Dead Eye Terrorist - The Extinction of Ego

Dead Eye Terrorist is (another project) by the same person who brought you the horrific and action-driven album Destructive Maelstrom by Circuit Corrupter. The Extinction of Ego by Dead Eye Terrorist is a limited cassette released by Spanish Marbre Negre. The cover artwork is absolutely exquisite! I love the morbid and extreme picturesque collage work within, and to top it there is also an intriguing and cool-looking sticker inside! 26 minutes journey into destructive and dextrous harsh noise, with eerie surreal moments here and there. All the tracks on the A-side of the cassette are called Ego Death 1 to 10, and a long single track on the B-side is called Degeneration. Another thing worth mentioning, this cassette has also been released on the label Phage Tapes (at the same time) in the U.S! The album has been mastered by the great Grant Richarson ( Gnawed ) 

The first track on the A-side starts with one of my all-time favorite actors. If I am correct, I have heard and seen the source of the recording from some film award in Germany. Where the (always) mad Klaus Kinski gets up front to make some sort of speech, which slowly turns into an intense performance. He is then dragged away from the scene by security guards, offcourse. I don´t understand what he is talking about, but it is something about Jesus Christ. The recording then stops and turns into a bone-narrowing beast of punishing sound. It all happens VERY quickly, a quick journey into the sound of cosmic harsh noise! Something is screaming, twitching, scraping its infectious claws at you. 

The second track continues the onslaught without a single chance to take a quick breather. Almost feels like getting sucked into a black hole, the ears of the listener already feel like they are getting spaghettified here!.

The third track gets back to the action, with some hyper-ultra cyberpunk violence. The sound of someone´s brain getting fried in cyberspace, that is what this sounds like. Lots of sounds so far! 

The fourth track rumbles and flattens the listener to a bloody splattered pancake, with lots of nasty things happening!

All the ten tracks could have been squashed into a single track, but cutting it all up into 10 tracks is far more fun. Gives the whole thing a kind of grindcore touch? There are some interesting sounds in there which make it more unique, retro and spacy sci-fi sounds and hidden vocals in there (I think!).

We turn the tape and continue with Degeneration on the B-side. Different style than the former short-tracks. A slow and constant wall of white and pink noise slowly built up, which then slowly degenerates into a multi-layered nightmare of sound. There is soo much going on that it´s hard to comprehend, as I said earlier... there is NO time for a breather. This machine runs and runs, and does not stop. Relentless brutalism beyond human understanding!

Think I have said this before, that Spain is slowly becoming the new place for extreme noise, not Japan! And Dead Eye Terrorist is clearly one of them, besides such cult acts like Soma, [Gyakusatsu], and Tube Tentacles! This is one tape that will be remembered!

Bandcamp (label Marbre Negre):

https://marbrenegre.bandcamp.com/album/the-extinction-of-ego

Bandcamp (label Phage Tapes):

https://phagetapes.bandcamp.com/album/the-extinction-of-ego

      

  

   

    

 Krappok - Kritschat

Beginning to truly dig the releases from Grubenwehr Freiburg, a label actually based in Leipzig Germany... offcourse! This is the second time I get to review stuff from this exciting label. A record label which sort of... builds bridges between the world of noise-music and the avant-garde. 

This one is an act called Krappok. Not 100% sure what language Krappok is, but upon closer examination of the information within the booklet itself, this release is almost entirely based on the worlds of... well crabs. And well... crabs almost sounds like Krappok? Well, the true source behind the act's name actually comes from a German Horrorschocker comic book! The title of the album is in German and from Anthony Burgess´s fantasy-language of his ´A Clockwork Orange´, and it means to screech. 

Another piece of information is that the release has ALSO been released as a highly limited thing! Which includes recordings with the Haters and Jugendwerkhof! Check the beauty out in the Bandcamp link below, it looks absolutely amazing! 

An extra piece of info here as well! All the recordings are processed crab noises, field recordings, and a cello! A tiny 20 minutes CD thing with 9 tracks on it... what can go wrong?!   

The first track on the album is called Mandible (Jaw of the crab) and the second track is called Anamerie. Starts with underwater insectoid noises with a slow, dry, and crawling sound of a cello in the background. Strangely pleasant for some reason. Crabs like to chat apparently. I also notice that there is the sound of watery waves? The whole bloody thing actually makes you feel like crab! Lots of watery waves (the tide), the sandy beach, the wind, and all that. It´s a well-made surreal soundscape, with a kind of recognizable and naive attitude. Lots of charms and I love the two first tracks!

The third track Unrastniederungen (Restlessness) moves the album towards an ambient-based soundtrack moment. I love field recordings, and I love the sound of the roaring sea at some desolate beach. The quality of the field recordings is really excellent. Love the combination of microscopic underwater sounds being up front and then having the big roaring sea in the background.

The fourth track Scherenschlag (Scissor Stroke) wakes the listener up to a track that offers harsh noise being played on a cello. 

The fifth track Brandungszone (Surf Zone) offers the sound of stormy winds. Still, on the beach, I think, waiting for the right waves. The sound here is very minimal and enigmatic, you cannot help to open your ears!

The sixth track Zerkleinerung (Shredding) has a new sound element. Is it a melodic synth? Might be. Also, there is the sound of something hard on the cello, trying to wreck the strings.  

The rest of the album is in the same manner, and thank the gods for that!. I loved the start of the album, and I love the end of the album as well. Obscure conceptual avantgarde-culture meets noise through the world of crabs, anti-music for David Attenborough perhaps? I don´t know if he would actually like it, but I do! 

Bandcamp (label):

https://grubenwehrfreiburg.bandcamp.com/album/kritschat

       

   

 Crimes Against Flesh And Bone - Spasmo

Greek E.C.T. has released this tiny and brutal little piece of art. A tiny 3" CD-R housed inside some rice paper and the CD-R itself is on a handmade black cardboard, all with some cool prints and everything. Even the thick cardboard has a lovely sort of chemical smell to it! The artwork looks cool and decent in a retro/old-school sort of fashion, think back to the artwork of Con Dom or the Grey Wolves.  Anyways, I don´t know this act and this one is one of their newer releases. A Russian act that has been very active since 2022, releasing several albums and mini-albums in a short period of time. On labels such as Boiled Angel Records, My Little Fetish, Magma Pulse Records, etc. Don´t know any of these labels, but who cares?! We love the obscurity offcourse! The album itself is a very short one. 2 tracks, about 13 minutes and 22 seconds in total.

The first track is called Spasmo (like the album title) and it starts the thing with a sickening warbling sound, which slowly grinds into distortion. Additional background layers of moaning distorted old-school industrial sounds add up to the already depressing and sickening atmosphere. It does have a tendency to actually be over-distorted at times, but for some reason (unknown) it works to a certain degree. Brutal, primal, and highly primitive industrial noise. Much in the same style as early MB or Mauthausen Orchestra. There is a sample in the background of a woman screaming, could it be from the Possession art-house/horror flick with Sam Neil?

The second (and last) track Blood Covered Shrine Of Her Uterus adds more brutalism to the smörgasbord than the former track, which almost was based on a thing between ambient and noise. Here we are more in a sort of early power-electronics sound, with elements of atmospheric harsh noise. Incredibly raw and primitive, the artist has apparently a good knowledge to take the various advantages that this low-fi-approach offers. And he delivers it once again with the second track. 

In just...about 13 minutes, the release delivers what it is meant to deliver. Nothing short on anything, and not too much either. And after you have heard it the first time, you actually want to listen to the torment once again! For me, it might just be the fourth time! Highly infectious, highly sickening, and primal industrial moods from Russia, highly recommended!     

Discogs: 

https://www.discogs.com/release/25815664-Crimes-Against-Flesh-And-Bone-Spasmo

Bandcamp (band):

https://secondhandskin.bandcamp.com/album/spasmo

 Sokushinbutsu Project - The Yokai Codex

Finally! A new full-length album from the Italian-2man-act Sokushinbutso Project. This one is called The Yokai Codex, and it´s out on Industrial Ölocaust Recordings, out on pro-CD-R and cassette, limited offcourse. I have received the pro-CD-R version. A first glance reveals a simple jewel case with a white inner sleeve. Still, upon closer examination, you will notice the thick and beautifully textured paper of the inner sleeve and back cover as well. The album titled The Yokai Codex, once again revolves around a specific religious and spiritual concept. Let me copy-paste the information from the booklet itself:

The word yõkai is composed of two characters, of which the first, yõ, refers to something that attracts, enchants, and can bewitch. White the second, kai, has the meaning of apparition, mystery. The original meaning of Yõkai conveys a sense of mystery combined with fear, something that both attracts and terrifies.

In this case, we are talking about the million sorts of gods and spirits in Japan. Living in both nature, objects, and even residing in your own home. Supernatural beings both attract and terrify and the presence of this being (has to this day) been interpreted differently in every period of Japanese history. In our modern times, we only need to look at the world of Pokemon or the world of Hayao Miyazaki (My Friend Totoro, Spirited Away, etc). 6 tracks, and is about 60 minutes in total length. 

Another note worth mentioning is that each track represents locations where these entities live. 

The first track is called Wilds. This is where you´ll find the wild and undomesticated kind of spirits. A flanged and grinding radio static with some subtle ritualistic dark-ambient soundscapes in the background. Occasionally the sound of a thundering death-industrial drum marks its presence here and there, and is there a sort of low-fi synth in there? At times...heavily distorted sounds burst through the "empty" vacuum. A lovely sort of ghostly presence in the recordings sounds like something is pushing itself out of the speakers. Sort of reminds me of some of the early recordings with Cluster.

The second track is called Water, and yes...Japan is surrounded by water and islands. So offcourse a lot of spirits are linked with water. A distant metallic ritualistic drum, the rising sound of gentle white noise, and a cool low sound of a looped bassline. Further on there are some high-pitched psychedelic sounds which enhance the mood further. A kind of gentle track in the beginning, but becomes slightly more intense in the process. Water is basically everything, it can give life and it can take life.  It attracts and terrifies at the same time. 

The third track Countryside goes completely into another style of sound. A sort of slow and looped drone/desert-rock kind of guitar play starts the track. Lots of distorted industrial sounds pop mysteriously in and out of focus, while a frightening soundscape builds up in the background. I kind of think of the gnomes of Northern Europe, supernatural beings in the countryside. If you respect and help them, then they will help you to keep your farm running. And if u fxxx with them, then you are truly fxxxxx! I think it's the same with the Yõkai in the countryside. They can be the good guys or the bad guys. 

The fourth track Village And City starts with some monotone distorted machine sounds. More of a cold-sounding beginning than the former tracks, but I guess that is the intention when we are in the cities made by man. A high-pitched sort of metallic sound is there, which might represent the constant screaming sound/noise of the traffic. Later on, a bussing sound of grasshoppers is there, while a computerized robot-sound bleep eternally into the night. The extra factory sounds add up to the presence of the human city as well. Love the track, perfectly illustrates the conceptual idea.

The fifth track Home, is where things get a bit frightening. Why? Because at the place where we feel safe and at home, there is the sort of intimate Yõkai. In other words, we are never alone and never completely in control. A funny and strange humming sound with an Asian instrument playing traditional Asian folk music. Im not sure what the name of the instrument is, but I do think that that is a sort of violin-based instrument. On top of that, some really cool and highly evocative and psychedelic melodic soundscapes dominate the background. Highly comfortable and eerie at the same time. I get a kind of TG-feel here, reminds me of their track Persuasion (In a good way). Almost works like a homage to the track or just the best cover version/tribute to the track? Nevertheless, one of my favorite tracks on the album!

The last track EPILOGUE - Yõkai Street might just be the strangest and most challenging piece on the album. It´s a street called Kyoto Street, a sort of Twin Peaks kind of place. Not where you are in the spirit world or the other. Manic acid-jazz drumming, intense bussing insect sounds, otherworldly paranormal moods shamanistic aesthetics. The real trippy album, Are there any fans of early Nurse With Wound? Really great trippy track!.  

Another great album from Sokushinbutso Project. Not as dark and challenging as their first album, but certainly a more... trippy sort of album. You really shouldn't compare the two albums, since both albums share the same sort of curious and highly adventurous spirit and deliver conceptual ideas perfectly to the listener. As a reviewer, I love reviewing this act. The first thing is to research their idea, second is to listen. And I usually find out that what they do... actually matches the stuff I have researched about their chosen idea/theme. Stuff that makes u wonder, and opens your mind to other realities. And yes, we do need that in this computerized society in which we live. Do go out and buy this one, it's essential!

Official site (label):

https://cardinium.com/product/ior-tk-xxiv/?fbclid=IwAR0voH1qN4P-jkg8g9P1WFmExGVg28-hwUFpt6qZeZdytBRegbppnWDyCbc

Facebook (band):

https://www.facebook.com/SokushinbutsuProject

Discogs (label):

https://www.discogs.com/master/3098688-Sokushinbutsu-Project-The-Y%C5%8Dkai-Codex

        

           

   

 B.skam - Stallbrunst

Daniel Forsman (Ideal Father, Kontakt Service) is at it again with a new project on the Italian label Death In Venice. The debut Stallbrunst with Blodskam was released as a limited 30-copies cassette release. A cool-looking blood-colored cassette, with some Nordic 70s-vintage pornographic imagery on the inlay. And you guys might have thought that we are dealing with a fetish-driven HNW/ANW release?... Well, we are not! An intriguing Swedish thing between early death industrial and terrific heavy ambiance. 

Minor note, because of the censure on social media I have decided to edit the photo and the name of the act (above). If I don´t do that, then the post will be removed. 

The first track on the A-side is called... Lurking Inappropriately Outside Your Funeral (Secret Service Style) kind of takes me back to the names of tracks by early Nurse With Wound. Starts with a kind of looped sound of theatrical trumpets, murky noise layers of flesh-scraping death-industrial-soundscapes with additional (and creepy) multi-layered recorded samples. Lovely old-school industrial feel so far! True Swedish industrial you might say! 

The second track Skinjob Knife Ritual Science Test (The Owls Have Cameras In Their Eyes) sounds and starts like a sinister thriller flick. Almost a kind of Twin Peaks sort of vibe going on. Love the recorded atmospheric background here, and the thumping death-industrial pulse sound wraps the whole thing up quite nicely. Excellent movie-sounding stuff with that industrial edge.

The third track Fumnling In The Sewers Of Idiot Canyon raises a slightly erotic ritualistic mood, combined with tons of heavy feedback and high-to-the-ceiling noise-ambient. You can actually sleep to this stuff, not that it is boring! Heavy, surreal, and quite hypnotic at the same time.

The fourth track City Buster Crows Rapist (2007 Hamburg Drug Den Prostitute Remix) is a truly depraved track. Funeral ambient noise with a nasty s/m video-nasty running in the background. 

The fifth track Listen To The Sound of Pomegranates ´Til You Beaten To The Ground is the most rhythmic track on the A-side. Rhythmic and automatic machine noise dominates the whole track and reminds me of another Swedish project called Institut (if you remember them). 

We flip the cassette and continue our journey into depravity on the B-side. The sixth track is called Gangrene Palm Brugmansia Eye, interesting title right kids?. Classic deep-ambient Brighter Death Now stuff here, right back to his Necrose Evangelicum album. Lots of ritualistic feedback and paranormal reverbed samples. This is really excellent! Truly classy stuff going on.

The seventh track Human Torture Rack Outta Nowhere continues with a relentless slice of skin-peeling noise. Imagine how it would/could sound if the guys from Texas Chainsaw Massacre would be a power-electronics act. That sort of feel!

The eighth track In Shape Plus Insane (Shit Version) is actually more of a harsh noise vein. Works as a sort of intermission from the death-industrial moods. 

The last two tracks I will leave for the reader's imagination! 

Woawww... This is a VERY good album. I didn´t have high hopes for this, mainly because of the pornographic approach of the recordings itself. But the moods, and creativity that have been put inside this album truly outshine my prejudiced nature. A great journey into the adventurous spirit of true depraved industrial music. Great album! 

Bandcamp (label):

https://deathinveniceproductions.bandcamp.com/album/blodskam-stallbrunst

   

 Moral Order - Mallevs Maleficarvm

Another first-timer on Kalteldur, another act that has reached cult status in the industrial underground. Moral Order started in 2018 with the first release called Wrath Of God on Gradual Hate Records. Since then, the act has been highly productive and prolific. Lots of the releases have been released through Tesco! And if you don´t know the German label Tesco, then I highly suggest you go and check it out! Home for legendary death-industrial/power-electronic acts like Anenzephalia, Genocide Organ, and Dagda Mor. Mallevs Maleficarvm. Besides a compilation of Old Caption, then this cassette is one of the newest by this act. And as you can see, it has been released in Spanish Marbre Negre (limited to 50 copies). If you want it on CD, then you can go and get it through Old Europa Cafe (yes, another legendary label!). This mini-album contains two tracks, each abou2 20 minutes long... so about 40 minutes in total. 

The album artwork itself, the front cover (as you can see above) shows a frame around the sort of gothic antique letters, and the track-listing is there as well. Open the cassette and you get a nice-looking cassette with a really cool-looking print on it. You can further examine the inlay on the backside as well, all with the iconic wood-cut pictures from the book itself (I also have it). There is also some extra info about the album as well. I LOVE the concept and idea that this recording has been done inside some sort of creepy and abandoned mansion located in Madrid, and the only source of light was three candles and the bloody moonlight. Love the idea, really do! So let us lay our ears to whatever... sounds we can hear!

The first track is the Invocation. There is a strange sound as if a piece of metal is being sharpened on a rolling piece of rock... or is it just a noisy and sensitive microphone? Evocative flanged sound effects give the soundscape a truly horrific cosmic experience. The clinical feeling of hospital basements paints the background of the track, giving it all a nice death-industrial feel. As a listener, you cannot help wondering about the informative text. Is this the sound of that abandoned house? What sounds have been made by the artist himself, and what other sounds have the environment created? At this point, I am not even half-through the first track ( like the former thing I reviewed!). You do notice some extra details in the paranormal-driven soundscape, a very dynamic one... lots of stuff going on! In a slow-pace offcourse... 

The second track is a lot more of an ambient-soundtrack sort of driven track, whereas Invocation worked more on noise and action. At this point, I could guess that the three candles being used, are at this point... slowly dying out. The presence of a sort of... engulfing claustrophobic darkness, getting thicker and thicker by the minute. We´re talking about that moment when the recording artist feels... that something is staring back at him from the darkness itself. I do feel, somehow that this track does represent the abandoned-house concept stronger than the former track. The first track feels like a track to scare away the paranormal activity, and the second track is the paranormal scaring away the noise ( so to speak ). Halfway through the track changes into something else. Crepy voices and the sound of something, hitting a bassline? Those voices here are really creepy... I mean... really creepy! The whole recording feels and sounds like some sort of living entity living... inside my speakers! As you can read, then yes. The sound is beyond incredible, takes my breath away like that song by Berlin. 

Everything works, and everything sounds good. There is just one thing I don´t get or understand. Where do you fit the work of Mallevs Malefiravm in this recording concept? There is not a hint of burning witches, or insane witch hunters being present. The only thing that is present, is the sound being made and recorded inside a abandoned mansion. If you remove the focus from the title of the album and use your focus on the informative notes (on the cover) then it will make sense. A perfect album with a paranormal touch, just with the album title doesn't go hand in hand with the recordings. If you look away from that, then you are dealing with a VERY good album... seriously! Best dark-ambient/death-industrial I have heard for a long time!  

   

Bandcamp (label):

https://marbrenegre.bandcamp.com/album/mallevs-maleficarvm

Bandcamp (band):

https://moralorder.bandcamp.com/

Facebook (band):

https://moralorder.bandcamp.com/

Lyke Wake - I Live In Fear, I Burn In Hate / Symphonic Noise

The latest release from the master of Symphonic Noise. This must be the third in the chapter on Symphonic Noise, suddenly I realized that the last 3 releases by Lyke Wake have had the Symphonic Noise tag in the album title. And this one is the third one in the chapter. I am not 100% sure how limited this release is, other than it has been released through Lyke Wake´s label Aseptic Noise. The label doesn´t have a website, but Lyke Wake has a website. And at the end of the website (with all the available releases), it tells for CD or free MP3 files mail to: lykewake@virgilio.it. Simple as that! 

With this new release, Lyke Wake continues the artwork style in the same manner as like former album At The End Of The Dream. Kind of surreal and naive at the same time, you see the 4 seasons in one picture with the same tree on it. You know... autumn, spring, summer, and winter. How that is connected with the title I Live In Fear, I Burn In Hat... well... But apart from that, I love the artwork. It works fantastic looking at it while listening to the recorded material within. 

The first (and only) track I Live In Fear, I Burn In Hate starts with the sound of atmospheric synth-driven violins. It gets interrupted by that cool sort of... early John Carpenter/Terminator 1 synth. An angelic female vocal heightens the cold and apocalyptic atmosphere. Everything so far has been mixed nicely, as nothing of the recorded elements drowns the other sounds/elements. We return once more to the synth-driven violins, and at this point, the listener would understand that this highly adventurous release has a sort of... story-telling evolvement in how the album progresses from the start to the end. 

Im just writing things while this album goes on my stereo. For those who haven´t read my former Lyke Wake reviews, then I can describe it as... sort of a thing between the orchestral Controlled Bleeding, early Coil, and then some Klaus Schulze as well. Kind of majestic and eerie at the same time! Highly ambitious since Lyke Wake knows what he is doing. Lyke Wake is an excellent keyboard player and knows a thing or two about doing symphonic melodies while maintaining that experimental industrial /noise-ambient edge. Pure stuff for escapism. Every album by Lyke Wake has a tiny world inside for the listener to explore. The fans of dungeon synth would also truly dig Lyke Wake. Further curious, do remember to read the interview I did with him (link further below).

Almost halfway through now. So far I have been through elements of cosmic noise and angelic encounters. Lyke Wake has an interesting way to create these long tracks. He goes back to melodies that we have heard further back on the album, but the great thing is that it isn't just a copy-paste thing, it does sound like a long impro session. It kind of works (sort of) in the same manner as... the stuff I was listening to today, John Coltrane. A kind of cut-up sort of work, with repetitions. 

Again, Lyke Wake is just great. Overwhelming, this guy could do music for an opera! I just had to have a pause from reviewing, my chickens were gone (found again). But that is exactly how this album is, filled with panic attacks and relief. Kind of a curse with this act, a favorite of the reviewer. Ace project, ace albums... what more can I say!  

Official Webpage (band+label):

https://lykewake.wixsite.com/lyke-wake

Interview:

http://kalteldur.blogspot.com/2020/04/lyke-wake-interview-with-stefano-d.html

 

 Toni Dimitrov & Boban Ristevski - 

Technological Slavery

The side-label of E.C.T. called S.E.C.T. has released this interesting 3" CD in a mini-jewel, limited of course. Featuring two veterans in the field of experimental electronics, drones, and ambient music. Toni Dimitrov is a DJ, producer, co-founder of Acid Fake Recordings, and a highly productive recording artist. And Boban Ristevski/Lefterna (and Playing For Oblivion) who we reviewed on that great split from Attenuation Circuit (read former review). I did some research regarding the title, it I found out that it´s based on the manifesto/book written by the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski. He did literary fight a war against technological development, kind of interesting to look at the time we live in right now. That kind of makes this release HIGHLY serious. 

It´s a small 16 minutes thing covering a huge concept/theme. Spread over 2 tracks, being 8 minutes each. The simple artwork has also been based on the artwork for Kaczynski´s book as well. 

The first part starts with a heavy-industrial low-fi rumble, with some hidden, manipulated, and looped human voices in the mix. Creepy-ass microscopic sounds click in and out from some hidden vortex. Sort of insectoid sounds, grasshoppers sort of. There is also the clattering noise from some sort of short-rave radio, giving the piece a kind of post-apocalyptic sort of feel to it. This track has some kind of disturbing and coldness to it which I cannot put my finger on, which sort of heightens the listening experience. Fans of early NON, MB, Nocturnal Emissions, and Zoviet France will dig this!

The second part starts in the same low-fi manner, just more with a minimalistic ambient approach. Some kind of looped music in there, radio chatter, and a very cool-sounding sort of... windy sound. Like wind traveling through a huge steel pipe sort of. To me, it sounds like the world/human life has just ended, and the only noise/sound being present is abandoned technology. The disturbing coldness is still going strong in this track as well. 

A strong and highly focused conceptual album. It delivers what it plans to deliver to the listener, a message without any words. But a message which can be understood, through concentrated listening. It´s bloody marvelous, sure to send shivers down every spine! Even good old Ted would be proud! Industrial-drone music at its absolute best! Be quick to get the physical release via E.C.T. (links below)!

Discogs (label):

https://www.discogs.com/release/25348411-Toni-Dimitrov-Boban-Ristevski-Technological-Slavery

Facebook (label):

https://www.facebook.com/ectrecs/

        

Circuit Corrupter - Destructive Maelstrom 

A new act from Spain is to be reviewed on Kalteldur, Circuit Corrupter. The album is called Destructive Maelstrom and is the debut of this act. The album has been released through a label called Abhorrent A.D. The limited cassette has already sold out on the label´s Bandcamp site, but there are still some copies left through the act´s own Bandcamp site, so be quick! 

The brainchild behind this act is also responsible for another act called Dead Eye Terrorist (released on Marbre Negre), an act which I also will review later this year. The recorded material has been spread on the two sides of the cassette, one long track on the A-side and a couple of short tracks on the B-side. About 22 minutes in total length. Should I mention the artwork for the release?. Well. let us just say that it is a nasty piece of work! Buy and check it out!

The First track on the A-side is called Sow Despair. Starts with a crumpling HNW low-fi rumble, like something on the frying pan. A sample/recording of unknown origins could be from some S/M flick or something similar. All of this gets interrupted by a psychedelic cut-up noise, which then gets interrupted by additional distorted squeaks of harsh brain-tingling sounds. Cool retro/analog spacy sounds and screaming vocals have also been added to the cut-up noise-scape. Lots of action lots of everything going on in here! At times it sounds like a huge computer getting its circuits burned out, completely like an information overload unit. The sound quality is excellent, although it is quite noisy and quite chaotic you can still hear everything which is going on. All the sounds haven´t been mixed together into mashed potato, but all the stuff going on has lots of space between them. Excellent piece of noise here.

 

We turn to the B-side to the second track of the album which is called Torture the Luminous Spirits. The recording/sample here is definitely from some S/M flick of some sort, or could also be some from a torture horror flick as well. The relentless action-driven knop-twiddling continues completely without remorse! The pumped noise drills your senses in the same way a drunken dentist ruins your teeth.

The third track is called Don´t Show Remose... Doesn't show any remorse either. Lots of Fxxxxx-up spacy sounds here, fading in and out of focus while a huge amount of voltage runs through your body.

The fourth track Traumatize Innocence is an even more dynamic track. Lots of cuts and chopped-out moments. Always enjoyed it when sounds and stuff travel and jump through my stereo speakers.

The rest of the album continues the relentless assault on the senses, without a single pause or moment for anyone to catch their breath. Not a single boring moment on Destructive Maelstrom, and the album title is also a perfect way to actually describe this demon-possessed album. Certainly an album for the fans of harsh noise, which find themselves being pretty bored by well... noise. Action-sound here!

Bandcamp (label):

https://abhorrentafterdeath.bandcamp.com/album/circuit-corrupter-destructive-maelstrom

Bandcamp (band):

https://circuitcorrupter.bandcamp.com/album/destructive-maelstrom

      

 Paranoia Inducta - Demon´s Factory

A true veteran in neo-classical-inspired dark ambient music, Paranoia Inducta is a Polish act that started back in 2003. Since then, the act has released numerous releases on known labels such as Beast Of Prey, Rage In Eden, and on Heerwegen Tod Production. Demon´s Factory is the latest album, and it has come out as a jewel case and as a limited (and beautiful) A5 digipack. A 9-track full-length is about 60 minutes in total length. 

It is a conceptual album, which has its focuses on the time in which we live. Bit of everything really. War there, pandemic there, artificial intelligence, globalization, and (most importantly) the widespread exploitation of the individual itself. The artwork shows a sort of feminine character, all wrapped up in something. It does look like some sort of metal thing on the head, covering the mouth as well. I guess the artwork shows how wrapped up we all are, in information and bureaucracy maybe? Happiness through slavery right? The album title, Demon´s Factory? Maybe all of these horrible things happening in our time are all being produced by some infernal machinery. The question is, by demons or humans... or both?. Let us find out by clicking play on my compact-disc player!

The first track is (of course) called New World Order. Melancholic and manipulated tones (or voices) start the track, simmering ritualistic bells and lovely atmospheric background drones. Then comes the cool synth. Think John Carpenter or that classic Terminator theme song! Decent Lisa Gerrard kind of vocal work here also. A nice mixture between epic dark ambient and slick retro-wave. A simple, effective, and beautiful start for the album. 

The second track Demon´s Factory continues where the first track ended (obviously). Murky sound effects and atmospheric ambiance, and some nice ritualistic and religious chanting going on, Kind of makes me think back to that classic CMI act called Ildfrost. And then the ambient/ritual stops and some simple martial rhythms mark its presence. Epic kind of post-industrial Mad Max as a gothic opera sort. Love the sound production, and I dig the slick futuristic synth work. I personally think that the epic and melodic elements were (a bit) over the top, but it's a matter of taste... the sound and the melody (luckily) sound good!

The third track Lords Of Illusions starts with a menacing sound and then drops into a pure minimalistic soundtrack ambient. And then it comes. A trumpet melody, which does sound a bit like Gustav Holst Mars theme... but who cares?! I love that bloody theme. There is so much doom in that theme, even enough to make Darth Vader wet his black panties! Again I'm being sort of nostalgic here, thinking back to classic computer game soundtracks of the 90s (for some reason). A nicely done apocalyptic track, I really love the slick production and the efficient simplicity here.

The fourth track Heaven Inc offers marching drums, evil-sounding synth-undercurrents, and some Christian-based recordings taken from some big American church. It all has a kind of Jim Jones sort of vibe. Epic organ-synth work here also.   

The fifth track See You In Hell, has a lovely mysterious vibe in the beginning. Some extra-added, beautiful dramatic but subtle vocals were done by Erszebeth (Stupor Mentis) here. Interesting how a melody, dark ambient, and vocals can work together, rare that I hear that.

I am then going to jump further to the last ninth track called Dying Light. A cold and evocative ambient piece. Might just be my favorite track on the album. It actually does sound like... a dying light. The flickering light from a candle stick? As if the light is trying to survive, the ever-engulfing darkness surrounding it maybe? I do like how the sound of strings has been manipulated, and again the addition of that slick retro synth puts a smile on my old face. A good way to end the album, as good as how the album started with New World Order. 

And that is all I have to say about that! Demon´s Factiry is filled with ambition and a concept. And it does (mostly) sound really good. I do like how various styles are met, and trying to find out if it would actually work. And it does actually work, adding some melodies, vocals, and nostalgic synth work. But I do miss two things though, the absence of something sounding... well nasty and downright scary! If it´s all hell and death for us all, then of course I would have expected something...well nasty and scary! And then I miss some... edge or some sort of risk like it has that sort of... dangerous feel or sound to it. Demon´s Factory need to be messier, evil, and chaotic! It might just be a taste thing, try to give it a listen.

Bandcamp (band):

https://paranoiainducta.bandcamp.com/album/demons-factory

     

     

 Barrera - No Input Can Save Me From My Demons

Yes! A new Barrera tape from David López Saludes! This time on an interesting Swedish label called Mima Kass, an anti-music cassette label since 2019. Few copies left on the label, so you better be quick! A simple setup of tracks. One track on each side, each track being about 30 minutes long. All in the glory of pure HNW! Before I continue with the review, let me introduce you to a piece of philosophical text found within the inner sleeve:

"Does God want goodness or the choice of goodness? Is a man who chooses to be bad perhaps in some way better than a man who has the good imposed upon him?!

A text which raises certain questions, in the same manner as reading and understanding the stories of the Brothers Grimm or fables by Fontaine. Moral issues and questions regarding the actions of human beings. The question answers the question, in a way. Is it the bad man who imposes goodness upon others to control them? Might just be, does raise some questions when it comes to organized religion for mass consumption! This point of view also links nicely up with the artwork from the movie A Clockwork Orange, where man has invented a method to use technology to impose goodness upon certain criminals, in other words... to control them.

But anyways, the first track is also simply called No Input Can Save Me From My Demons... Side A. The cassette starts like the engine of a drag racer car. The sensation of bursting flames and smelly hot fumes and melted plastic. And again, as it is often with the case of Barrera... I can hear and sense a heavy dark-ambient texture roaming in the background. Which really is something that works great with HNW! With a long track like this, you (as the listener) really have to be patient. In the same matter as speaking and talking to an Ent, a single word/expression takes ... well. 30 minutes. But it's good anyways, the ambient texture in the background makes the noise vibrant, dynamic, and adventurous. I am not even halfway through the first track just yet! Later on, it does sound as if the dark-ambient textures have turned into eternal-looped moans coming from the mouths of dying angels. Yes, it does actually sound as if heaven has caught itself on fire! The sound of something which sounds like a short-wave radio also being present here. 

Ok, I'm tuning into the B-Side of the tape. I do have that strange sensation that I have been here before. Like getting lost inside a HUGE maze, and you end up being back to where you started. And as I was writing this, suddenly something new was revealed to me. The sound of this album is so dense, that u can alter the sound of it if you turn your head/ears. If I turn my head up, I can easily hear the heavy sounds. And if I turn it down, then the high sounds can be easily heard. Virtual reality and HNW in one page, who would have thought of that! Basically, I think that both tracks 1 & 2 should be seen as 1  track... instead of two.  

Well, my ears are red and I can feel a throbbing sensation inside my skull. Good thing I have a beer beside me. This one with Barrera is probably the most challenging of all his releases. Not because of its length, but more because of the expression itself being completely spaghettified like being sucked into a black hole! Might just be the last Barrera release/album? It's a hell of a beast, non-dynamic yes but filled with constant violent tension. So yes, if this doesn´t save you from your own demons... nothing will!

Bandcamp (label):

https://mimakass.bandcamp.com/album/no-input-can-save-me-from-my-demons