• Music

    Controlled Bleeding – Songs From The Drain

    August 16, 2021 - By 

    Controlled Bleeding were one of the few bands who could glide from genre to genre easily.  They were comfortable working with EBM, harsh noise and experimental music, and would even appeal to some elements in the goth-rock crowd, but this particular album stood out as their magnum opus for me.  Paul Lemos, the one constant member of the band, sculpted beautifully minimalistic guitar playing which sounded almost like avant-progressive rock, while the late Joe Papa (of eternal memory) would let his vocals soar, especially on the track Red Stigmata.  My favorite album by a criminally underrated band. For a more…

  • Music

    SHAPER – More Remixes

    August 8, 2021 - By 

    Every now and then, a crunchy, loud, nearly abrasive (but pleasantly so) release is needed to shake me out of having too much calm in my day.  Our dear friends at Porto Alegre’s finest experimental label, The Church of Noisy Goat have released another heavy release full of rough post-Industrial sound remixed and chopped into oblivion.  It features friends and those I admire, such as Bode, SRVTR, Wilfried Hanrath and RAUPPWAR among others.

  • Music

    Various Artists – Gudelnaya Polyana – Solar Systo Togathering 2020

    July 30, 2021 - By 

    Good music and good new labels are easy to find if you apply yourself.  Zhelezobeton is not a new label, per sé, but a lot of the bands they work with will be new to listeners who don’t normally follow what is happening in the Russian sphere of influence. This compilation is three hours of live recordings made by a variety of artists, including, intriguingly, an ensemble of 12-year-old noisemakers.  The future, judging by the standards of this comp, is in secure hands over there. Also interesting is where this compilation was put together.  It was held on the experimental…

  • Music

    Various Artists – Unexplained Sounds Group – 7th Annual Report (Mid Year Edition)

    July 28, 2021 - By 

    Our dear friends at Unexplained Sounds Group release consistently good ambient, post-Industrial and noise music compilations.  As we have reached the mid-point of 2021, Raffaele Pezzella and company have released what they (rightly) deemed to be the best of the year to this point.  From their Bandcamp site: Unexplained Sounds Group 7th Annual Report (Mid Year Edition) is the Summer edition of USG’s Annual Report series that comes out every year in December, to showcase the best 2021 experimental and avant-garde music. It includes veteran composers alongside younger but equally talented musicians from all around the globe. All musicians here…

  • Music

    Cyanosis – Unscathed

    July 12, 2021 - By 

    Costa Rica, musically, has always been a mystery to me.  The last contact I had was with a brilliant DJ out of San José who hosted a progressive rock radio program, but to find out that there is experimental music coming out of the country is a very pleasant surprise. Cyanosis is not a stranger to this site, as Efrain Valerio’s work was reviewed when he participated in a split album with our friends Destruktionsanstalt in April.  This is the first chance I have had to hear his own work, and it is as bleak a recording as I have…

  • Music

    UBURGRUND – Dionelos

    May 23, 2021 - By 

    At least as I am able to understand it, UBURGRUND is a graphic artist and composer who hails from Băicoi, Romania.  This release is inspired, in part by the Romanian modern surrealist author Mircea Cărtărescu and his magnum opus, Solenoid. I have not had a chance to read the book yet, but from what I am hearing from a dear seraphim in Bucharest, he is as worthy as read as he is weird. You can read more about this work here. This album was released by our friends at Kalamine Records, and, as expected, it maintains their high standard of…

  • Music

    Noisesculptor & God Cancer – Wanderers In The 4th Dimension

    May 22, 2021 - By 

    Noise music is something you are either passionate for. or you loathe to the depths of your soul.  I say this because too many artists not only sound far too similar, it almost sounds like they insult the audience by turning on a vacuum cleaner and try to call that “music.”  It’s trash, nothing more.  That trick only worked once with Duchamp, and all his followers merely pose, tarnishing anything good in art. However, there is another angle to noise.  That of the sculpted, patiently crafted sturm und drang which allows for musical or cinemtic influences to further enhance their…

  • Music

    Destruktionsanstalt / Cyanosis – Split

    April 25, 2021 - By 

    For those of you, my friends, who were avid readers of my previous blog, A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music, among the musicians I was proud to champion was Destruktionsanstalt, whose works were featured at this link.  I’m pleased to say that Per Najbjerg Odderskov has a fresh release under that monicker, splitting it with a project which is new to me in Cyanosis.  The first two tracks from from Destruktionsanstalt, and unlike many noise bands, there is a nearly surgical focus on both tracks.  The pummeling noise fest has a vibe utterly indebted to the masters, especially early period-Throbbing Gristle…

  • Music

    Schloss Tegal – Musick From Madness

    April 18, 2021 - By 

    Schloss Tegal have a storied history in post-Industrial, ritualistic and experimental music.  The duo of Richard Schneider (based in Prague) and MWBurch (based in New York) developed a body of work on their own, drawing from some extremely dark places, as well as collaborating with musicians like Aube from Japan and the American experimental music composer John Duncan. Our friend and colleague Raffaele Pezzella is releasing and has remastered these cassette recordings and unreleased tracks into a very coherent album.  To learn more about the history of the band, and how this collaboration came to be, consider going to the…