Kalteldur top 10 of 2019
2019 has been a very hectic year for Kalteldur. We´ve had our Kalteldur basement-headquarter being flooded by HUGE quantities of pouring rain. On top of that several reviews have therefore been delayed, and as we speak... we are still having insurance people working and repairing the damages caused by the cursed flood. We´ve also seen fewer movie and computer game reviews, and a lot more focus on selected record reviews. I am now proudly presenting, the Kalteldur top 10 of 2019!
Number 10:
Barbaric Frost - Heroic Quest
Raven Fortress
Barbarians, Cthulhu mythos and tons of treacherous sorceries drenched in doom and blood. More to be found here, and more of this kind should be given more attention. Barbaric Frost from Polen weaves a magical barbaric-journey that would make Robert E. Howard turn in his very own grave! Medieval ambiance meets up with doses of dungeon synth, martial industrialism, and doom! Not one to ignore!
Number 9:
Lá Ùltima Mirada
Marbre Negre
One of the most brutal attacks on your senses, and also one of great mystery as well. Heavy atmospheric ritual-ambient collides with dynamic noise-wall, all wrapped nicely up in pain and suffering! Why would anyone subject themselves to that (u might ask)... Power electronics has been old news for far too long, and too many would-be-hipsters are doing HNW (as we speak!). This one does something which could annihilate them all! And yes it is, a brutal attack your senses!
Number 8:
Shelter Ov Shadows - The Serpent And the Circle...
Wulfrune Worxxx
The kind of feeling you´ll notice when you have... interrupted a secret and mostly dark ritual in the deepest cavern you could ever imagine (probably involving a human sacrifice!). Canadian act Shelter Ov Shadows provides that missing link between esoteric dark ambient and primitive winter/dungeon-synth. All would agree, heavy dungeon synth might just be the new dungeon sound! If ever Mick Harris (Scorn, Lull, Napalm Death) would do dungeon synth... you get the picture!
Number 7:
Suero + Yama-Biko - Hansenbyó
Marbre Negre
Most of the time I would go... ´Yeah... Industrial music is dead and no one dares touch it anymore!´ BUT, once in a while something POPS up. Something which is a work made between Spain and Japan, the album even works around an interesting (and terrifying) concept (read the review!). Mesmerizing minimal-industrial electronics+vocals and harsh claustrophobic glitch-atmospheres are all you´ll ever get. Fans of SPK and early Maschinenzimmer 412, take notice!
Number 6:
Machina Coeli - Lure of the Forgotten Lake
Nigra Opera Productions
Classic dungeon synth which takes the listener back to older (Coil, SPK) and meets them up with later dungeon synth acts. Not that it has any connection or similarities to others. One of the most original dungeon synth-related releases I have heard in some time. One act which just gives the fxxx-finger to the present band-in-wagon sound, and chooses an original sound like a true isolationist. An interesting tale to be found on this cassette, and a very interesting sound and mood to be digested as well.
Number 5:
Human Vault - Primordial
No Labels Interested
Rare that I get around the world of electro-industrial/EBM, but just this time I just had to get around it. Made by an artist which delves himself (mostly) into the morbid murkiness of death-industrial/ambient. Human Vault being one of his various side-acts to his main death-industrial act Stone Wired. Primordial is one of the many industrial-music-related trips into the dark side of the human psyche, it touches nostalgia and it touches a sound aesthetic simplicity which sadly has been forgotten by time. Its strength lies in the mood before action, and no! ... It´s not danceable material! A downbeat dark-ambient version of early FLA/Delirium, with HUGE amounts of space in between. And PERFECT for the tape format (if you ask me)...
Number 4:
Horologium - Atavistic Americana
Six Burial Productions
Laibach has sucked for many years, and Borghesia hasn't actually been up to something new. On the other hand, Horologium has! Keeping and cherishing the rhythmic and sample-drenched experimental vibe. A bloody electronic-mesh melts together with electronic post-punk rhythms and perfect executed political-themed cut-up samples! Woaww!. Early Ministry, Laibach and Killing Jokes goes hand in hand on this highly underrated electronic gem!
Number 3:
Miguel Souto - Lillith
Anoxia Records
Someone came up with something... really dark and unique, and that someone was Miguel Souto. I was expecting a kind of ambient thing, I wasn´t expecting haunting and ancient classical piano tunes with eerie glitchiness behind it! Take Erik Satie and something like... Hafler Trio?. You get the picture. Perfectly executed, perfectly created. Coolest tape release of 2019!
Number 2:
Testing Vault - Amnesia Milk
Looney Tick Productions
Amnesia Milk was also... something else. An album that gave you the goosebumps and the emotional pleasure that usually follows it. It left a distinctive human trace on my mind while I was wandering (In the late hours) through the eerie sand-dunes of western Jutland, Denmark. The thing just stuck, just in the same way when something IMPORTANT sticks to your mind. Surreal electronic avantgarde' ness, the kind of haunting glitchiness that makes your heart stop in the middle of the lonely night. Or the soundtrack to one of those dreams, which seems too real and frightening at the same time. It´s an audible over-the-top experience, which you will never forget!
Number 1:
Miracle of Love - You Will Be Free
Overture Militia
And no!. We are not talking about a tribute to Swans! We are talking about one of the greatest releases of 2019. In my opinion, the greatest ambient-related release in years. A pleasant and punishing sensation being heavy on your ears and sensible in your body as well. Razor-blade distortions, distant angelic ambient-tunes, religiously and sacrificial vibes... all wrapped up in a lovely and subtle apocalyptic set of ideas. Incredible beautiful and incredible believable in a terrifying fashion. Listen and learn!