Vomir and White Window - Advanced Symptoms of Claustrophilia

Actually, the first time ever that we get to review Vomir on Kalteldur. Been reviewing HNW for some time, and now it´s the first time that we get to review one of the true vets of HNW. Not completely alone this time, Vomir has made this album together with a project called White Window. 

Interesting act really, White Window hails from the Philippines! With a lot of releases on their belt, and more to check up on their Bandcamp site as well (link below).

  

Not a split here, but actually a collab. This release has been released by a label called Grubenhehr Freiburg, and this physical release is a cool-looking cassette (and cover) with some eerie (but nifty) looking collage artwork. I should also mention here that we are actually talking about a re-issue, it was first released by Transitional Void Records back in 2021. Anyways...  The album title...Advanced Symptoms of Claustrophilia, make you smile... also makes me wonder nonetheless.

The first track is called Asbestos Devotion. A very direct and brutal noise wall starts the track, the textured and microscopic sound of fabric being completely torn apart. High-pitched harsh noise sounds are present in the background, which gives the recording a nice dynamic to the wall of sound. Those high-pitched sounds almost sound like... one of those humming alien war machines in the classic War of the Worlds flick from 1962. Maybe it´s just me, getting a minor head-arch from too much asbestos. Action-driven noise wall for sure!

The second track Abnormal Pleasures of Confinement starts where the first track ended. A pulsating psychedelia sound is in the background, while strange samples/recordings (of something) can be heard with the trained ear. It's still within the area of the dynamic noise wall. So far it's hard to distinguish this track from the first track, the main difference is its length of it. Still pretty action-driven, love the energy of the sound. Vocals recorded in the end actually. 

The last track  Advanced Symptoms of Claustrophilia is a killer, 30 minutes and 8 seconds long!  In the same vibe and feel as the former tracks. I keep returning to the idea of creating something in a state of complete isolation. Corona-themed perhaps?. If you actually take a pause from listening and returning to listen... the sound sounds more brutal than before. The whole monster sounds like a mic being dragged by a fast-driving lorry truck. 

The album does sound like it was done in one take. Like a kind of live recording, and then chopped up the recorded material into three tracks. Would have been better if it just was one long track. And I was (in the end) feeling a slight case of Claustrophilia. The album felt too long, maybe that was the idea/concept of the release? Pure HNW addicts should seek it out, not for the faint for sure. 

Bandcamp (label):

https://grubenwehrfreiburg.bandcamp.com/album/advanced-symptoms-of-claustrophilia

             

 Victorian Witch - Eerie Tales

Dungeon synth on a Compact-Disc is a rare thing, even rarer when the artist describes the music as a Victorian synth. We´re dealing with a project by the Italian mastermind, who also was responsible for the proto dungeon-synth act Sagenhaft! (see former review). A beautiful limited 100-copies physical release, a glossy 4-paneled digipack inside a  wax-sealed black letter with blackened print on. The album works as a sort of complete recordings compilation since it compiles the two mini-albums Eerie Tales and Cold Embrace. Love the whole feeling of energy pulsating from this otherwordly cover artwork!.

The first track on the album is called The Tomb of Sarah. Not exactly who Sarah is, but we´re dropped right into a kind of musical style between Dead Can Dance and Endvra. Some might say Lovecraftian and some would say dark-medieval. Evocative melodies crawl over synthy strings like the legs of spiders, while eerie will-o-wisps produce disturbing light over a ruined graveyard. A perfect intro track, telling the listener straight away that we are bound to be on a fantastic trip into another world. 

The second track Witch´s Mansion goes further into a classic death-ambient sound. What do I mean by that sound? Check out the classic Death Odors compilation from Slaughter Productions. Heavy and doomish bells with some added metallic percussive on top, very kind of Megaptera´ish if you ask me. Interesting eldritch electronic sound effects going on as well. Is that new sport-shoes I hear on the gym floor, or is it the sounds of bats?... Not sure, great track nonetheless!

According to the track listing on the physical cover, the third track The Haunted Organist (which is according to the Bandcamp track listing actually being the track called Aungier Street ) contains an interesting rhythmic rhythm with some very cool synth-based atmospheres. Fans of SPKs Zamia Lehmani will surely dig this I am sure. A nice touch of atmospheres piano notes enlightens the mood beyond description.

The fourth track Aungier Street (which actually is the real Haunted Organist of course) perfectly sums up the mood for the perfect gothic-horror tale from the older days. Lovely played organ synth, with a touch of dread and moaning within. Perfect for an Edgar Allen Poe spoken-word performance of the Raven!

The fifth track The Shadow of a Shade further enters a neo-classical dark ambiance with a touch of the paranormal. Love the ancient and almost mythical archaic sound, a sound which sadly seems rarer and rarer these days. I'm getting watery eyes here people, beautiful track!.

The sixth track The Body Snatcher might even be something from one of those older Carpenter flicks. A retro sort of 80s horror thing here, the feeling of evil forces at work being present here. Synth-based horror ambient with some cool distorted guitar sounds going on (I think). The evil version of Steve Roach anyone?. 

The seventh track Twilight Encounter kind of goes "back" to that classic Sagenhaft-sound. Elegant piano, martial drums, and synthy soundscapes. VERY nicely done indeed. Again, I would love some kind of vocals here... again, spoken words would be awesome. 

The eighth (and last track) Cold Embrace further explores the retro soundtrack with added post-rockish guitar work. A good and moody outro track to end the album, although the track (on the CD) ends maybe a bit too suddenly... but that's ok I think!. 

And that ends the journey. A cool, honest, and decent album delivering what the album promises to deliver. Esoteric dungeon synth, with a nod or two to the world of classic gothic horror literature. I Would love to see that there would be more artists within the dungeon-synth realm, that would dip their fingers into something like this. It´s great, but again... I would also (for some reason) love it if there were some deep male vocals here, again spoken words. Maybe we can hope ( in the near future) that there would be an upcoming spoken-words album? Bored of Dungeons & Dragons-based synth music, go and check out Victorian Witch!.

Bandcamp (label):

https://pacificthrenodies.bandcamp.com/album/eerie-tales

Bandcamp (band):

https://victorianwitch.bandcamp.com/

  

     

   

 Soma - Vociferando En Lenguas Antiguas

I have been in the company with the abstract and extremely harsh-noise unit Soma once. I have experienced the act through a release on the label Marbre Negre, the excellent Ewige Schönheit album (see the former review!). This time we´re not dealing with a split, just an entire album/cassette release with Soma. For those who don't know Spanish, then I can reveal to you that the English translation would be Screaming In Ancient Tongues. 

This is kind of interesting when you examine the beautiful cover artwork. At first glance (front cover) you´ll see something which looks like something...which could look like something being zoomed in. A kind of strange but still recognizable organic/fungus-looking pattern. When you open up the cover and witness the photo inside, it´ll show a strange and ancient-looking cave wall with an enigmatic bust of someone on a square platform. Looks like a spot of some kind of worship. The same fungus-look structure can be seen on the cave wall itself. So the title Screaming In Ancient Tongues makes sense with the artwork itself... I like that. The idea is there, but there isn´t actual info about the location of the photo on the cover. Makes the listener wonder of course!

There are two tracks on this album, 40+ minutes in total. Live recorded as well! 

The first track is called Primera Vociferación (First Vocation). Its starts with a hiss, which then evolves into harsh radio static. The harsh radio static starts to clatter, and with added flange effects it starts to move slowly up and down. Additional layers of abstract noise are added to top the cake. Screaming vocals from the world of the dead can be felt and heard later on (in the background). Love the way how elements of the vocals are being looped as well, kind of in the same way on early albums by NON. The whole thing then dissolves into a completely psychedelic Wunder-Baum of terrific cosmic noise from another dimension! Pure madness here.  

The second track is Segunda Vociferación (Second vocation). Sounds like a distorted version of an old computer game, and then it starts to sound like noise coming from a haunted television...´They are heere´. After that, the whole thing collapses, and tons of action-driven noise drills, cuts, and impale the listener again and again. A bit more madness going on here than the former track, or is it just the sounds having an effect on my ears and brain! 

A complete smörgasbord of every kind of mental mood that u can find/hear (and locate!) within the world of harsh noise-music. A challenging sound-beast that will (and can) give aural hallucinations! Don't say that I didn´t warn you. By the way, the Sonic-looking fellow below is actually the logo of the label Crystal Mine, be sure to check out the other releases from the label aswell!

Bandcamp (label):

https://crystalmine.bandcamp.com/album/vociferando-en-lenguas-antiguas