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

       

 Sokushinbutsu Project - 5980 - 

Patto Generazionale

The newest release from one of the more mysterious and esoteric industrial acts from Italy, almost (in a lot of ways) being an act that pays tribute to the industrial past of Italy. Thinking about acts like Ain Soph, Sigillum S, Circus Joy, and Teatro Satanico. The act made their thunderous debut 即身仏 on Industrial Ölocaust Recordings and came out as the second-best release reviewed on Kalteldur in 2021. This time the act has jumped onto something completely else, doing an interesting kind of remix/sampled/revisited-cover versions of vintage pop songs. Sampling sounds from the original recording and changing them while adding guitars, vocals, and various sound effects. 

The release has been released via a Swedish label called TIBProd, a label started by Jan-M. Iversen. I know this guy, cause I love the album he did together with Maurizio Bianchi (Rekviem MB-JMI). Anyways, the physical release is a nifty-looking red cassette encased with a nifty-looking cover artwork showcasing the two members looking like prober upcoming pop stars of the new age. Loving the whole camouflage kind of thing going on, and I love the idea! 

The first track Oh! Carol is by Neil Sedaka. A classic piece of easy-listening vintage pop music from the age of rock n- roll, milkshakes, and drive-in-cinemas. This version is beyond recognition but learns kind of close to a drunkard version of The Blutharsh. I love the primitive and harsh guitars, and the industrial rhythm going on. The vocals? Cool as well, lovely kind of apocalyptic feeling going on here. Boyd Rice would be proud.

The second track Passion Flower is by The Fraternity Brothers, an act and a song that I don´t know. I checked it up on Youtube but still have no clue. The track is more of a ritualistic and esoteric thing. Eerie-sounding (slowed-down) trumpet-like sounds and slowed-down sampled rhythms also end up being reversed as well. Disturbing and distorted sounds from a 90s clock radio, sleazy sounding jazz music (Nurse With Sound?) with some cool reversed ritualistic voices. A VERY hypnotic piece...strange and seductive too.

The third track gets even madder!. Tom Dooley with the Kingdom Trio! We even sang that song in school when I was 10 years old, back in 1987 that is! The track starts with a sample from the original recording, and then with real guitars and vocals done by Sokushinbutso Project. If you never felt the doom and despair of the original version, you are bound to get it with this version for sure. Twisted, sick, and slightly warped... but very minimalistic as well. 

The fourth track My Sharona by the Knack. A new-wave power-pop classic from 1979, which u all have heard soo many times on your radio channel for classic pop songs. This time, the track has been mutated into doom-filled noise rock! You can even mention early Earth here, it´s really quite heavy and without any light at the end of the tunnel. 

The fifth track Upside Down by Diano Ross is, by all means, one of the biggest hits from the disco era (besides Donna Summer´s I Feel Love of course!). It starts with a metal-bangin ensemble of early Test Dept´ish rhythms, slow distorted melodies, primitive warped sound effects, and some really frightening and evocative (sampled?) vocals. Everything is quite...upside down here. The primitive drum-machine parts, later on, are just spot on, lovely kind of early industrial sound here! Sampled recordings of Diana Ross saying Upside Down here...are just wicked!

Last track The Wanderer by the queen herself Donna Summer! Never been into that hit of hers, always preferred her I Feel Love with Giorgio Moroder. This version of the Wanderer could sound like something from the first Unnatural History by Coil instead. Which of course makes it "sound" better than the original version. A very spacy industrialized piece with some cool mind-warping sound effects, early console-gaming consoles, and Coil together? I must say that I love it!. 

And that ends that journey. When old nostalgic industrial guys think back to a time when pop music actually... meant something. I would HIGHLY recommend listening to the original before listening to the cover version. The first time I listened to their album, I didn´t actually get the vibe. But when you get into the original recordings first, it ends up being a completely different journey. Actually surprisingly mind-blowing! Again, like Boyd Rice (and Fad Gadget) would say... Easy listening for the hard hearing!. 

Bandcamp (label):

https://tibprod.bandcamp.com/album/5980-patto-generazionale

    

   

Kadaver - Micro Death

We´re back again with another release from the maestro of harsh death noise, Kadaver from Israel. Micro Death came out last April on a label (which I do not know) called Fantasy 1. A cool-looking noise label from Texas with cool acts like Black Leather Jesus, Astro, and Vomir. The new Kadaver CD-R album has been released in a slim-line DVD with an insert, my promo version is in a nifty-looking plastic pocket with yellow paper which has been printed on it... think I recognize the photo on it... from some old 80s Italian horror flick I think. There are two tracks on this mini-album, about 35 minutes in total here. 

The first track is called Fleschette Bloodletting. Fleshette (or Flechette) is another word for a pointed steel projectile with a tail for a stable flight... dart. And with bloodletting after that, it would then sound like some sort of i-dare-you-contest... or some new kind of torturous sport! Anyways!. The track starts with a blistering and crunchy wall of high-pitched sound. A cool and menacing bass wall, distorted demonic voices are hidden within, and then also the razor-sharp machinic wails and screams. The sound quality is excellent, love it when you can hear all the effects and the crunchiness of it all. Harsh noise version of Brighter Death Now´s Inner-war in a way. Also a kind of cosmic greatness in the sound, very high to the ceiling as well. A devastating and hellish 18 minutes and 48 seconds in pure delight.

The second track simply called Wasser (Water in German) starts with a distorted sound which I haven´t heard in some time... with the speakers on your old tube television going down or some of that gritty noise that could be located on an old VHS tape. Additional elements of shattering and shredded noise are added to the tube television. Away from the BDN sound and closer to the Grey Wolves sound, but still in the slowly-built harsh-noise approach/atmosphere. Not as action-driven as the former track, but closer to a kind of dynamic noise wall. More of a nihilistic vibe going on here. I like the idea that the track seems to have a kind of static expression in the sound, but listening closer and you may notice the action going on behind the static expression. And the sound expression intensifies (slowly) the further you get into the track, giving you that impression of getting higher and higher in some elevator. Maybe the track was trying to illustrate how water moves when flooding is happening... I know! ... Since I have experienced that in my cellar!

Cool tracks, cool album. Delivering what was promised from a Kadaver album. Abstract ambient noise or just harsh death industrial noise? The Sound (and the expression) is excellent and diverse, with a lot of layers and depth in the sound as well. I was almost close to finding the second track a bit boring, but as Hannibal Lector would say ´ All Good Things Comes For Those Who Wait! ´ and that is exactly how to describe that second track. Overall, a fantastic noise treat!. 

Bandcamp (label):

https://fantasiaeternal.bandcamp.com/album/kadaver-micro-death

Bandcamp (band):

https://kadaver.bandcamp.com/

 

 Fallen - Our Dreams Will Be Told

Fallen is another act that I haven´t heard about before, although the artist behind this project has been quite active since 2015, with 14 albums so far. Lorenzo Bracaloni is the brain behind the project, and he is also working as The Child of a Creek. Fallen is mostly within the spectrum of atmospheric ambient, while Child of a Creek works around psychedelic folk music. 

This album was released this year, in May 2022. Which would mean (According to Discogs) that we are dealing with the latest Fallen album. This one is called Our Dreams Will Be Told, and the cardboard-wallet sleeve features a dreamy kind of vintage photo of a beach in the summertime. Which was kind of perfect, because at that time I was listening to the album for the first time... I also was at a beach, in the summertime. Watching my 2 eldest sons bathing in the sunset. Quite a perfect setting right? The physical is already sold out (65 copies) on the label, but the digital version is of course there on the label Bandcamp site (link below). 

The first track on the album is called Let there be more Light. A melancholic bell-like synth melody starts the track, and an additional dreamy ambient synth is added later on. There is a  feeling of nostalgia here, and there is a longing feeling for those days of old. Suddenly Camouflages synth-pop classic Where Has The Childhood Gone pop-ups into my mind, while the tune reminds me of Psychic TV folksy ballad Drifting. A beautiful piece of melancholia here. 

The second track Undisclosed Promises enters a more 80s film-soundtrack kind of vibe. Dreamy string synths, piano, and a humming and rhythmic bass drone in the background. Additional human choirs also being present as well. Great piece of ambient music, I'm not sure about the piano and the acoustic guitar though (a little bit too close to wellness music for me). 

The third track Dove´s Secret Shelter opens up with quiet but majestic synth keys. Just imagine dunes, the very pattern the wind creates in the dunes. Some cool-sounding NIN kind of piano tune is added here as well, with some post-rockish guitars as well. A very good track here, everything sounds good here! The wellness feeling is absent here, so no worries. Epic, mysterious and majestic beyond description.

The fourth track Blue Waves, Gentle Wind gives the listener just that feeling. Love the drums here, the icy ambient beats. Stretched-out human voices haunt the scenery, while that gentle piano falls like raindrops. Fans of William Orbit would love the piano parts. 

The fifth track Bright Eyes Don´t Lie kind of continues where the former track ended. I really like the beautiful simplicity of this. It´s quite easy to get that kind of aesthetic feeling here, there´s almost a story going on here (I think). In other words, I don´t think we are dealing with fiction. It still within that 80s soundtrack kind of feel, when James "Sonny" Crockett of Miami Vice gazes over the beach... pondering and wondering. 

The sixth track Stolen Empathy, Bitter Tears... there´s some drama in here I think. Kind of, the silence before the storm. Is there a storm brewing on the horizon? We don´t know, but we hope not. Cool and icy rhythms and cool reverbed melodies here as well. 

The seventh track Out of Noise... is not a noisy track of course. But more of a track/thing that has survived the storm which I mentioned earlier. The feeling of bitter disappointment perhaps? It lingers in the melody here kids. Kind of going home on the bus/train after a party and asking yourself what the hell happened (sort of sound/feeling). Don´t drink too heavily at harsh-noise concerts, bound to fxxx you up!      

The last track Our Dreams Will Be Told (same as the title of the album) might prove that there is a cure for your hangover from last night, in other words... there is light at the end of the tunnel. At that ends the album. Again with melancholic synth dreams.

I like the album a lot, if you/I get past the nods of mental and spiritual wellness then you are actually dealing with a fine piece of pure ambient music/pop. It´s not for everyone as you can hear, but I would recommend (nonetheless) the album for any fan of 80s ambient music. A good example would be guys like Steve Roach, William Orbit, and Brian Eno of course. Decent chill-out stuff for troubled times.

Bandcamp (label):

https://rohsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/our-dreams-will-be-told

Bandcamp (band):

https://thechildofacreek.bandcamp.com/

 

   

 The Rita - Macha Vs. Knife

Another review for Swedish label Ominous Recordings. Legendary pioneers of harsh-noise-wall-act The Rita is out with a two-track compilation called Macha Vs. Knife. Out on CD (Digipack!) via Ominous Records. Two huge tracks are 30 minutes in total, which leaves the listener with an hour of relentless noise-scapes for the hard of hearing! The limited CD is out on 300 copies, so it should be possible for the curious to get a copy!

The first track called Macha Magall, was a track that was originally released as a split with Goat on Deadline Recordings in 2007. The title of the track itself is also the name of the movie actress which you can see in the cover artwork. A cult actress from Belgian who was in erotic and nazi-related exploitation flicks of the 70s, mostly known for her role in La Bestia In Calore. 

The Rita is mostly known for its HNW outputs but this recording is more in the vein of stretched-out harsh noise. Metallic and thundering epic noise from the bowels of a tank. Shrapnel from an exploding hand grenade rotates in the air and cuts into the flesh, kind of the same way how the noise operates from one speaker to the other. Primitive extreme low fi harsh-noise at its best. Incredible how much energy the artist has squeezed into 30+ minutes! Proto HNW in a way, imagine a TV screen showing a static snow screen. And you can almost sense, see and hear various fragments of a transmission hidden in there. Kind of an expression forcing its way out of nothingness. 

The next track is called Straight Razor Vs Knife which was a track that was originally released as a split with Maim on Snip-Snap Recordings in 2005. More of an HNW noise track, but with a more aggressive ambient-noise approach. The start of the track gives the listener a sound-wise sensation of a knife getting sharpened on one of those machines. Later on the sound spurts and screams with microphone distortions, and a vinyl player playing a sand-covered record. And then later on it enters an almost digital-created soundscape, and the noisy analog sounds transform into square computerized pixels. I'm not even close to being halfway through this track! I guess at this point, the ambient-noise approach has been vaporized into the thin air. 

Probably one of the most brutal 2-track albums I have heard in a long time. At times you do think that you have a pretty good idea of where the album/sound will take you, but then once in a while, it takes a sharp turn into a new direction all. Very monotone kind of sound expression, but also a very adventurous and refreshing sound on this compilation album by The Rita.   

     

Bandcamp (label):

https://ominousrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/macha-vs-knife

Bandcamp (label):

https://phagetapes.bandcamp.com/album/macha-vs-knife

 Nundata - Untitled

A kind of veteran in the world of modern noise music. Nundata hails from Serbia and has (so far) been responsible for over 80 releases since 2009. On various labels like Smell the Stench, Required Rate of Return, and of course Marbre Negre. This one came out last year on Mabre Negre, as a limited cassette edition. Running over 50 minutes, with three tracks divided into 2 cassette sides. 

The first track Monodata Neon Part 1 starts with a blast of blistering white noise, high pitched without any bass. A very narrow and needle-thin penetration of noise slithering into the listener's ears. Harsh and psychedelic minimal-harsh noise would be one way to put it. At times the slithering noise sounds like tortured screams, smoldering rusty pieces of metal, warped short-wave radios, dentist drills, and the sound of falling bombs from bomber planes. I am not even halfway through the first track, which is 25 minutes long! The whole recording is being developed and warped throughout the entire track, lovely kind of live-feeling going on in here. Great noise! The looped noise at the ending is great, lovely rhythmic touch there. 

The rhythmic touch continues further on the second track Monodata Neon Part 2. While the punctuating sound-bits float above the listener like a noisy cloud. The distortion is soo tense here, that it sounds like bacon on a frying pan. Lazer-like sounds are added to heighten the psychedelic mind further on. Almost too many things are being added to the adventurous noise journey here, almost ending in harsh noise in the great cosmic!  

The last track called Mono No Fun starts with a recording of human voices. Sounds like some sort of political/religious speech of some sort, multilayered with added sound effects. Brutal harsh noise with that live thing again, honest improvisational brutality.

Quite a challenging beast I must say. It´s long, abstract, and incredibly brutal. Amazing that the artist could do these recordings without taking a break! A constant and menacing monster of noise, drowning and swallowing the listener into the world that the release contains. Bored with noise and need a new fix of extreme sound, go and look this one out kids!.

Bandcamp (label):

https://marbrenegre.bandcamp.com/album/untitled-10

Bandcamp (band):

https://nundata.bandcamp.com/

   

 Gespenst - Den Sidste Færd

The second time around I get to review Gespenst, and this is also their second album. The last album I reviewed with them was back in 2018, although it was released in 2016. This second album has been released in 3 formats! Vinyl, CD via a German label called Vendetta Records, and on cassette via Danish label Strange Aeons. About 30+ minutes in total, with 5 tracks on it. 

Cool and simple artwork, inviting the listener into a fantasy-inspired netherworld... not that far away from Isengard and Mordor. Nice and nifty-looking print on the cassette, and the inner sleeve even includes a lyric sheet. Again, nice design with a moody and picturesque design. 

The first track Dødsfærd (which is also the longest!) starts with a cold wind blowing through the leaves of trees, I could imagine that the daytime would be at nighttime of course. Slow and grinding black-metal guitar work with an epic touch starts the journey, with some cool-sounding drums (instrumental of course!). Kind of black-metal for doom-metal fans so far. I am not 100% sure, is there a synth in the background is it just the reverb of the guitars?. Nevertheless, the track gets more tempo. Why I don´t know, the grind of the slowness worked pretty well. This switch of tempo just sounds as if someone pressed the... well tempo button (FF) on the tape. It´s a matter of taste I know, as for me I have never been much for stuff that has to be fast (for some reason). The good thing is that Gespenst manages to hold the atmosphere through the entire track. I forgot to mention the vocals. Which I like a lot, never been much for the screaming gremlin vocals (that is). Heavy and deep vocals with some extra phlegm in the throat. 

The second track Besværgelse works as a kind of atmospheric horror soundtrack/ambient 1-minute intermission before we are submerged into the next guitar-driven track.

The third track Portal is a track without a slow intro but starts with quick tempos. Tempo switch to the slow also happens here. More of a straight black metal track than the first track. Less atmosphere, more action if you ask me. 

We change the side of the cassette and sink our teeth into the fourth track called Rejse. Starts with a slow guitar playing, which reminds me of the melody from the first track. Lots of atmospheric stuff going on here, love the part where you can only hear the bass. Starts with a slow tempo, and ends at a quick tempo.

The last track Intethed is something else. Ambient synth-work, depressing guitar-work (Excellent melody) with hints of ghosty human moans here and there. Sort of an ethereal/4AD (Cocteau Twins/Dead Can Dance) feeling here. A good way to end the album.

And that ends Den Sidste Færd (Last journey in English!). A moody and depressing piece of metalized rock music for fans of black metal. Well played, the sound is decent, with cool cover artwork and cool poetical lyrics. I would like it more if the lyrics had a certain conceptual influence on the overall sound of the album. If you don´t actually read the lyrics (which are good)) while listening, it will just sound like beer-chugging rock and roll music. But then again, I am not a huge fan of black metal. I am quite sure that veteran listeners of the genre would dig this album. 

Bandcamp (label):

https://vendetta-records.bandcamp.com/album/den-sidste-f-rd

 

Boredom Knife - Feticide / Tyhjio - 

No lives matter

Another deal/strike from French cult-label Abhorrent Creation Tapes, although this release isn´t on tape... But they are (as we all know!) delivering some killing-smashing industrial-noise releases on Compact Disc. The last 2 releases I reviewed from this label were by 2 acts from Japan (Third Organ and Government Alpha), and this time we will be looking at a split with two acts from Finland (The land with a thousand lakes yes, and the moomins!). 

The first act is an act called Boredom Knife. Hails from the capital Helsinki, and describes the act as experimental electronic noise eruptions. Several physical releases on different labels, and more digital releases on the Bandcamp link below. The second act is called Tyhjiø (means Empty in English), again some cool physical releases on more on the Bandcamp site. Described as noise created out of nothing.

The first track with Boredom Knife is called Feticide. A blistering wall of evocative industrial noise churns out of your speakers. Screaming and wailing machine sounds of utter hopelessness. The sound gets heavier, metallic, and more concrete while the evocative elements still being present in the background. A great back-to-basics sound here, a lovely expressive low-fi approach that takes me back to more soundscapes-orientated tracks by Con-Dom or the Grey Wolves. Tons of atmosphere here, and tons of brutality as well. Hell, I even want more physical releases with this act, which can be located via Discogs. 

The second track No Live Matter by Tyhjiø starts with a noisy hiss, with some ambient-driven death-industrial elements. Think the track is about Jim Jones and his last days with his cult. Suicide, and murder for those who didn´t want suicide. Don´t know about him, go and read all about them. The biggest evil bad-ass cult leader of them all, incredibly tragic. The depressive death-industrial/ambient elements work while the recorded tape of the suicide speech of Jim Jones runs in the background. Kind of a classic theme/sample in the world of industrial/noise music. The noise and the tape recording bring despair and desperation to another level. The sound intensifies with the desperation and the cries from Jim Jones´s cult. Very apocalyptic and very depressing, could work well as a soundtrack for a Jim Jones documentary. Not as dynamic as the former track by Boredom Knife, but still the track has a very effective effort to give the listener a sense of dread. 

And that ends the Finnish split from a French label. A cool and short 2-track EP/Mini-album on CD with 2 acts. It´s good because it´s only about 30 minutes long if it was longer then it would be a slight case of over bombing! An effective, dark, and small cocktail to end the party at the local noise party, to end it with a whimper (and not a bang!). As depressive as it might sound, the release (and the acts) do share a lot of charms with it. The whole back-to-basics idea works here, and I have a feeling that the two acts had (maybe) an idea of what kind of sound/feeling their split should have. Too many acts end up doing splits without having a specific idea/theme to work towards, here you have a feeling that the two acts have worked toward a common goal. Need noise for the upcoming apocalypse, here it is!. 

Bandcamp (label):

https://abhorrentcreationtapes.bandcamp.com/album/boredom-knife-feticide-tyhjio-no-lives-matter-split

Bandcamp (Boredome Knife):

https://boredomknife.bandcamp.com/music

Bandcamp (Tyhjiø):

https://tyhjio.bandcamp.com/

 Sagenhaft - Hypnerotomachia

Very excited that I have been given the opportunity to review the latest with Sagenhaft. I started with this act some 5 years ago, I bought their legendary (and essential) classic The Legend of the Forgotten Reign from 1996. Back then I didn´t have any idea that I was to get in good contact with the brain pilot behind this project and review his stuff. Hell! I even thought that Sagenhaft was a relic from the past, never to be alive again! So here we are (nonetheless), Sagenhaft in 2022 with a new mini-album out on cassette via Moonlit Castle Records! A limited 50 copies cassette (link below!).

When I dig the cover artwork I usually mention this...as always. A lovely simplistic and epic thing to look at. The whole white-on-black idea works like a charm, and even more when you are dealing with something with an esoteric and archaic touch. Still don´t know what the hell I am talking about?! Then do yourself a favor and check out the picture inside the booklet...(while listening to the music). It all makes sense, believe me!

Anyways... the album has been called Hypnerotomachia? A supposed (and mysterious) novel from the 15th century. My research tells me, that we are dealing with a kind of mysterious love story. A guy seeks his dream girl via dreamlike landscapes, and he ends up being united with her at the fountain of Venus. The book/novel was also one of the earliest examples of the art of printing. 

Down to the music. The first track Sleepless Night, Magical Forest invites the listener into the world of the wild spirits of the woods and forests. Nymphs, faeries, fauns... you name it. And you are invited to join their pagan dance around the bonfire. The otherworldly music (and the eldritch melodies) seduce you to join their dance. And you do, and you say to yourself. This album is bound to be good!

The Second track is called Dance of the Nymphs. A very merry and seducing piece, more seducing than the former track! Thinking about some erotic and highly decadent scenes from that classic Caligula flick from 1979, or that scene in the first Conan flick where they attack the Thulsa Doom cult in the middle of the night. Love that pagan vibe going on, the mood feels just right... and authentic.  

 

The third track Ethereal Garden moves away from the dungeon-synth vibes and further into ambient and drones. Sort of an ambient version of the Moon Hidden Behind the Cloud. Beautiful and melodic ambient music with a kind of post-rockish texture to it. At this point, the listener will tell him/herself ´We are definitely not in Kansas anymore!´ A minor hint of unpleasantness hides behind the ethereal soundscapes, has the nymphs succeeded in leading us ashtray and putting us to eternal sleep?!

The fourth (and last) track A Kiss To Seal the Dream is the most epic and heavenly piece on the album. The place in the novel (obviously) where the guy meets the girl at the Fountain of Venus... still in a dream? The track and the mood of medieval chamber music enlighten the title of the track, it does make sense. Not always that dungeon synth makes me wanna move, but this stuff does. Something magical going on in here!  

A truly magical and good mini-album from the land of good wine, italio-disco, and fast cars! Been ages since I have reviewed something being close to dungeon synth, and what a treat it was. It was something just like that, it just had some extra (and good) side effects. It was an adventurous and curious recording. Not sure if I would simply call this dungeon-synth. It sounds like something that doesn't want to be looped inside a nutshell. This also explains the sound of Sagenhaft, that is that Sagenhaft is one of the few acts which existed way before the rise of the dungeon synth. And I think It´s great that they/he have maintained the independent aesthetic and mood from their first 1996 release. A worthy buy for a huge selection of listeners. Do give it a listen people!

Bandcamp (band):

https://sagenhaft.bandcamp.com/album/hypnerotomachia

Bandcamp (label):

https://moonlitcastlerecords.bandcamp.com/album/hypnerotomachia