Asylum Connection - A Decay of a Pandemic Mind

Back in November last year, we reviewed the EP called A Daymare Reality by an Italian project called Shadow Echo Canyon. Luca Tommasini is behind that project and is also responsible for Asylum Connection, which released this album called A Decay of a Pandemic Mind. Also released on Inner Demon Records and as "two hand-stamped 3" CD-Rs. Art printed on heavy card stock and enclosed in a vinyl pouch with a flap. Hand-numbered." Which is a brilliant design for this sort of release. 

The concept/theme for this release is thoroughly described on the artist's Bandcamp site, as well as on Discogs, about the Corona pandemic, and about the artist´s growing frustration regarding the pandemic, the isolation, the loss of loved ones, and the inability to fight back. He also describes in the text how the world kept on, how nature outside lived on as nothing happened while the humans were suffering. The album contains 4 tracks, with over 30 minutes of sound. 

The first track is called Stay At Home, starts with a burst of shattered and splintered filtered noise, and something in the background talking... might be simple radio noise, or is it a parrot?... I am not sure. You already get the feeling of the frustration of being locked inside; might be the parrot?  

   

The second track, The Loss Of Feeling. A distorted hum, razor-sharp radio-like frequency. The eerie-pitched and manipulated chattering sound of birds and television noise in there as well, and a looped distorted bass sound giving the track a death-industrial vibe. There´s a sense of... the opposite of feeling motivated, basically just lying on a sofa and doing absolutely nothing... cause there isn´t anything to do... obviously. 

The third track is called Let´s Have a Fight With Whomever. A burst of filtered flanged noise. The sound from a television set is slowed down to a haunting demonic sound. Something (angry on this track) is trying to squeeze itself out of the noise; there is a hidden, aggressive nature here that is being controlled. It wants to get out! Multi-layered filtering noise with demons/ghosts inside! 

The fourth track is the last track on the album, and then we have to put the second 3" in the CD player. It´s called Final Wall, a Zombie is Born. A brutal noise, 18 minutes of a wall with someone (distant) screaming painfully from a place in the burning hell. Kind of reminds me of that recorded sound from a hole in the ground, which actually was a recording from an old horror flick from the 70s. A mental and physical numbness will occur after several minutes of listening to this track! 

A Decay of a Pandemic Mind is a painful and brutal soundscape of forced isolation for someone who doesn´t enjoy being isolated. The feeling of restlessness and anxiety, depression... while (as mentioned above) the world/nature outside somehow continues on its daily routines. Clearly a recording which is the total opposite to a record which promotes healing through sound, this one promotes a negative-version of that... 100%!. Tired of being jolly happy? Or do you just hate REM´s Shining Happy People? This one might help. 

Bandcamp (label):

https://innerdemonsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/a-decay-of-a-pandemic-mind-ind203d

Bandcamp (band):

https://asylumconnection.bandcamp.com/

       

 Ens Imperfectissimum & VRNA - 

Offerte Votive per Morti Senza Nome

A second split between two Italian occult-driven acts. We reviewed the former split last year, which is still worth it for curious ears. The album comes as a CD packed in a wallet-sized format with a 4-panel insert. A huge album running over 70 minutes.

The album title can be translated to Votive Offerings for the Nameless Dead. And as far as I can remember, the former split was also working within the same kind of theme. The idea for this split comes from a tradition from the city of Naples. Where religious devotion was offered for the nameless graves, for those (dead) who were denied mourning and proper funeral rites. The tracks are different from the CD, and on the Bandcamp site, I review the tracks from the CD. 

The first track is by VRNA, and it´s called "Adoption Ritual". A folksy harmonic drone, a single drum serving a ceremonious purpose, a violin-like string instrument, bells... and some BEAUTIFUL and distant orchestral vocals, similar to the voice of Joe Papa of Controlled Bleeding! Beautifully made! Ritual music at its best, with some slight gothic undertones in the mood.

The second track is by Ens Imperfectissimum, called Invocazione dei Defunti Anonimi. A perfect blend of dark ambience and classic death industrial, something in between esoteric ritual-stuff like Ain Soph and the more ambient-oriented BDN. Excellent deep and mystical female vocal here (believe me!).

The third track is called Hypogeum, and it´s with VRNA. Starts with a huge gong starting the ceremony, getting back to Coil´s How To Destroy Angels and Endvra. Deep whispering voices quietly chanting. Extra layers of reverbed whispering and looping give the sound an unearthly quality. A subtle and singing chant enters the mix, giving the track just a slight melodic and ceremoniously aproach. 

The fourth track is Mortui Expositus, meaning The Exposed Dead, by Ens Imperfectissimum. A deep drum, stretched-out orchestral sounds, evocative vocals, and the sound of wood hitting wood... or is it bones? It does have that bony kind of feel to it, though. Very shamanic touch here, getting close to the spirits for sure. Female ritualistic spoken here as well (later on), and the sound of the moaning dead is really present here! Imagine a wall of skulls with the wind blowing through them. 

The fifth track, called Three Headless Angels at my Bedside by VRNA, returns to a more folksy feeling. Reminding me of a soundtrack I heard on the horror film called Dagon, maybe the same kind of bagpibe/windy instrument? Evocative flute, bells, harmonium (I think). Very similar in style to another Italian act called Alio Die (Recommended). Excellent string instruments are added, which give it a kind of spaghetti-western feel. The esoteric is incredibly exquisite here!    

The sixth track is called Offerte Votive per Morti Senza Nome (Voting Offerings for the Nameless Dead) by Ens Perfectissimum. Shimmering sound of steel chains (or crystals), endless mourning string sound/drone from a bottomless pit, shattering and thunderous mood in a huge cathedral indeed. With atmospheric, evocative, and beautiful female-vocals parts as well. 

Ending the ritual/album is with VRNA with the track called Dialogue With the Shadows. Again, a slightly folksy feeling with a kind of ancient, almost Middle Eastern feel to it. The sound of the treated violin is truly a nice treat here. Something in there sounds just like a thighbone trumpet, combined with excellent chanting male vocals. 

Offerte Votice per Morti Senza Nome is a worthy masterpiece which takes the listener deep into a world that lies between the living and the dead, actually with a lot more beautiful esoteric approach than the grim and demonic sound of death-industrial. Just sit back on your favorite chair, pour yourself a whiskey, and go through the album from the start to the end. Very satisfying and highly enjoyable 70 minutes. When ritual music is at its absolute peak! 

Bandcamp (band):

https://ensimperfectissimum.bandcamp.com/album/offerte-votive-per-morti-senza-nome

Bandcamp (label):

https://noctivagantcollective.bandcamp.com/album/offerte-votive-per-morti-senza-nome

 

           

 

 Maurizio Bianchi - Telmegiddo

A new CD reissue of Maurizio Bianchi´s tape release. This was the last tape he did before his long hiatus from the experamental/industrial scene in 1983. From 1979 to 1983/1984, he released almost 40 tapes! It has been released on CD via the Danish label Mercium; I had the pleasure of reviewing one of their previous releases last year (P.G.R./I.U. split). 

The album contains two long tracks, simply called Part I and Part II. Cover artwork shows... think it is clouds with the low sun on the horizon, or is it sunbeams? Tel Megiddo is an ancient, historically significant archaeological mound located in northern Israel. The name itself is linked to the Greek word Armageddon, and the location is believed to be the gathering place for the final, apocalyptic battle between good and evil at the end of time! Early M.B with an apocalyptic theme, bound to be interesting!

There's a throbbing underground pulse, like a volcano slowly getting ready to erupt. Real sound of decay, sludgy ambient electronics, and slimy ectoplasmic goo. You always get intrigued when listening to M.B. The recorded sound of the other side, pure spiritual and primal sounds. U get sucked in, getting hypnotized or doing time cleansing your soul while exploring it. Very deep and very dense stuff, pure proto dark-ambient or just pure early industrial without the drama!

The second track starts like an underground explosion, and then it slowly drags you further down into the sludge. A hint of some sort of angelic choir/synth in there, with some incredible haunting-sounding tape loops going on. Just try to imagine this: Armageddon in slow motion! Or the movie Begotten in slow motion, while someone has zoomed so much into the movie that it looks like huge grainy pixels. Could be one of the ideas or images that could pop up in your mind when listening to this track; incredible stuff if u ask me.  

Telmegiddo is an M.B album, and an album by M.B sounds like an M.B album. There is absolutely nothing that sounds and feels like an M.B album. It´s incredibly hard to describe, although it´s very primitive and minimalistic. It´s soothing and moody like ambient music. It´s harsh and grinding like an ambient-noise-wall album. And it´s built on a focused sound aesthetic like early industrial music. Whatever your need is, this album will serve you just right! 

Bandcamp (label):

https://merciumrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/maurizio-bianchi-telmegiddo

Official Site (band):

http://www.menstrualrecordings.org/maurizio_bianchi.htm

    

 

Nerthus - Jonastal

 

Yup, there is a new Nerthus album out! Called Jonastal. A self-released limited tape, which can only be bought via the official Nerthus Bandcamp site. Comes in a plastic envelope, with the tape inside a thick and folded A4 piece of paper. The graphics clearly show some kind of murky industrial factory inside a forest; turn around, and you´ll see some kind of mineshaft. The following statement regarding the chosen concept of the release is from the release page itself: 

  Born and raised next to this place, where atrocities took place, and rumors are whispered, it had long been clear that I would create a thematic album about it. Jonastal is the result of many years of work on a subject that has fascinated me since my youth.

Jonastal - a sinister place in the heart of Germany!

So what kind of place is Jonastal anyway? Of course I had to do a bit of research on the World Wide Web. Jonastal was a place where a lot of prisoners from Buchenwald concentration camp were forced to dig 25 underground tunnels into the surrounding mountains in the area. Done in complete secrecy. It was believed that it was to be the main headquarters for the Führer, and a place to do research on weapons like the V2 rocket. It is also believed that it was going to be a place to research electromagnetic and nuclear technology as well. Other strange rumours from 1962 were that some even had witnessed nuclear bombing tests. The area is still today strictly forbidden for trespassers! Very scary and very murky indeed. 

The first track on the A-side (all the tracks are just called 1,2,3,4 etc.) starts with a deep drone-ish hum, distant metallic sounds of something on railroads. Eerie and haunting analog ghost sounds here and there. This kind of feeling here, that if walls could talk... they sure do here. Is there a sound in here that reminds me of human voices? I'm not sure. This intro really sets the mood. 

The second track has that thumping and ritualistic death-industrial sound to it, closer to soundtrack-ambient than noise here. A Recording/sample from a radio recording goes in the background, something about concentration camps and prisoners. Underground bunker feeling is present, with the hollow and empty sound of clattering machinery above ground. 

With the third track, you are getting convinced of getting deeper inside the mountain tunnels. A paranormal presence/intensity hides, while a slivering cold wind makes your hair stand up. A surreal soundscape, giving the listener a kind of dizzy feel. Might just be an eerie looped tape going on in there, getting those extra layers of sound effects. Sounds bloody marvelous.

The fourth track turns up on the distant voices of the moaning dead! There is a kind of spacy, roomy feel with this track, being inside a huge underground room. Interesting kind of rhythm here, which really isn't a rhythm... just a sound being repeated, an automated machine-sound if you like. Fans of early Inanna/Archon Satani would love this. 

We flip the cassette and continue with the B-side. The fifth track continues where the A-side ended. Clattering bits of eerie radio noise. Sound of someone working on metal in a tunnel, and with that thumping bass-drone working straight into your ear. There is also another sound, not sure if it is the sound of someone moaning... or the sound of a distant aeroplane.   

A vibrating and heavy-manipulated ghostly radio voice speaks over the sixth track, with a razor-sharp but smooth ambient soundscape lurking over the listener. Really getting into that feeling, when you're in a place where it just... feels wrong.

Jonastal is an incredible and adventurous journey into the heart of darkness! Concerning a place where something has been, but whatever happened back then... still lingers in the very air. And this release absolutely proves it, hell! ... I even feel like finding the place and doing a bit of dark tourism. It´s a perfect and horrific dark-ambient experience, with bits of sound-experamentalism and a nod or two to the early CMI sound (BDN, Archon Satani, Inanna). For some reason, I would love to have this one on vinyl! 

Bandcamp (band):

https://nerthus.bandcamp.com/album/jonastal

 Fallen Sun, Sacher Pelz, 

Thomas Bey William Bailey - Acousmatomisation

A collab between 3 artists. One from Malaysia, Milano in Italy, and South Carolina in the United States. Malaysia-based Fallen Sun is the solo industrial/noise outfit of Y'ng-Yin Siew, which has been active since 2023. Fallen Sun is also known as Reverse Image. Sacher Pelz is the first project by Maurizio Bianchi, which he started before MB. He started Salcher Pelz back in 1979. Thomas Bey William Bailey has been an active experimental noise artist since 2006, and also works as The Domestic Front and Thomas Transparent. 

These 3 people have joined together to create something called Acousmatomisation. It´s described as a coined term. Acousmatic means a sound without a physical source. And Atomization, the breaking of something into very fine particles. The album contains 6 tracks, with a total of almost 63 minutes. This one is a joint release between Attenuation Circuit and Grubenwehr Freiburg. 

The first track is called Atomizing Spectrocopy. A high-pitched tone and some fluttering digital electronic sounds smother into glitchy and liquid-based static from a short-wave radio... get it? That´s just the first few seconds! Sounding like aliens sending something through a radio. The sound of haywire AI making harsh noise, or just the sound of information running through the wires beneath our great oceans. 

The second track, Fluid Molecules, offers crystal-clear shimmering sounds and chopped-up human speech with a rising soundscape intensity in the background. The sound of electronic molecules smashing into each other, and it gets rebuilt again and again. Blistering laser-thin sounds smash into the TV screen from some old Atari game. Very intense material here. It does remind me (sound-wise) of a Third Organ release I once reviewed. 

The third track is called Chemical Oxidation. Something drags itself from some cellar while whispering voices crawl over you, sounding like a digital nightmare. A spray of wet-static, a sensation of aural cleansing. Surreal material, just like the scene where the girl in Poltergeist gets contact through the TV. 

Concrete Absorption is the fourth track. Splintered rotating shards of digitalized steel whirl around while several hard drives and old-school modems simply burn out due to overheating... a complete overload of high-pitched metallic 16-bit noise.  

The fifth track is called Particle Deterioration. More with ambient moods, with some short-wave radio recordings. The spacy walls of noise get denser the further we get into the track itself, and more brutal layers of soundscapes are added as well. Interesting field recordings can also be heard.

The last track can be heard by the curious who have read this review. Acousmatomisation is definitely not an easy-listening experience, even for the ears of harsh noise or power electronics. Filled with high tones and has an eerie and very abstract kind of spaciness to the sound. Something new, and not your traditional kind of noise. 

Bandcamp (label):

https://emerge.bandcamp.com/album/acousmatomisation

 

   

Cordis Cincti Serpente & Sara Ballini - Luziferischs tantra 

Cordis Cincti Serpente is an old Italian ritual-industrial act with its focus on esoteric occultism, and Sara Ballini had joined up on the latest album. Sara Ballini is an author of the occult and a leading figurehead in Luciferianism and Left-Hand-Path magic, as well as doing some recordings together with Michael W. Ford. 

This over 55-minute album contains 11 tracks. The album has been released on cassette and on CD as well. I have the CD, and the jewel case comes in an almost-clear plastic bag covering the one tit with a blood-transparent sticker (smart).  

The first track is called Der Tanz. Murky underground sound of earth... or distant underground explosions. A tone-ish drone, lots of weird shivering sound effects, voices talking backwards. Really quiet, eerie, and subtle stuff. Perfect for late-night listening.  

We continue with the second track called Die Brücke. Which closely follows the former track. There´s this feeling of listening to something that is hidden. A very enigmatic feel for sure. 

The third track, Algol, offers something else. Low-fi space drones give the listener the sensation of falling, accompanied by subtle, ritualistic tam-tam drums. There´s also the looped recording of a female voice being engaged in some sexual activity (of some sort). Creepy, deep, and serpentine voices slither around the recording, giving the track that specific Luciferian and erotic feel to it. 

The fourth track is called Schatten. Which is a track that kind of functions as a means to end the third track (I think). Some of the same sounds continue here, still following the aesthetic of sound. 

The fifth track, Alraune. Common belief is that the sperm from a hanged man would create this strange plant/root. Which is a plant to be used for magical means? A very high tone, Shivering glitch sounds... and more of the strange Warped voices, both reversed and very slow in speed. Some cool-sounding synth keys in there as well.

 

The sixth track is called Canis Tindalos. I think (or could be ) a homage to a story by Frank Belknap Long called Hounds of Tindalos. A story of a time-travelling, space-cowboy who encounters these strange and horrific creatures that inhabit the angles of time... while we humans (and all other common life) descend from curves. Some reversed talking, and non-reversed, in Italian... Is it from the story? Could be. A very spacious ambient-soundscape track, reaching the very gulf of space. 

Track number seven, Litanei der Vergessenen. Getting back to Coil´s How To Destroy Angels here. Spoken Italian words, various rhythmic gong instruments... another strange sound in there, the sound of someone breathing through a mask? Could be. Very high regarding the aesthetic of ritual music here, and very sincere as well.

The rest of the album keeps on churning that highly mysterious and seductive esoteric sound, always with an eye on the red line/aesthetic. It´s a very sound and thought-provoking album, since it´s a VERY quiet and subtle one. It´s pure ritual minimalism. Very focused and very to the point. Not cartoon satan with sex, something else... which is hard to understand or comprehend, but keeps the listener curious and intrigued through the listening process. 

Official website (label):

https://cardinium.com/product/ior-tk-xxiii/

Discogs:

https://www.discogs.com/master/3659343-Cordis-Cincti-Serpente-Sara-Ballini-Luziferisches-Tantra

      

 Layers of Skin - Your Internal World...

Layers of Skin is a new, interesting, experimental, and enigmatic duo from Greece.  Combining avant-garde-driven ritual soundscapes with influences from diverse ancient cultures. This is their second album; their debut was a self-released CD-R and cassette called In The Eyes Of The Beholder pt.1. The new album has been released on E.C.T, as a limited CD-R. A fold-out inner sleeve with the CD on thick cardboard, also graphically printed. 9 tracks, over an hour of surreal thickness. 

The first track is called Chinchurro Mummy. Eerie tone, ritual beatings, Tibetan deep-chantings, and some really disturbing inhuman screams from some open grave. For some reason, I´m thinking about the Aghori from India ( do a read on them!). Something truly ancient and dark is going on here.   

It doesn´t get any brighter when we continue with the second track called Eating Ape Brains. We´re still in Tibet, or some place near that country. The sound of a Shamanistic cleansing of some sort, and something which sounds like a thighbone trumpet. Also, the sound of a human voice trying to sound like a jaguar, or is it a leopard? Maybe this stuff/track is related to the secret Leopard Society from West and Central Africa? They were baddies in Tarzan, by the way. Clicking sound from small apes here and there. Strangely seducing track. 

We continue with brains to Taxidermy Human, which is the third track. A contact mic on a radiator of some kind, and something metallic hitting it. Some kind of wind-instrument is being used here, not sure if it´s actually made out of wood... or grass. Strange sound of feet... tapping... and weird sound of frogs... croaking. Almost getting into that Innsmouth feel, combined with the surrealism of Nurse With Wound. 

With the fourth track, Mind Is The Lake, Eyes Is The Universe we travel further into surreal territory. I guess that the drugs that the shamans introduced us to at the beginning of the album... are starting to make an effect. Something is scratching a violin with a metal wire, while someone is banging on a huge single drum. On the left side of the stereo, someone is banging something hard on the ground. Might just be the sound of a toy piano and a childish female voice singing. 

The fifth track is a Journey Through A Body. Metallic balls and triangles are being hit... and the sound of the wind outside is blowing like a storm. A short but highly stimulating piece. 

We continue with Stardust And Rain Heal Your Heart, which is the sixth track. More of a soothing track, it works perfectly after the former track. A microscopic sound of something... slithering close to a microphone. Distant and warped drums are almost recognizable, or is it the sound of feet stamping on the ground? All of a sudden, a distorted crash of noise of metal clangs together, and then it disappears... with the eerie kind of flute in the background. That flute sound gives me that... Temple-in-the-Jungle vibe. At this point, I am totally fascinated with this release! The track is long; it has a lot more to offer. Lovely kind of live-feel to it!

The seventh track is called The Spirit Takes Shelter Through The Night. Feels like the final hour of the cleansing ritual. A looped didgeridoo, metal balls circling in a hand, violin scratching, deep chanting, and more string instruments here and there. Female spoken words as well. Highly efficient psychedelic wonders here! 

The eight-track is called Enlightenment, a certain shift in style in the sound. Getting that nostalgic feeling of a brighter future, thinking of Boards of Canada here. While the melody is going on, something is going on in the background... being recorded off course. Maybe getting ready to do the last track on the album?

The ninth track (and the last track) is called Inactive Soul. Think there might be a cello in there, or just the same violin on some deeper strings. You remember those plastic tube-wind-things we would hold on our hands and spin above our heads? I think they might be in here. 

Your Internal World Can Be In Peace When There Is No Darkness might just be the answer. Yes, it has its dark moments, but also the lighter ones. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but Layers of Skin doesn´t actually deliver the simple guidance to get through the tunnel. The album functions as a kind of spiritual gateway to... something which differs from listener to listener. It´s a very good album, with a lot of different ideas and moods to it. Everything sticks together here, just right as rain. 

Bandcamp (label):

https://layersofskin.bandcamp.com/album/your-internal-world-can-be-in-peace-when-there-is-no-darkness

Discogs (label):

https://www.discogs.com/release/36064969-Layers-Of-Skin-Your-Internal-World-Can-Be-In-Peace-When-There-Is-No-Darkness

 

       

 

OUZΩZUO – Stumbling Through The Void

A new project called OUZΩZUO on the dark-ambient, BM, dungeon-synth-focused Greek label called Black Death Industry. A debut beautifully named Stumbling Through The Void. Limited CD-R full-length album in a clear plastic sleeve. First-ever release with this project!

A cool inner sleeve with some cool graphical stickers and extra artsy flyers inside. The whole graphical aesthetic showcases a sort of occult/esoteric cyberspace, a place where the world of the paranormal meets the digital world. Could be. The whole thing contains 15 tracks, about 46 minutes in total.

The first track is called Ouzo As Offering. And what is Ouzo?... It´s a strong Greek alcoholic beverage (50%). Made from rectified spirits through distillation and flavoring. Mystical and heavenly (and slightly) melodic ritualistic drones, a shamanic rhythm/pulse, and some deep moaning monks in some distant underground temple. Sounds very promising so far, not your typical dark-ambient dose.    

The second track Alen God Come Devour Us (charming). The track itself is actually more pleasant than the track title suggests! An alien hum floats through the speakers, while the suggestion of angelic voices charms the listener closer. Eerie, looped, and rhythmic sticky sounds clatter in the background. Fans of Rapoon and Deutsche Nepal would love this. 

The third track, Run Until The Spirits Follow, is a short, creepy, Lynch-ish track. Sound of something heavy breathing, an alien factory machine sound. The flickering sound of faeries, leading you astray. 

The fourth track The Mountain Weeps For The Human Plague. Slowed down human voices down below, and some ethnic vibes/flutes on top. Interesting, again with those... occasional flickering sounds that come from nowhere. Very hypnotic piece here. 

The fifth track is called From The Peaks The Alien Watches. Another short track, with distant, strange animal voices and static from the radio. Could be the Migos from Lovecraft's novel The Whisperer in Darkness.   

The sixth track, Our Bones Will Feed the Soil Again. A flickering insectoid rhythm, a looped acid-drenched sound... sound of a transmission from another galaxy getting through. A message made out of sounds, not really words. 

Humanity as a Disease, being the seventh track, has an almost nostalgic and dreamlike quality, like Boards of Canada! But behind th the blissful sounds, there is a feeling of discontent in the background. With zombie-ish moanings through a primitive shortwave radio, not really finding anyone out there... in the void. 

The rest of the album is also good, and I highly recommend that everyone hear the whole album in one go! 

Stumbling Through the Void is a very special album. Equally balanced between discomfort and utter bliss. Made in a way to charm us with honey, and inside hides a flesh-eating predator. Or is it the other way around? Looks/feels like a dark, evil album with the album titles and all, but the recordings within the album contain something way more sophisticated. In other words, it´s perfectly balanced. Or it can be represented like a coin with two sides, which gives the listener the option of choice (regarding the listening). Very special blend of moody drone-ambience with ethnic vibes. Can´t wait to hear more from this act!    

Bandcamp (label):

https://blackdeathindustry.bandcamp.com/album/stumbling-through-the-void

 Minamata - Fukushima

Second time around, we get to review another album by this French project called Minamata. Last time was an industrial-disaster-based album called the Niigata 1964-1965, which also got into the top ten of Kalteldur that year (nr. 1!). This album was released on Force Majeure in 2017 and is still available on Discogs and the label's Bandcamp site.  

We´re still in Japan with this album, and we´re dealing with another disaster. The Fukushima incident, a major nuclear accident, was caused not only by an earthquake but also by a tsunami. The power plant couldn´t cool itself down, and the result was a total radioactive contamination. 164.000 residents were forced to evacuate, and 41.000 people (today) are still waiting to return to their homes. It is estimated that the contaminated area will have been "cleaned" in 2050, and the cost will run up to 180 billion US dollars. 

The first track is called tepKO. Stands for Tokyo Electric Power Company. The company, which owned the Fukushima power plant. Lots of ups and downs, controversies, and mainly failed security about the safety of their power plants (Homer Simpson). The track starts like a rising sun in the early morning, a haunting string-tone/violin-ish sound rising with more and more intensity. Kind of sounds like some sort of warning... of things to come. Scary haunting drones, and then somewhere a thundering underground explosion. Neo-classical melodies sweep over the icy soundscape, while occasionally, metal-on-metal clangs together. Also, an alarm siren is going on as well. A  Powerful intro track, really enjoy the way the artist has managed to create it as painful and sad as possible. 

The second track at(H)oM, a playful play with words... At Home or Atom... get it? Again, with a subtle but thunderous industrial soundscape. Still getting that feeling that something really bad is going to happen, just haven´t happened again. But yeah, there is definitely a storm brewing. Halfway through the track, we´re getting washed away by distorted vocals and dark, mournful melodies. Scary in that apocalyptic, but also really beautiful as well. I love that he holds onto that Minimata sound/aesthetic, which was also present in the former album from 1986. 

The third track is called tsunaminamata. Rhythmic banging of metal, angelic choirs, old-school power-electronics vocals (Grey Wolves, Genocide Organ), shimmering crystaline sounds, and the roaring sound of huge watery waves banging on a huge wall. 

The fourth and last track, eKlipS. Longest track on the album, and the most soundtrack/ambient-based. An epic industrial soundscape with a martial feeling. Actually, a really seductive dungeon-synth melody in there (for the dungeon synth fans!). Halfway through, it kind of changes into a new track/direction in sound. The track ends in a blaze of powerful angelic power electronics. Almost taking my breath away there (just for a moment). 

Fukushima is a powerful album, delivering harsh industrial soundscapes with the aesthetics of power electronics, while maintaining a sense of beauty in the eye of the storm. A French project worth taking notice of (check Discogs). 

Bandcamp (label):

https://forcemajeure.bandcamp.com/album/fukushima

Discogs (band):

https://www.discogs.com/artist/76940-Minamata

   

 Llyb Y Cwn / Formalhaut - Mahasamadhi

A collaboration between two solo ambient projects: one from Wales, Llyn Y Cwn, and the other, a Polish act, Formalhaut. They have made this album, which has then been released on the Polish label Fluttering Dragon, both as a limited CD box set and as a regular digipack. "Older" release, which was released back in 2024, but after countless times on my stereo... I concluded that it deserved a review. A 50+ minutes full-length of pure transcendental ambiance.

The concept of this album roughly revolves around the state of the mind when mentally and spiritually going further into the afterlife. It is something from the Hindu/Yogic traditions. About entering a kind of meditative state before death occurs, which will then allow you/your soul to enter a kind of enlightened existence. I am kind of getting back to the album by Sokushinbutsu Project, especially the concept from their debut. Remember? Buddha monks do a kind of self-mummification through meditation. Not sure if it is the same thing, but it sure sounds like it. Let´s check out the audio material! 

The first track, Meditative Absorption. Slowly fading in with a horn/deep-trumpet drone, shimmering frost in the air with angelic and layered ambient-synth/strings. The listener will feel that... elevated sensation. Lying on levitating something, getting up there in the clouds. All recorded material is beautifully woven together. 

The second track is called Nirvikalpa Samadhi. Kind of beginning where the first track ended. The elevation stops, more in a kind of floating without-moving-sensation. Traces of deep chanting in there, and some fantastic sounding synth-keys. The listener will be totally engulfed/hypnotised in the sound here, and it works very quickly! 

The third track, The Ultimate Transcendence. Slowly getting the feeling of movement, weightless travelling. Floatless in space. U get the picture. Or floating in water near the North Pole without freezing to death. We´re still in the same drone-driven realm of sound, but it doesn´t have that repetitive/monotone feel to it. 

The rest of the album I would leave in the hands of those who have curious ears. A sound that expands, engulfs, and lifts the listener up would be the three side effects that come with this album. You´ll also end up listening to it again and again, just to get that... feeling. It´s absolutely bloody magnificent. Don´t miss it, give it a listen... like NOW!

Bandcamp (label):

https://flutteringdragon.bandcamp.com/album/llyn-y-cwyn-fomalhaut-mahasmadhi

Bandcamp (band):

https://llynycwn.bandcamp.com/

   

Kalteldur Playlist3

 https://soundcloud.com/kalteldur/playlist3

Latest playlist for some of the latest (and hottest) artists/acts I have reviewed. Experimental, noise, industrial, ambient. Worth your time.  

00:00 - 05:53 - petrichor - meanwhile

05:28 - 12:12 - thru the leaves - thebit

11:49 - 18:27 - devil´s breath - abandoned by humans...

18:07 - 24:36 - nerthus - sudor anglicus IV

24:33 - 26:34 - ivanova kula - lullaby for undead knights

26:26 - 32:02 - shadow echo canyon - all this darkness...  

31:38 - 39:28 - analfabetism - våldsdåd i gryningen

38:17 - 42:52 - grodock - hab acht