcamp:

https://ghostskull.bandcamp.com/album/miasma

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/GhostSkull666/ 

Vinterdvala - Historien Om De Sju Trollgubbarna

A new dungeon synth release has seen the light of day (August 2017). This day, we have a new act from Sweden called Vinterdvala (Winter hibernation). And this act has just released its debut called ´Historien Om De Sju Trollgubbarna´ (The Tale Of The Seven Trollops´. Released on his own Bandcamp site/label called Slingerormen Productions. Now, on with the music. 

A wonderful small and simple achievement, majestic and epic dungeon synth. Not the darkest and most vile of its kind, and not the most lighthearted either. Perfect balanced, the sound is magnificent. 

Some dungeon synth acts, can be too primitive and some are too polished and synthetic in sound. This one is neither. 

I can describe it as, classic vintage synth/role-playing game soundtrack. Most of the synths here are closer to Tangerine Dream than Mortiis (almost). Quite perfect for background music, when you're having your Dungeon and Dragons role-playing game time. I also think it works well for those who are new to dungeon synth and need a proper introduction to the genre. It has all the needed charms and moods that a proper dungeon-synth release should have.   

I hope that it would come out on cassette, with extra tracks to fill it.

Bandcamp:

https://vinterdvala.bandcamp.com/releases

Transgresia - Wireless Transmission

 

Transgresia (as in Transgression) means ( or could mean ) A: A violation of a law, principle, or duty. It could ALSO mean B: A relative rise in sea level resulting in deposition of marine strata over terrestrial strata. I think according to this recording itself, I would go with answer A. OR maybe a bit of answer B, depending on which mood the listener might be in.

Well, this act called Transgresia have been in recorded existence since May 2017. And have released on labels such as ЩЫЛ, Wall Noise Action and now New Zealand based the Dark Thursday (Back in my youth, Thursday was the day I hated most. Longest school day in the bloody week! Anyways!)...

This new release is great!. We´re talking about HNW with minor industrial environmental sound dynamics. There is a iron´ish taste to this, a mechanical feel also. Lots of non-dynamics to it off course, static but still. There´s a evolving chaotic physical presence in here, there is a working machine grinding for sure and the machine is quite old and rusty. But it keeps on working nonetheless. In other words, a sense of unpredictable monotony.

Not moving and moving at the same time, great!. The sound is wonderfully done, and it is bound to subdue the listener! Being unpleasant but pleasant at the same time.

Think we´re talking about another breed of wall here, not your typical nylon stockings-themed wall. Something else, it sounds awesome and powerful!. 

Give it a go, maybe on your mp3-player while taking a walk in the nearest decayed and rusty industrial area.

Bandcamp:

https://thedarkthursday.bandcamp.com/album/wireless-transmission

Discogs:

https://www.discogs.com/artist/5786442-Transgresia

Facebook (Label):

https://www.facebook.com/thedarkthursday/