Absolute Key - Imploding Harmony

An unknown label (new to Kalteldur), with a release with an act I don´t know. The label Bent Window hails from Vancouver, British Colombia and the act Absolute Key hails from the land of a thousand lakes... yes Finland! The label has existed since 2021, with over 70 releases so far! With some known acts on, like Praying For Oblivion and Kadaver. The act Absolute Key has existed since 2019 and has had over 20 releases so far. The label and the act both deal with extreme music, mostly industrial, noise, ritual, etc.

The physical release has come out as a limited CD, nicely done as a soft digipack. This means, a CD tray glued onto thick cardboard paper. I like the painted blue colored graphics, with some nifty collage work. Lovely esoteric vibe within the graphical content. 5 tracks, about 32 minutes in total. Let´s dig right into it.

The first track is called Destructive Axiom, it starts with a hiss, the sort of hiss that comes from hidden microphones... recording microscopic disturbances in a buried coffin. Primitive shamanistic sounds of bells, scrap metal, and glass further intensify a paranormal and spiritual force within. It evolves further into a blend of ritual-ambient and warped harsh noise. I like the sound of it, harsh, fresh, expressive, and moody. Choactic stuff yes, but with a strong sense of aesthetic purpose. 

The second track Cracks In the Sky starts being a rhythmic thumbing beast on some sort of percussive set of drums. The rhythm is, not a tight one... but kind of mechanical and clumsy at the same time and has a kind of frightening and effective effect. Layers and waves of razor-sharp noise add extra points to the psychedelic experience.

The third track Chant To the Other God, is a real acid-drenched mind-bender. Starts really subtly and quietly, then some weird... kind of chanting electronic/analog sound kicks in, not actually sure if it is a human voice! Thick and dense layers of ritualistic noise work nicely here, feels like getting the soul completely cleansed! I wonder who that... Other God is?... I really do. Yog-sothoth?

The fourth track Wayfarer a subtle horrific wall of reverbed noise, punctuating sounds of noise moving in and out... and up and down as well. The thrashing of metallic scrap gets back into the mix, while some really warped distorted industrial sounds work their way through to the listener. The end is really interesting here as well, a nice touch that tells us that our creator of this release, is there with the listener the whole way through.  

The fifth (and last) track Reclusion throbs and spits the minute u start the track. Kind of a death-industrial feel here, BDN-era with Innerwar? A thick and dense layered distorted industrial sound (with a rhythmic vibe) is looped while additional (and sick) layers of mind-bending brutal effects are added. And then it all ends!

It´s the kind of... album that u listen to a couple of times and then ( all of a sudden) it explodes and it will impress you. There is a kind of... honest sincerity with it. As I mentioned earlier, u feel that you are with the creator through the entire listening process! Which gives the album an effective adventurous feel. The decent diversity is also worth noticing, a lot of different moods and thoughts are rampaging through the whole thing. And again, chaotic yes... but highly effective, highly focused on the other hand. 

           

Bandcamp (label):

https://bentwindowrecords.bandcamp.com/album/imploding-harmony

Bandcamp (band):

https://absolutekey.bandcamp.com/

Facebook (band):

https://www.facebook.com/absolutekey111/

 Megaptera - Beyond The Massive Darkness

We have all seen it, one of the big classic releases on Cold Meat Industry (R.I.P) has just been re-issued on Old Captain. Beyond The Massive Darkness is... (hold onto your glasses!)... two albums that have been put together as a double CD/vinyl, the bonus being 2 new versions of 2 tracks from the Curse of the Scarecrow album plus the Deep Inside EP on CD2. Released as a limited 8-panel matte-laminated digipack, with a cool poster as well. You can also get the monster CD-tree box set, with lots of goodies inside (T-shirt, pins, poster, etc, etc). 

For those who don´t know Megaptera, let me give you youngsters a quick intro for why anyone wanna revive this old death-industrial dinosaur in the first place!

Megaptera is one of the real classics when it comes to death- industrial, also being a classic act regarding the label Cold Meat Industry and even Slaughter Productions. Started in 1991 with the Near Death album on the proto-CMI tape label Sound Source, and then from 1992 to 1994 they recorded the two albums which would be re-issued on CMI and now Old Captain. One of the great things about Megaptera is their... recognizable sound. At times they use entire dialogues from classic occult-themed horror films, and then they mix that together with their otherworldly-heavy industrial sounds. At times we sink into swampy ambient-industrial territory, horror soundtracks, and other times they remind us a bit of the early Test Dept... just a lot slower! 

Whatever they did... they managed to release about 14 albums, some eps and several compilations. We also know Megaptera from one other thing, from being on some of the best compilations in the realm of death industrial! Megaptera was ALWAYS on the best compilations, and their tracks were ALSO some of the best on those compilations as well. Up there with the likes of Brighter Death Now, MZ-412, In Slaughter Natives, and Archon Satani. Essential Nordic death-industrial. If you need more info about Megaptera, then you can always check up on the interview I did with them (link below). Well, Let us start checking up on some of the tracks within now!

First track Human Sacrifice on CD 1 ( Beyond the Shadow ). Starts instantly with a huge hum of... voices or gas slipping out of 100 small holes in a huge cathedral. Think I can hear... airplanes in there, diving through the clouds... or is it a bomber airplane?! Some rhythmic vibrations resonate in the hypnotic gas hum while mysterious human voices are talking beyond. And then some really excellent ritualistic beats set the mood, really dark stuff now! Imagine prisoners walking up some steps to meet some hooded guy with a huge axe, there really isn´t much hope here people!

The second track Distinct Killing is a pure rhythmic industrial treat, not that far away from Memorandum ( if you remember that act ). Heavy tribal industrial, really barbaric moods going on. Occasional noisy elements here and there, and some cool-sounding (and horrific) sounds following the beat tightly.

The third track The Offering works as a lovely tribute to one of the Exorcist films, something about the coming of the antichrist and exorcism. An epic and thunderous industrial soundtrack works perfectly in the "background". If I were the movie director, I would feel proud listening to this. 

  

We jump unto CD-2 (Songs From the Massive Darkness) with the charming title of a track Sludgy Heads Found In A Handbag. Weird police-like sirens scream through the night, reverbed wet moods from a deep sewer, a deep humming machine, screaming distorted electronics ... and some kind of vibrating brush cleaning a rusty metal pipe. Everything is... weird and exciting to listen to.

Track 5 Dysentery is another great tribute to a classic horror flick, John Carpenter´s sci-fi horror The Thing. Menacing dark industrial-ambient collides with the stressed-out discussions between the characters in the movie. If you haven´t seen it yet... I suggest you do! 

Track 7 from the Deep Inside EP, might just be one of the most memorable and iconic Megaptera tracks ever. A very long adventurous soundtrack-driven track containing all the elements that Megaptera can bestow upon the listener! Hypnotizing ambiance, ritualistic atmospheres, mind-boggling vibes, waves of eldritch moments, a breathtaking synth melody, and the memorable sample of a mad preacher! A truly epic journey into the sound of gothic horror!

Everything is good here, every good reason to invest in this re-issue. Why? Might just be for the sole reason, that u get the Deep Inside EP with this one. The Deep Inside EP might just be one of their best works, and this EP is not included in the CMI release. But, I do tend to cherish my CMI edition. The Old Captain version looks great (without a doubt), but feels slightly cheaper compared to the CMI one. A digipack with a thicker, textured feel could give that reissue that certain vintage feel that (again) gives that feeling that you are holding a classic in your hands. And some kind of informative booklet would also be nice, a written document about the making, the importance of this release, etc.        

Bandcamp (label)):

https://oldcaptain.bandcamp.com/album/megaptera-beyond-the-massive-darkness

Bandcamp (band):

https://megaptera.bandcamp.com/

Interview with Megaptera:

https://kalteldur.blogspot.com/2019/12/megaptera-interview-with-peter-nystrom.html

         

 Dug Up By Dogs - The Supreme Hunt

Dug Up By Dogs, is a highly obscure and enigmatic ritual-industrial/ambient act from the UK. So far this one is their third album, and this one (The Supreme Hunt) is their first label release, and the first physical one as well. Digitally self-released on the act´s official Bandcamp site in 2023, and re-issued as a limited and numbered 25 copies CD-R version on the Greek label E.C.T Recordings. 

It comes in the recognizable E.C.T CD-R design: A blackened inner sleeve, CD-R wrapped in rice paper all inside a plastic sleeve. The cover-artwork? Looks like something from one of those exploitation 70s flicks, I'm thinking Spitting On Your Grave kind of thing. It´s a short one here, 5 tracks about 27 minutes in total.   

The first track simply called Intro, has the sound of angry dogs in various layers and effects. Takes me back to some recordings with Vagina Dentata Organ I once heard. A deafening and heavy death-industrial sound explodes, heightening the listening experience. And then we move further into the next track.

The next track is called Ritual Device, which starts with a choir of beautiful religious chanting. The huge cathedral-like sound here. Deafening and highly effect-drenched spoken words are added, excellent sounding metallic bass-sound thumbs like a machine in the background. A lot like the early recordings by Maschinenzimmer 412. Very well done.

The third track The Supreme Hunt has a more rhythmic tribal post-industrial sound to it. Lovely distorted rhythms here, with someone occasionally hitting an empty and spacious-sounding metal container with a steel bar. Creepy-ass and horrific soundscapes roam in the distance, with some excellent vocal parts and cool effects. Love the glitches and choppered raw sound here, absolutely perfection here! 

The fourth track Crucify Them Upon the Pylons... starts with a creepy slowed-down circus-like organ theme, not an organ but ... this box usually has one wheel where you pull this lever and music comes out of it! Pleasant and disturbing at the same time. There is also a metal-banging sound here, which transports me to some old harbor. The nice synth work here, and the spoken-word part here really heighten the mysterious and eerie atmosphere. 

The fifth (and last) track is called Assume A Human Form But With the Teeth of a Dog being the most noisy track on the album. Bone-crushing noise if you ask me, with some surreal movie samples in the background. And then we are back in the huge cathedral with some decadent and sickening ritual going on, with someone shouting ´Stop it!´... ´Stop it!´...´Everyone must die!´...  Intense ending for an intense album!     

Marvelous short and effective beast this one is. Concentrated and to the point! Horrific raw industrial-ritual music at its best. Surely a nod or two to the classic Cold Meat Industry sound. I will for sure check this other album, and I hope there will be more from this act!

Bandcamp (band):

https://dugupbydogs.bandcamp.com/album/the-supreme-hunt

Discogs (label):

https://www.discogs.com/release/26660366-Dug-Up-By-Dogs-The-Supreme-Hunt

 Resgestae - État D´urgence

Another release from the French label Force Majeure (sub-label of Nuit Et Brouillard). Resgestae is (was) a project based in Greece, nowadays it´s based in Spain. The project was started in early 2011 by Nicholas P, who also was responsible for another project called [distopia]. Both projects dealt in the space between dark-ambient/death-industrial and power-electronics. His idea for this project is a reaction to the aggressive and upfront sound of traditional power electronics. His idea would be to work with extreme frequency samples and drones to form a sub-sonic landscape. Something that could give the listener a cinematic experience with the album while incorporating true political, social, and economic elements.

This once came out in 2015, as a cool-looking digipack. So far, this is (still) the only release/album with this obscure and enigmatic project. 9 tracks, over 60 minutes in total! 

The first track on the album is called Alerte! L´état Profond (Alert! The Deep States). It starts with a heartbeat, reverbed and echoed spine-tingling sound effects, and a deep and heavy distorted drone. High-frequency human sounds almost resample the sound of bats, and then the sound of something getting electrocuted. I'm not sure, some of the sounds in the mix sound a bit like... distant gun firing? Could also be sounds that have been recorded underwater. Quite special this stuff is, moody power-electronics with a surreal element to it. An effective ear-opener this first track is. 

The second track The Network starts with a mind-numbing heavy drone-wall, with some wet and slippery sounds in the background. Some high-frequency sounds move back in forth, like some robotic drones surveing an underground sewer. Or is it those robotic killing machines they make to hunt the rats? Kind of terrifying that (if u listen closely through the dense sound) there is a distant trace of human voices, deep within the labyrinth sewer. Later on, mind-bubbling sound effects add something extra to the bad trip. I think a sample of George Bush is here as well. Quite something, lots of conceptual meat on this bone!

The third track Terrain D´Essai has this reverbed and reversed sound of... a drop of water which is then followed by a slow and heavy drum machine-pattern. Additional creepy industrial sounds are added, and some highly agitated French guy is talking over it. I like the highly atmospheric horror feel of it so far.

The fourth track R&D: Research & Development has a sample of some gangsta-hood trying to sell his secret stash of various weapons. A looped and atmospheric power-electronics distorted pulse pushes its way through the recording, certain Grey Wolves feel here! There are also a lot of aggressive glitchy sounds here as well! 

The fifth track From Repression To Management delivers a heavy underwater sound experience, primitive rhythmic electronics, and high-frequency endorsed sound effects. Definitely more of a death-industrial vibe here. 

The rest of the album (last 4 tracks) keeps the aesthetic conceptual theme alive, and I can highly recommend listening to this album in its absolute wholesomeness. https://www.facebook.com/resgestae0

Bandcamp (label):

https://forcemajeure.bandcamp.com/album/tat-durgence

Facebook (band):

https://www.facebook.com/resgestae0