Knives - Violent Distillation

An interesting compilation from Ominous Recordings with an act called Knives. It´s (as you all can see) called Violent Distillation. And why is it interesting then?. Simply because that this single compact disc contains every released track by this act. One seven-inch, and 3 cassette tapes. Great idea to collect it all into a single disc!. All the material within has all been made and recorded in 2005, and the last track is an extra live bonus recording. I must say, there isn´t much to talk about when you look at the cover... but... I love it. I love the simple thing with white bold letters on a black background. A cool history lesson regarding the act inside as well. 

The Knives itself is a collab between Jon Borges (Pedestrian Deposit) and Phil Blankenship (The Cherry Point). About 34 minutes of pure American harsh noise for the hard of hearing!

The first track Switchblade Princess starts with a heavy-distorted and rumbling wall of sound. Additional static wall effects and screeching sounds made from bleeding fingers... controlling the harsh noise sound equipment! A chaotic mess of statics and pumped-up sound-action. Everything that is about pure harsh noise, can be found within this single track!

The second track Cemetery Girls I starts... VERY directly. Harsh tv/radio-static which almost sounds like crispy meat being burned on the frying pan. Lots of high-frequency treatment for the ears here, a very aggressive in-your-face track. Bound to make several people hold their breath! Max volume ear-phone listening is not recommended!

The third track Cemetery Girls II starts with a higher frequency than the first one! It is more of a proto-HNW thing, a harsh noise wall with turbo dynamics more like. Brutally distorted psychedelics just like a bad trip. The sound of everything violent trying to squeeze itself out of a tiny tiny hole, and your ear is on the other side of that hole! A piercing aural experience. 

In the fourth track Empty Desire I we are further introduced to the direct sound of pure harsh noise-action. At this point, you are probably feeling that you have been here before. A grinding and metallic distortion, when the brakes of the train deliver sparks... and a lot of noise!     

Empty Desire II is the fifth track... well, the train hasn´t stopped yet. The brakes are still on! You can almost feel the metal... crumpling! Why am I thinking about that Robot Wars show on UK television now?! 

Knives VS Knives I is a different beast than the former. Imagine a heavily distorted drone, with a kind of windy sound texture in the background. I am imagining a constant flushing toilet on an airplane!. Again, I like the brutal and static noise here. "Calm" and brutal at the same time, harsh noise with a lofty ceiling if you please. 

The seventh track Knives VS Knives II has a slightly heavy-ambient feel, the thing is... it only lasts for like 5 seconds. This track follows up nicely where the former track ended. Still being in the realm of atmospheric harsh noise. 

The last track on the album is the live bonus track that I mentioned earlier. A rumbling distortion with high frequencies, with occasional screaming effects trying to penetrate the wall of sound. There are some rather nice microscopic sounds worth noticing here, a live recording is a trick sometimes. The track ends with a cherry salute from the crowd. Love the recorded atmosphere of the crowd talking to each other when the track ends... I miss these kinds of concerts!.

And that ends the Violent Distillation. A happy and rampaging harsh-noise beast that warms cold ears in the winter seasons. The brutality is honest, and the intent is served for anyone who is bored. There is only one thing I need, which is content and a conceptual sound idea. But of course, it´s a matter of taste! It´s pure 2005 harsh noise, and the album does take me back to that time in Denmark (2005) when Ultimate Combat Noise roamed the Danish countryside. Why content, when you can represent pure chaotic noise?! But as a minor fan of harsh noise, I can guarantee you that the Knives... delivers the pure harsh noise experience 100%. I can still feel my ears, vibrating! 

Bandcamp (label):

https://ominousrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/violent-distillation

Discogs (band):

https://www.discogs.com/artist/311226-Knives-2

   

       

      

 Empty Chalice + Cactus Dildo - S/T

A new release from Industrial Ölocaust Recordings, a split CD-R with dark-ambient/ritual act Empty Chalice, and a new and unknown painfully called Cactus Dildo (ouch!). Now I do know Empty Chalice (since I have reviewed the act a couple of times before), but as mentioned before I didn´t know anything about Cactus Dildo. I tried looking it up on Discogs, and it turns out that the sole member of Cactus Dildo is one of the members of the pioneering dungeon-synth act called Sagenhaft. They made a dungeon-synth release way back in 1996. Anyways, this is a split release having 2 tracks from Empty Chalice and 4 tracks with Cactus Dildo. A limited cool-looking black and white jewel case. The release is also out on cassette!

There are also some notes in the album from each act on here, here are the notes by Empty Chalice:

Assembled, registered, and mixed in March/April 2020. Concept born from the peace ad power of intuition of Transcendental Meditation. When our false perception is corrected, misery ends also. 

The first track on the album is called Schisma. A Schisma is... something for you to look up on Wikipedia, something about musical notes and math. The track enters a mediative dark-ambient zone in the underworld. Caught somewhere between heaven or hell maybe. Deep ominous multilayered drones and hidden synths in there... maybe? Heavy space ambient (in a way) imagining the few space-ship-traveling scenes from Lynch´s Dune film here. There are a few irritating clicks in the sound, which I don´t think were intentional. A great dark-ambient track nonetheless. 

The next track (also with Empty Chalice) is called The Field. An awesome and great-sounding Raison D´être´ish track. Slightly melodic, heavenly epicness, moody melancholia. Still some unintentional clicks at the beginning of the track. Later on... the shimmering sound of metallic crystals and more of that angelic melancholia. 

The third track on the split starts with Cactus Dildo. The notes by Cactus Dildo being quite interesting, read : 

Music found on moldy tapes in the abandoned house of an old pervert.

This third track is called A Mattress Of Dead Fetus. Clearly a more industrial-noise act. Heavily distorted and slowed-down sound of drums and bass, with some string instruments in there (guitars or piano?). Some psychedelic and distorted vocals on top of that. Some of this might be some of that music mentioned earlier!. Love the ending, someone laughing... and the laughing just sounds disgusting for some reason. There is a noticeable wet clicking sound in the laughing throat.  

The fourth track is called Daisy (She Was Just A Little Girl). Old school pre-death-industrial moods get you back to early Lille Roger (pre Brighter Death Now), with the swirling industrial psychedelic noise dragging the listener further down. A nasty great track without a doubt, more of this!

The fifth track is called Diary Of An Old Pervert. Moaning sensual voices with a sleazy drum and bass pattern to back it up. Cool sounding post-rockish sound-textures with some distorted whispering vocals seducing the listener. Distorted whispering vocals, brilliant. You can get tired of those vocalists always shouting their lungs out when someone hits the distortion button! Almost a kind of, sleazy striptease thing going on in here. Brilliant track with a lot of new ideas. 

The sixth (bonus track) Moldy VHS. A psychedelic Wunderbaum of pleasant aural-depravities. Altered and layered spoken words, distorted guitar loops... and then it suddenly in silence! There are still... 10 minutes more. Waiting...Waiting... Total silence. Nothing more. 

An album presenting two acts which doesn't have much in common. But, I do love the contrast nonetheless! The first one finds peace in meditation, and the other finds peace in stalking around in a house that belonged to an old pervert... fair enough! Love the contrast, makes the listener think... why? The tracks with Empty Chalice are great but could be greater if the clicks weren´t there. Cactus Dildo sounds better than the band name (believe me!). Lovely and seductive sound of sleazy industrial strip-tease music, more of that, please!

Label (official):

https://cardinium.com/sound-grimoire/

Band (Empty Chalice):

https://emptychalice.bandcamp.com/album/empty-chalice-cactus-dildo-s-t

Band (Cactus Dildo):

https://cactusdildo.bandcamp.com/releases

 

 Samsuo - You Probably Think It´s The Ocean

Always a good thing to review stuff from Elm Records after tons of reviews in the harsh-noise/industrial section! Everything just cools down, a dip in a forest lake in the burning summertime. A way to reset the mind and body, with just that simple plunge into the waters. And that is exactly the concept behind one of the latest albums from Elm Records. 

Samsuo´s You Probably Think It´s The Ocean has a fine description on Elm Record´s Bandcamp site : 

You probably Think It's The Ocean' is a meandering sonic tale that draws the listener into a complex world of texture, tone, and melody. The narrative weaves between soft shorelines and turbulent seas, crashing waves, and gentle breezes. Exploring the depth of his sonic palette Samsuo conjures a deep and immersive story perfect for the Autumnal months.

Well ok. Taking a plunge in the autumnal months is not my thing, too cold. I did that once, with heavy hangovers after a drunkard Halloween night... I then ended up taking that plunge in a lake called Stilling Sø... The perfect cure for Halloween hangovers if you ask me... Anyways!.... 

The first track on the album is called You. May I remind you that every track on the album is named after every word added in the title of the album itself? It starts... gentle... with a shivering sound of non-melodic but drone-based guitar strings, with some water´ish sounds in the background. Very archaic stuff here, the atmosphere is absolutely sublime. Takes me back to something from Cure´s Faith album, not as dark and depressive of course...but... delivering the same kind of melancholic and thoughtful aesthetic. Layer upon layer of repetitive string drones sounds bloody amazing! Also reminds me of some of the guitar-based ambient stuff by Controlled Bleeding.

The second track You Probably continues the echoed and reverbed guitar strings, lower on the guitar notes than the former track. More guitar layers are then added. The artist has chosen to follow up closely on whatever happened in the first track, and it´s bloody lovely because it sounds great. The emotions in the drone´ish sounds hit you like ocean waves, has a certain...rhythm to it. 

The third track You Probably Think adds new stuff to the stuff. Repetitive and layered organ keyboards and some sublime and lowkey electronic rhythms. Crystalized moments are frozen in pure amber, almost forgetting in taking my breath here! Interesting synth-based ending here as well. 

The fourth track You Probably Think It´s has a certain... retro and nostalgic synth-wave feeling over it. It does remind me a bit of something from Autechre´s immortal Amber release from 1994. Exquisite ambient music at its best! You just get the picture of beautiful desert dunes with this track.

The fifth track You (Gezzz) Probably Think It´s The goes back to the sound of the first two tracks. Improvised and layered guitar work with reverb and echo. Is there a synth of some sort in the background? I am not sure, but the sound intrigues the listener without a doubt! Again, the ending here is so deep and sublime!

The sixth track You Probably Think It´s the OCEAN!!! A soothing outro of a track. At this point, you have probably recovered from the hangovers you had that Halloween night. Sitting in a warm car, bus whatever, and feeling the cold sensation leaving the body while you are feeling asleep. Bingo! Cold guitar work here as well, reminds me of the saddened sound of the Red House Painters for some reason. 

A perfect mixture of pure ambient and almost... sadcore kind of guitar work. I did think of the Cure, 4AD, and the Red House Painters here. Which is a sound from heaven... right?. This album does it, a 100% perfect ambient album. Adventurous with some daring nerve to top it. The sound/moment when an eccentric individual finally finds peace in mind. Highly recommendable album!....

 

Bandcamp (label):

https://elmrecords.bandcamp.com/album/you-probably-think-its-the-ocean

Bandcamp (band):

https://samsuo.bandcamp.com/

 

 Tuffo / Tube Tentacles / Gyakusatsu / Soma - Ewige Schönheit

A new and limited cassette release from Spanish Marbre Negre, this time featuring 4 acts on one cassette. In my part of the universe, I would call it a compilation, but in the case of this release, we´re talking about a four-way split. The interesting cover artwork itself shows a Marlene Dietrich´ish lookalike from the old days of movies. A very mysterious and cool-looking vintage photo, the expression on her face and with that background of morbid qualities... lurking in the background. Inside there is another lovely photo of the same actor, with contact info for the 4 acts. Sort of Weimar cultural decadence in the conceptual visual theme here. 4 acts, 2 acts on each side of the blackened tape. Almost 60 minutes in total.

First track Bolo with Tuffo. Really don´t know what Bolo is, tried to do a search for it. Could be anything from some kind of medicine, to something which you could polish your shoe with. Cool sounding ambient noise wall with dynamics going on here. Sounds like echoed recordings of a dusty vinyl on the record player, with a digitally manipulated sound of a leaking gas pipe in the background. Hypnotic stuff indeed. Later on, the gas pipe sound intensifies itself soundwise, while subliminal distorted sounds fade in and out of the recording. If one should ask me, the true conceptual sound of Marbre Negre... what would that sound like?. I think this track nails it. I have reviewed a lot of Marbre Negre releases, so I think I know what I am talking about. Always been intrigued by this label. 

The second track is Night of the Blood Beasts by Tube Tentacles. Psychedelic noise and vintage sound effects. If some early Berlin-School act/artist would go around and make a noise album, it could come close to the Lovecraftian world of Tube Tentacles. It´s an acid-drenched grinding brain in the machinery of the Fungi From Yuggoth on crack! Hell of a ride if you ask me. Or it could be the sound of some time machine getting stuck between the dimensions. Action-packed harsh noise with a nod or two to psychedelia and vintage sci-fi. I bloody love it!  

The third track is a bloody violent one! Violencia, Ultraviolencia, Parpadeo 2 by Gyakusatsu. A violent and highly energetic piece of ultra-sonic harsh noise. Who said that only Japan could produce this kind of stuff? Gyakusatsu might just be the new Government Alpha or even Incapacitants. Incredible neck-snapping material, bound to take your breath away!

The fourth and last track by Soma is called De Las Moscas Say El Rey, translated as Of The Flies Say the King. The track continues the hyper-sonic-ultra-violence with some additional mind-warping sound effects attached to it. Interesting screaming vocals can be sensed and heard through a cosmic void in the recording itself! Not as violent and bloody as the former track, but still as challenging to the nerves for sure. Kind of an act which delivers something between Tube Tentacles and Gyakusatsu, highly psychedelic-noise meeting highly violent harsh noise.

The whole idea of doing a conceptual split with 4 acts with a lot in common, is (as one can hear) a VERY good idea. They are label-mates and share the same soundwise vision at the same time. Why not make an album together? It´s bound to be a true cult release for the small harsh-noise/power-electronics crowd for sure, and what a pleasure it will give to that small crowd. I give this release a total thumbs up!. 

Bandcamp (label):

https://marbrenegre.bandcamp.com/album/ewige-sch-nheit

       

Broken-form - Into The UnKnown EP

Not often do I stumble upon a Danish dark-ambient act. When all the stars are in the right positions (in the great cosmos) it actually happens! Reason?... Well... We are not a big country, and most people in our country prefer mainstream culture rather than underground culture. The sun is always shiny, and we´re all soo very happy... or are we? Broken-Form might just be proof that things aren´t all that lovely and dancy in good old Denmark. Into the Unknown is the first release from Broken-Form, only available by digital means (Bandcamp). A cassette release of this EP would be lovely if you ask me. The EP/mini-album offers 2 tracks, each about 10 minutes long.

The first track called Into the Unknown welcomes the listener with heavy and subsonic bass. Kind of heavy sounding, and reminds me of Scorn. A scraping sound through a steel pipeline, a high-pitched drone from a classic thriller movie, strange human voices from the land of the dead... tries to crawl inside those tiny cracks in our own dimension. I like the thing about the sound and mood of this, has a recognizable Nordic touch to it. The soundtrack for a classic Scandinavian thriller in pitch blackness! Or just the mood for abandoned factories. 

The second track is Hope For A Better Tomorrow. A lighter track than the former. The sensation of feeling a rising sun, gentle touching the ground on the smothering ruins of a bombed village. A melancholic dreamy track, with a blackened sky hanging over it. Harsh industrial drones, raindrop synth-keys. A very expressive soundscape here. 

And that is that. Just an EP, but a good one I think. Some minor corrections in the sound here and there, but overall I think it is a great EP, my personal favorite track is the first one if you should ask me. A great debut for this act. My wish is still to have this EP on some kind of physical media, cassette would be perfect for it. Do check it out and remember to ask yourself, is Denmark truly a happy place?! 

Facebook (band):

https://www.facebook.com/BrokenFormAudio

Bandcamp (band):

https://broken-form.bandcamp.com/releases