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One of the few things I miss about life in the Mid-Hudson Valley is the waterfalls. Back when I was living there we'd pile in cars during the summer and drive from Poughkeepsie to a sweet, secluded spot about 45 minutes away. After a short hike through the woods, there was an amazing waterfall with a huge pool at the base. The water was generally cold as hell, but if you timed it right, the sun would filter through the trees and keep everything a perfect temperature. Me and my friend Dave used to not bathe and use that as an excuse to go to the falls every few days. It was amazing.
Anyone who knows me well knows that my stories, if they have a point, generally take way too long to get there. So there is a point to the above story, particularly if you've ever had a transcendent experience with a waterfall. Not too long ago somebody posted two tracks from a French band named Year of No Light. I loved the two tracks and couldn't wait to get my hands on the full record. I can't even remember who posted those tracks (though a huge Thank You if it was you). All I can really say is go buy Nord straight away. Get it straight from the band. Crucial Blast is releasing it stateside; get it from them. People have been throwing around all sorts of crazy descriptions of this band. "Brutal shoegazer" and "The Cure playing sludge" are both hilarious yet fitting. I put it on and, while digesting, memories returned of sitting under those falls being crushed by constant torrents of water. In my opinion the territory covered is where I would have preferred Isis gone after dropping Celestial; heavy, predominantly dark atmospherics mixed with industrially-tinged post-metal. Although they don't really sound like them, YONL remind me of City of Caterpillar and may be a functional equivalent in this genre of what CoC was to their Virginia hardcore counterparts.
Writing about music never makes any sense, just go check this band out. I really hope they tour here, I'll be there in a second.
I'm currently listening to one of the worst "albums" I've ever heard: Nefaria/A Tragic Journey Towards the Light by Australia's Striborg--a one-man black-metal ambient project. The temptation to turn it off is haranguing me, yet I'm oddly enthralled by sheer terribleness. I got this in the mail during my "I don't feel like posting" phase and it's really the epitome of why I chose not to post for a while. Most of what I was receiving to review was sub-par at best and dangerously unlistenable at worst. Striborg falls completely within the latter camp. And "camp" is a good word for what this sort of black-metal is these days. Forget "kvlt". This shit sounds like a petulant pre-teen was learning how to use a 4-track and let his younger brother fuck around with some of the instruments. I'm baffled by how somebody okay-ed this and let it go to press with international distribution. My crappy high school hardcore band was 1000 times better than this.
Shame on everyone involved with making this album a reality.
I've been sitting here all afternoon with my eyes all over soccernet.com waiting for any good news from the Toon 'cos it's the summer transfer deadline. It's not looking so hot for the Black & White. Anyway, remember my review of the latest sunn0))) record and my mention of the guy in the casket screaming bloody murder? Well, his fifth album comes out soon. Make up yr own mind whether it's worth it. On the other hand, I was introduced to Latvian pagan/folk/black metal legends Skyforger and I need to get my hands on more of their stuff. It's like a Baltic version of Destroyer 666 with traditional costumes and flutes and whatnot. Don't laugh, it's really fucking good (and this from a guy who thinks LOTR is stupid!).
Xasthur - Subliminal Genocide
Hydra Head Industries
12 Sept 2006
2 stars
Xasthur is the solo project of black metal practitioner Malefic (aka, the dude in the casket on the latest sunn0))) release). I say "practitioner" because Malefic is, according to the press sheet I received with the CD, "one of the most innovative black metal practitioners of the isolationist sub-underground." Subliminal Genocide is Xasthur's fifth album, and, though I'm not sure what else is going on in the rest of the isolationist sub-underground, maybe some of these guys should go outside for a little while and get some fresh air. I caught myself laughing a few times at the extraordinary melodramatics presented here. Yes, I do understand that saying these things could get me ritually slaughtered--if guys like this are serious about what they do, that is.
Now I'll freely admit that there are some interesting passages on this album (tracks 4, 6 and 10 particularly), but overall it's a bit self-indulgent and claustrophobic--though one might presume this stems from a certain level of agoraphobia on Malefic's part. While I generally dig on scratchy, low-fi black metal vocals, here there is only yelling and screaming (presumably in a very tiny room, eh?) with a shitload of echo and very little reverb, given the overall vocal dryness. The drum parts, while not that interesting to begin with, are generally very low in the mix and poorly recorded. My gut tells me that this album could be about a thousand times better with some solid drumming to support the intricate guitar and key work, but it seems that's the last thing on Malefic's mind.
Anyway, Subliminal Genocide is sub-par in my mind. It goes on forever and goes practically nowhere in that span. If you want a proper taste of what it must have been like to endure the psychological trauma of solitary confinement in a medieval dungeon, this is probably as close as you'll get.
Okay, yesterday was May Day and I forgot to say anything at all about it. But I have an excuse: it was May Day and I was fully against doing any work whatsoever (except band practice which was quite productive). Anyway, back to the grind...or in this case, not grind at all.
sunnO))) - Black One
Southern Lord Recordings
3 October 2005
4 stars
This stunning album was released months ago and only recently made it to the office for review. At this point sunnO))) is a fairly legendary outfit in their circle, so followers of drone, doom and sludge probably already have this in their library. However, for those who are less familiar with these guys, you'll notice that I did not call sunnO))) a "band." At least they're not in the traditional sense. That is because there really isn't anything traditional about them. What began as a Steve O'Malley/Greg Anderson side project-cum-tribute to Earth (see review here) is now on their sixth - and apparently darkest - release.
As much as I have known about them and heard bits here and there, this is actually my first full descent into the depths. I guess part of sunnO)))'s original intent was to do live projects that would send audience members straight to the can from sheer low-end power. The intent here seems quite different, though it is difficult to gauge from just listening to a cd. Black One could be more accurately described a soundtrack to an as-yet-unmade horror film. A great listening atmosphere would probably be in a dank basement with a few candles and just your record player - i listened to this album on cd, but it was surely meant for vinyl (it comes in a 4 LP set).
Haunting and incredibly creepy, what feels minimal is really quite complex. There is no percussion, just music comprised of layer upon layer of distortion with notes, buzzes and echos that seem to hold for minutes on end. I must say that there are some truly fantastic guitar tones on here the likes of which i've never heard before. One combines an initial crunch that rings out with incredible sustain while another sounds like the distant buzz of a suburban weekend lawnmower or hedgetrimmer or something. I recently read a short review which trashed Black One, but I think the reviewer came in with completely the wrong attitude. When somebody locks themself inside a casket with a microphone to channel Lady Bathory from beyond the dead, you're not dealing with anything "normal" here. This isn't for everyone, surely, but those with open minds should really get into this stuff.
Think this is some kind of joke? HA HA, my friend you are wrong! There really is a Thai Elephant Orchestra and the music is really kind of amazing. I have to check out more of it myself, but I heard this track and it blew me away. It's something like 52,000 lbs. of Elephant with mallets and shit playing xylophones and steel pipes and wood blocks and gongs. They keep great time and have an incredible sense of composition. They also have greater restraint with a gong than most humans do.
Go check 'em out, you can link to their homepage here as well: Elephant Orchestra
Earth - Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method
Southern Lord Recordings
20 September 2005
4 Stars
I was recently privy to a discussion about "droney" bands. It was held under the sway of several pints, so I'll spare you the meanderings, but the general premise was based on the atmospheric elucidations of a good two handfuls of bands. While one side argued based on the merits of some recent indie bands that aren't really my thing (and I can't even remember who to be honest) versus another friend and I who took a decidedly more doom/sludge position. After disagreeing for about 15 or twenty minutes, my side was left with little recourse but to bring out the big gun: Earth.
Earth isn't just some heavy band that incorporates atmospheric sounds to add dimension to their music. Earth IS atmosphere: it can crush you with one chord, turn you to dust and leave you to marvel at how small and insignificant you are in the face of the universe. It is incredibly difficult to utilize such plodding, sparse instrumentation and acheive such devastating results. To say Earth has been influential would be as much an understatement as saying the music is heavy.
Here, on their first studio album since 1996, Dylan Carlson (the sole original member) is joined by Adrienne Davies and Jonas Haskins to create an epic soundscape of the frontier. Unlike their earlier material, which exists predominantly in the land of doom and stoners, Hex:... opens with a call back to raw early country and the blues. This is desert crossing material laden with the echos of ghost towns, mirages of long-dead cowboys and indians; hints that America is truly cursed and blood-soaked land. Carlson has mentioned in interviews his idea of The Note: a continuum of music that has existed long before us and which will long outlive us. Earth has captured the essence of Americana in The Note and revealed how haunting our nature can be.
