Catacombs of Doom - Resurrection of the Flesh

A new release from an act which I haven´t heard before, although they have existed since 2009. They have even been on Craneal Fracture Records, which yours truly (back in the day) have had the pleasure of having some releases out on. Nonetheless, Resurrection of the Flesh is their fifth album. Released via Black Death Industry, and distributed via Depressive Illusions Records. So far it has come out on limited tape and CD. A full-length album containing 9 tracks. 

The first track on the album is simply called Resurrection of the Flesh (like the album). Evocative and satanic vocals, ritualistic beatings with a great and varied dark-ambient soundscape running in the background. That doesn't sound like much, but it´s actually quite a big and epic thing. A well thought conceptual sound, with a well thought lyrical theme on top of it. I wish there were more black metal bands who would do this kind of stuff. Sort of like... Sleep Chamber for black metal fans without guitars.  Really love the sound quality here, top edge soundtrack quality that is.

The next track Forlon of the Hammer takes the listener back to that old In Slaughter Natives sound (which I miss). A Barbaric and horrific slaughter of the innocent. Makes me think of how horrific it would be to spot that Viking ship in the distance (out in the sea), and know that your village is utterly doomed. That´s the kind of feeling this track will give you. And those who will survive the slaughter will be a slave of course. A very horrific soundscape with evil intent for sure, lovely drums here.  

The third offering Invictus turns the intensity into a more... "relaxed" state. More of a melancholic and tragic atmosphere here, with a violin there and some poetic esoteric-themed lyrics here. 

In the fourth track Dreams of Ninevah, we are introduced to haunting female vocals (Strawberry Switchblade fans anyone?). These vocals are mixed with the sinister male vocals here. Not really sure what I think when these two are combined, but it actually does sound better than I thought it would. I love the various effects on the vocals here. Reverb reversed, stretched, and so on. 

The fifth track Odor Mortis has some cool tribal stuff going on. If you would remove the vocals, it would sound a bit like something from SPK´s Zamia Lemahl. Dark and satanic world music if you please.

We jump to the seventh track Witch Trial. Sounds a lot like Aghast (R.I.P). So far my favorite track on the album. The drums sound good, the violin is creepy and the vocals are very exquisite. I must admit, the female vocals on this album are more... authentic-sounding than the male vocals, matter of taste I know. 

Lovely ritualistic undercurrents with the eight-track called Nebuchadnezzar´s Dream. A great follow-up to the former track Witch Trial. Again, lovely old CMI sound going on here. Love that witchy kind of atmosphere going on, out in the forest at night at a cemetery etc etc. 

We end the album with a cover of a track originally made by Necromantia. Almost kind of Arabic moments with a hint of Dead Can Dance here. And that ends the album. 

Lots of nifty satanic esoteric moments to be found and heard on this album, and the sound quality (good mastering) is a treat for the ear as well. At times I do think that the growling male black/death-metal vocals require too much of the listener's attention, whereas the female vocals work better in that way. But again, it´s a matter of taste. You can purchase your copy on the link below!

Depressive Illusions (label):

https://depressiveillusions.com/items/tape/dark-ambient-drone-experimental/catacombs-doom-ressurection-flesh?fbclid=IwAR3thxeCKJin2yX9Td1fL_h5HMEGwDhAWcCQ9mvJmFze59pwYHzicVjbktU

Facebook (band):

https://www.facebook.com/CATACOMBS-OF-DOOM-149040875123507

Bandcamp (band):

https://catacombsofdoom.bandcamp.com/

  

 Focus On The Breath - Time

New releases from one of my favorite pure ambient labels around, British Elm Records of course. One of them is a project called Focus On The Breath with the album Time, released in November last year. A limited cassette release, with the awesome Elm Records design with it. Lovely transparent blue cassette. 6 tracks divided on an A-side and a B-side, almost 40 minutes in total. 

And behind this project hides an artist, which has (according to Discogs) been involved in bands doing art/post-rock, folk, and even avant-garde Jazz as well. Besides that, he has been working on this project since 2014, with 4 albums out so far. Wanna check these albums out, then I suggest you check out the Bandcamp site for Cold Tear records (link below). 

The first track on the A-side is called Perpetual, starts really simple in an incredible angelic way. Simple and dreamy piano notes, with a touch of melancholia on a foggy day. Or when the sun rises over a windy cornfield in the morning, when corn fields almost resample waves in the ocean. The time around you absolutely freezes, and your pulse slows down completely. Imagine a black and white movie in the slowest slow-motion. There is also the sound of... dust on a record player evident. Hidden trumpet drones with that angelic touch also being a present in the mix as well. And that beautiful track runs in 16+ minutes. I´m gobsmacked by the beauty of this track. It does remind me a bit of some of the stuff found on Aphex Twin´s Selected Ambient Works Vol.2, or Autechre´s Amber without beats.

The second track on the A-side is called String Theory. Acoustic guitar-driven ambient material, not my cup of tea though. Reminds me of those kinds of new-age shops seeling healing crystals and herbs, acoustic guitar combined with ambient music... I know, it´s a taste thing. The track gets better further on when the guitar gets a kind of looped sound treatment. 

We jump further into the third track which is also the first track on the B-side. The track is called Continuum. Floating in space, or just frozen in time and space. A pretty deep, mysterious, and cosmic track. Waves of recorded sounds swirl and intertwine like liquid mercury. Hints of sampled violin here and there, excellent track here. 

In the fourth track Origin, we get the sensation of moving back in time. The reversed ambient sensation if you please. Some of the reversed sounds sound like they are moving forward, while other reversed sounds sound like they are moving backward... at the same time (does that make sense?). Is forward actually backwards, or is backwards actually forward? I don´t know.

The fifth track The Waiting Room works like a sort of... well waiting room. A short track, offering sounds of dripping water, windy and scrappy drones, and strings. Not a bad track.

The sixth and last track on the B-side (and the album) called Together includes vocals. Not actually words following a certain melody, but more of a humming voice doing the same sort of thing as that piano part did in the first track. Repetitive and simple tunes. Very kind of Sigur Rós here, more ambient than post-rock though.

Not a bad album as it is, it has its ups and downs but the overall quality of the whole album lifts the whole thing up. The one track that nearly overshadows the other tracks is of course... the first track. That one track is an absolute ambient masterpiece! 

Bandcamp (label):

https://elmrecords.bandcamp.com/album/time

Bandcamp (Cold Tear Records):

https://coldtearrecords.bandcamp.com/

Bandcamp (band):

https://focusonthebreath.bandcamp.com/releases

     

   

 

 Room of Wires - Fever Switch EP

An act that goes back to 2013, which I haven´t heard of yet. Until now that is. A nice description of the act can be located via Rednetics´s Bandcamp page : 

Room of Wires is an electronic music duo from the UK, who takes their isolationist approach to the limit. Since forming in 2013, they’ve never met, preferring to work in isolation, sharing ideas and sounds over the internet, one of them using hardware and a tangle of physical wires, the other lost in software and virtual cables.

 With two digital albums out on Ant-Zen, and with several EPs released on Section 27. Fever Switch is one of their newest EPS, which has been released on Rednetic (Bandcamp link below). A limited CD that comes in a nifty looking card-wallet. The EP contains 5 tracks with 20 minutes in total. Style?... Fusion electronica I would call... one minute they sound like Boards of Canada/Autechre even the later Richard H. Kirk, and the next they sound like one of the murky and moody drums and bass releases/acts from Goldie´s Metalheadz label. So, with a proper introduction, let us head-dive into the Fever Switch EP.   

The first track Never Seen Before is a gloomy jaw-dropping high-tech pearl, drifting over a futuristic Los Angelas in Bladerunner... in one of those levitating cars. The lights, the noise, and the mood of it being there on the track as well. I feel the track is too short (cause I like it very much). Melodic, ambient-driven techno piece... very beautiful one, and what an intro!

The next track The Lair goes further into the realm of technoid-electronica. Classy, futuristic, and epic. I really miss this kind of techno. Having hopes that our world (as it is) will be a cooler place in the near future, can technology in the end save us. That´s the kind of mindset I get (so far) by listening to this.

The third track Let Him Go goes straight into metallic and aggressive Aphex Twin´ish break-beats, with some nice retro-sounding synth work to soften the mood. Kind of a surprise track if you consider the former tracks. 

The fourth track Etnetico has a more of an industrial soundtrack feel to it, like something from Ulver´s Perdition City album. Big city electronica for the late hours, noir electronica. Programmed robotic machines work while humans eat and sleep. Everything is fully automatic here. This track is really amazing! Cool rhythms, clicks, scratches, glitchy sounds, evocative mood. Really nice.

The last track called TouchToneOne works like an outro the way an outro is supposed to work. The Dreamy piano works with the vintage synth take me back to Clusters Sowiesoso from 1976! Nothing wrong here, everything is good so far.

Brilliant electronica stuff to listen to while walking on a frosty morning with the sun rising up, radiating the light on windows and high structures made out of cold steel. Although I feel that the tracks are too short, the whole thing works brilliantly as an EP. Dreamy, daring, and futuristic stuff here. Are we looking at the next evolutionary step in techno?... I think so!

Bandcamp (label):

https://rednetic.bandcamp.com/album/fever-switch

Bandcamp (band):

https://roomofwires.bandcamp.com/