PLAYLIST with COMMENTS/REVIEWS

[whiteheatnoise]

Back again with the results of the past 1 or 2 months of listening and its a long one, so strap in. I've definitely been on a Merzbow kick lately, so the Dadrottenvator LP reissue on Urashima and the Live At 20000V, 30 Sep 1995 LP on Blackbean and Placenta Tape Club (?!?!?) have both received repeat plays, along with the Metalvelodrome 4xCD on Urashima (not pictured). I fucking love Merzbow so much and really appreciate the wide swath of sonic territory the project has covered since it's inception; I can get my rocks off on the crispy clean, razor-sharp abrasive sounds found on Metalvelodrome or Dadrottenvator, or I can fulfill my desire for sweaty, knuckle-dragging American-ish sounding noise like that found on the 20000V live LP (which thankfully features additional "screaming mad voice" from Kosakai) as well as the Metal Mad Man cs (also not pictured). Best noise project overall currently in existence, in my humble opinion.

I've also been having some fun with the noise 7", my favorite format for the genre. Outermost proves to excel with the limitations of the format, the Enema Diarrhoea 7" and split with Praying For Oblivion being excellent examples. The Bustmonsters "Weedhead E.P." is a nice messy blast reminiscent of Hijokaidan, featuring a berserker lineup of Masami Akita, Shohei Iwasaki, Fumio Kosakai, Masahiko Ohno, and Maso Yamasaki...pretty cool to see so many Japanese titans crammed together on one 7". The Richard Ramirez/Autoerotichrist "Birthright" 7" also briefly fulfilled my addiction for nasty Americanoise, especially the Ramirez side from what I recall. The Dachise/David Gilden split 7" was also enjoyed without a doubt.

Glad to have grabbed a copy of the excellent Ahlzagailzehguh "Black Destination" LP reissue courtesy of Breathing Problem, as I've given up on finding a copy of the original Truculent Recordings 2xcs anytime soon. I had a good feeling of what I was going to get; like every Ahlz record/tape/CD I've heard so far, the quality and attention to detail is extremely present. I feel like a lot of heavily dynamic/cut-up noise has cuts and transitions that exist to merely jar the listener, then lose their disorienting power throughout the recording; I feel this is the opposite with Ahlz; every single cut and transition is full of intent and purpose and only adds momentum as the record goes along.

I was excited to get my hands on another release from the 90's Taiwanese label aptly titled "Noise"; this one being the Noisenet #4 compilation featuring tracks from Daniel Menche, Small Cruel Party, and Hyware. It's been a minute since I listened to it so I can't recall exact details, but I remember enjoying it and appreciating the exquisite packaging of the release. After listening to the NBDY/Violence Junkie "814 Gun Club" split on Stoned To Death, I realize it is now time for myself and probably other noise heads as well to start paying attention to more of what's coming out of Czechia. I was very excited about finding more Jacob Winans material after hearing the incredible "Delaware" tape on No Rent Records, a totally fucked and trashed harsh noise tape that at the same time was arranged and produced with a deft hand and attention to detail. A mystery tape that caught my attention was the Sweet Bloody Children "The Last Was The Flood" cs. A nice, kind of freewheeling, 90's noise-feeling venture through raw, blasting industrial noise, much akin to the Abfall recordings I've heard. With only a few entries on Discogs (not including this one), if anyone can enlighten me with more info about this group I would greatly appreciate it. Next up is the Diaphragmatic "No Chance No Choice" cs on Deathbed Tapes, another amazing offering by this US noise treasure. It's the kind of tape that just makes you want to shove your head through the speaker in the hopes that the pounding loops and abrasive noise will finally consume your pathetic physical body. I was very excited to hear a lost treasure from Dada Drumming, a live collaborative release between A Fail Association and Deadly Orifice. It's wild and insane as one might imagine, and apparently was never made available for sale. Finally, I got my hands on a copy of the Macronympha/Government Alpha "Obliteration" CD, unsurprisingly an excellent assortment of mid 90's material from masters residing on opposite sides of the noise world. Ahhh, one last thing not pictured is the David Gilden "Narcotics (Various Noise Works)" 3xcs released on Dead Mind Records/Narcolepsia. As frequently mentioned lately, it's fucking great. Gilden was a master of making unstable, chaotic noise that really sounds like its teetering on the edge of sanity, not surprising considering the lore that surrounds him. The first tape was the most enjoyable for me personally, but the whole set is excellent. Definitely a good amount of recycled material there, but I enjoy what I call the "Macronympha effect"; hearing the same textures, loops, and cuts that appear across a variety of recordings.

[Bloated Slutbag]

See bottom of this post for digest commentary.

Hal Hutchinson – Steelwork Fabrications
If the sweet sound of steel whanging steel gets yer motor good ‘n whanging – and how could it not? - may I heartily recommend Wreckage Installations And Metalworks or Corrupted Scrap or any and all concomitant dedications to damage fielded in the celebrated Factory Of Metal Sound. As for the tape in question, whatever the title might suggest, expect due damages doled at some aesthetic remove from the prior preoccupations. Certainly, in its abrasively attentive steel-on-steel scrapings grindings ‘n scourings, no the less industrious, but– with a notably reduced deference to the, er, whang.

For a better clue as to what’s in store, check the dedication on the sleeve: to industrial development. Check too the looped industriousness of, um, Industrial Development (Locked Loops). Throw in some aesthetically averse fucked-up-beyond-all-recognition-esque facial-removal techniques, as scoured into the sometimes extended scrapings of Mangraft, and you are just about there. Industrial strength music through and through. Part of this is in the concentrated concatenation of frequencies distorted in the pile-up of metals roughly scraping against metals, exacerbated all the more in the decisive refusal to carefully separate component parts among the full-bodied stereoscopic iterations of the classic Factory Of Metal Sound. In other words, the shit’s more raw, more immediate, more filthed in its dis-representation of the materials at hand, and also therefore quite decisively FUBAR’d in the intensely acerbic brutalities of each successive attack, the monochromatic densities converging en masse, convincingly driving an unambiguously HARSH disposition.

The tape kicks off in restrained fashion, heavy duty gears clacking in short-lived spurts, as though hand-cranked in wide-open acoustic space. Soon the proverbial pièce de résistance enters the frame, a genuinely confusing source, or combination of sources, that sounds at times like the dry chafing of steel on steel and at others like the po’d insinuations of badly shredded voice working itself up into quite the purple-faced fervor- and at still others like both, steel and voice, competing with one another for attention. The insinuations- steel, voice, both- grow more pronounced, coming in waves undercut with rumbling, bass-heavy, underbellows. At the amplified peaks, which just keep coming and coming, the results are so distorted and burnt to shit that it’s impossible for the ears to reliably report their findings save to say: the shit, is quite unutterably vicious.

At about halfway through, hefty THUD-THUD of methodical, heavy-handed, percussion lends the scene distinctly ritual airs, thundering inexorably toward a climactic critical mass that trades off the harsh for the HEAVY. Suddenly, the whole thundering spectacle breaks away, allowing the clacking gears to dominate an uneasy stillness. And then--

whaaaaAAAANNNG!

Godsfuckingdamnit. I knew it, I just fucking knew it. Huge hefty-as-fuck slams of reverberant steel-on-steel go luddite on the hiney, bashing the living shit out of the few remaining scraps on hand. A sprinkling of half-hearted attempts to recapitulate the dry chafing voice-cum-scrapings, end.

The flipside starts out much as the first, but in more deliberate and dramatic fashion. Burnt shreds of voice-like chafe mark their re-entry in much reduced capacities, affording more space to breathe, more time to develop, the industrial development of crudely hulking steelworks grotesquery only gradually gaining weight in the decaying echoes of acerbic grind and scour. Meanwhile, the now-familiar clack of heavy duty gears continues to crank through the open-aired assemblage, augmented here with the clearly defined contour of rusted-through grate and iron-clad ker-plunk. Tension thickens to the point where you can just about taste it, bitter tangy textures of rust, of steel, stainless, stainful, acrid ozones heavy on the schnoz, heaving accumulations rich with densely saturated overtones.

Then, inevitably, the whang. More a thunk, really. A percussive thunk-thunk-thunk, to be precise. At this point the sharper leavenings of abrasive scrape duly het up. There’s a palpable dis-ease here, a sense of frustrated ill humor on the cusp on boiling over, the thunkthunkthunk accentuating not so much a righteous indignation as agitation, agitating to do due damage and do it good. Against the hefty thunkthunkthunk an even heftier series of full-on BLAM comes smashing down, in its wake secreting genuinely intense slatherings of almost white-washed seethe, whangs well forgotten in the ensuing collapse.

Digest spew:
Factory Of Metal Sound it ain’t. I mean, it could be. But there’s too much bottled up aggression, too much commitment to raping ‘hole, too much say it musical intent. The human element is there, and it is not a happy one. (Or maybe it is, what the fuck do I know?) The point is, the presumed human behind this dedication to industrial development is plainly committed to extracting from the materials at hand a maximal potential for earhole abrasion proper. The point is, the monochromatic densities converging en masse drive an unambiguously FUBAR’d disposition. The point is, whatever the point, the ‘holes will burn. Say what you will for your developmental urgencies, industrial strength and otherwise: when steel meets steel, again and again and again, in and among the overtones, shit, unambiguously, happens.

[ConcreteMascara]

The end of 2018 and beginning of 2019 saw me listening to the first 8 Dissecting Table CDs on a near endless loop. Each album has its own focus and style even if so many of the elements are quite similar. Many of them have remained in fairly regular rotation since. Dead Zone is the best, prove me wrong. If you accept the DT sonic language, you will reap dividends. If you don't it will all sound like trash I suppose. I've peaked only three times into the post 2000 material to listen to the Non-Euclidean Geometry and the splits with Sektor 304. It's the second split with S304 I've come to revisit.

Dissecting Table / Sektor 304 ‎– Utopia / Decay LP Malignant Records 2014 - So it's easy to look back at the comments here and see the lack of excitement over the DT material presented. While on a superficial level DT's side sounds like a retread of the sounds and style that made him great from the beginning, I would argue that the material here is very strong and significantly different than prior work, i.e. worth your time. My first listens to this record in 2014 were my first ever exposure to the project and I was taken aback by the frequently frenetic pace and elements that sounds like '90s bargain horror scores or video game OST. Re-listening now with more DT experience, yeah those are the familiar parts, but there's also a lot of this bizarre funnel-synth digital garble that comes in and out. It's the x-factor and it's fucking great even if I'm making it sound horrible. It's especially effective on Blind Despair And Hope, the final track. The elements themselves sound a bit clearer and less dense and the metal percussion textures have a new level of sharpness. Maybe because it's fresh in my mind but this could really serve as an alternative soundtrack to Rubber's Lover. Is it a totally new and revitalized take on DT, maybe by degrees, but arguably not. But do the new elements and new balance provide a rewarding and novel listening experience, I think so.

As for Sektor 304, well it's almost easy to say this is just another gem in an essentially flawless discography. Four tracks but essentially one piece in four movements. The first movement sets the stage but the second, Vertical Structure Control, delivers pulse pounding live in studio metal percussion, Bladh's nearly gurgled vocals, all the industrial decay you can cram in 4 minutes. Fuck! But then the back and forth sweeps, clatters and claws of part 3 maybe somehow top it? That classic but so effective hard panned double vocals by Bladh, doing separate and off-time narratives ties it all together. it's a crescendo of clatter. how do we end? in an industrial dirge of looping metal rhythm, tasteful guitar and Richard Burton delivering George Orwell's prophetic words. "If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever"

also this LP sleeve looks almost too nice! it's a very smart design that appears to mix photography, illustration and digital illustration for effectively, all done with a glossy finish. Malignant keeps it classy.

[acsenger]

Produktion/Club Moral -- Pro-Breendonk (LP, Menstrualrecordings)

Great reissue of a tape from 1984. Side A is mainly crude '80s noise with recordings of various speeches (the first one, in English, sounds like the introduction to the Breendonk concentration camp, the subject of this release, that would've been played to visitors to the site in the early '80s). Towards the end some nice heavy industrial sounds replace the electronic noise. Side B's first half includes vocals from, I assume, DDV of Club Moral, and the effects he uses turn his voice into some of the most bizarre I've ever heard. The way he keeps repeating "Breendonk" sounds like you're listening to someone who's clearly disturbed and should be locked up in a mental institution, and this is only reinforced by the pattern (not quite a rhythm) that appears in the music after a while. Excellent stuff all around. The pressing is flawless, and the LP jacket and the booklet are nicely done too (in keeping with the original tape's xeroxed aesthetics though).

I'm not familiar with Club Moral (or Produktion) otherwise, except for a few tracks I've heard from the To All Who Are Interested... LP. I remember they were very odd, far away from regular industrial/noise. I don't know what I'd think about the album, but a reissue is in the works, hopefully to be released this year, so I'll definitely grab a copy.

[W.K.]

The Cherry Point - Black Witchery CD, Troniks
Long time since I listened to this, and didn't remind it to be this glitchy and reverb-heavy. At times it sounds like this is recorded in an underground water cavern, whereby every sound is bathed into the waters. It's good though, nice to drown out the club-heavy music of the neighbors while still being able to be productive. Last track [/b]Season of the Witch[/b] is monumental, less dancing in the reverb, but a much more direct, dense churning than previous tracks. Sometimes I hear a background melody creeping to the foreground, or maybe a voice?, and I assume it is an sample from a movie, but I'm not sure. Let's turn it up some more. Good stuff. Maybe I play this again in the late hours when I don't also have to do work, sounds like a good idea.

[burdizzo]

SLOGUN - ...kill to forget CD
This little bugger is now twenty years old, but it is one I've never listened to for some reason. Probably because I don't really care that much for serial killers and their psychology - I've done the documentary circuit and read a large amount of True Crime shit, but in the end it's either gross or boring to me. Kill to forget, however, is everything but any of those things. The Slogun sound is at its peak here, and fuses with the murderous lyrics and the vocals, which cover most bases from processed whispers to unpleasantly, threatingly whining screams. If you ever find a guy sounding like this standing in front of you, you'd better be armed or have a (well-funded) police officer in your absolute vicinity. The noise is full bodied despite being very non-physical in nature - this is electricity and circuitry, with literally no Finnish man smashing up an oil drum he's stolen from work. Still, it's heavy and shifting between oppressiveness and rabid hysteria. Slogun should really get back to the business of making noise - if he's tired of his old subject matter, this type of sound could support almost any theme except outright silly humor. Apocalyptic Christianity, overly intellectual self-analysis, anything really. Come back to us, Mr. Gun!

I remember this one, and although it's a long time since I actually listened to it, I remember having the same misgiving as you about the the serial killer subject matter. I reckoned it came across, almost, as a bit 'wimpy', and in the end it proved too much of a hurdle, despite the very impressive streams of rumbling and fuzzy noise. No, I concluded that his earlier The Pleasures Of Death was a much better CD precisely because the vocals were processed beyond comprehension. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and I still listen to the latter the odd time, but not "Kill To Forget". In fact, I see "The Pleasures Of Death" has recently been re-released on vinyl by Hospital. Hmmmm, tempting.

[Baglady]

ACTION/DISCIPLINE - Mindwipe C60 (White Centipede Noise, 2016)
Something to clear my head before going to work after four weeks of vacation. Longform harsh noise seem to be back now, with all these CDs suddenly coming out, but I remember thinking this one was a breath of fresh air in 2016. It's a non stop americanoise battery, pulling inspiration from the old guard, but Aune and Griggs have their own set of tools (and even more so today, four years later). I love every second of Mindwipe, but I barely remember anything of it afterwards, other than how it felt as a whole. Which is just fine! Like the morning after a good night out on payday.

[FreakAnimalFinland]

Many more 7"!

Whitehouse tit pulp 7” is about as good as power electronics gets. Bootleg or not, this could be official and make permanent historical memorial sign that can’t be kicked down. Absolutely vicious vocals by Philip Best here.

V/A Japan Bashing Three
David Hopkins' Public Bath label 1991 double 7” comp with notable Japanese noise masters. No other complaints than every track seems to cut short. they could go on for another 5- 10 mins!

Knot Music ”Extreme America vol 2”,
line-up speaks for itself! Shorts but sweet. Skin crime, olson, BLJ, Bastard Noise, Bacillus, Macro

I don’t hear enough people to mention PHAGE TAPES. I think his metalchemy comp CD was really good move. Took long time time get done, but now that CD’s seems to be making comeback among USA noise labels, this label did some great CD’s. Mania disc not to be forgotten! Anyways, Engines of modern dysfunction vol 1. Comp 7”, short but sweet, like Knot Music comp was. Facialmess, wiese, agit8, k2, baculum and more...

Z'EV / John Duncan / Aidan Baker / Fear Falls Burning "untitled" 2x7"
Double 7” comp with Z’ev, Duncan,  and more.... I have rarely shaken hands with heroes. One time, at metal festival, I had to man up and go to singer of Atheist, prog death metal group and say that show was really good, and especially your 2nd album was really meaningful for my musical growth. Then next time, I saw John Duncan in his long leather jacket and felt like I probably should shake his hand, .... but would he need fanboy tell how good ”Riot” LP is? Probably not. So unfortunately, never said word to mr. Duncan. One of early masters of noise!

Few more 7”s are getting turntable time, but won’t mention them to keep this shorter post... V/A Subterfugue 7” signed by mr. Joe Roemer.  All tracks great. SSS/RRR release.

Complete Murder series set was listened. Many 7"s multiple times. How could you go wrong with Atrax morgue, Crawl unit, Surgical Stainless Steel, Macronympha, Hanged mans orgasm, skin crime, dead body love, taint,  Slogun, Deathpile, stimbox and Mlehst ...  Exxxcellent era of noise / pe!

Can’t describe the feelings when going through the mess called ”tape shelves” and finding the ultra obscure TAINT "Houston / Bellmead"  ltd 20 tape. I almost feel sorry for anyone who would disregard noise for being vile and nasty. Opening samples of this brutalizer gives me, goosebumps. Just utmost PE / texas noise ripper!! Just insane vocal assaults and piercing feedback and total collision of harsh noise.

I looked at discogs and found.. was it 5 different versions of IRRITANT / RAMLEH split tape, but none of them was this 90’s Zero Cabal oversize package with different covers than any other. Excellent material showing how Ramleh was probably at their best in the most raw gutter recordings!

Cyberzoid tape was odd electronics and even short beat loops from Ulex Xane back in the 90’s. Few good tracks that are almost like HWN, or something that could be moments for Streicher track background electronics.

spyrocyst tachiai ”the image of decrease” tape, hospital prod 034. Ltd 20! It's been literally 20 years since last listened this, but due insane packaging, I often look it in the shelves and wonder how it was. Loong tape with static hiss and noise, pretty much HNW prototype going on most of the time.

S*core ”morbid moppets” tape from summer 1986! Japanese industrial, in unbeatable level! Good news was that the man was reached for Special Interests magazine interview. He has been out of the scene for 20 years now and quit all the activities... unfortunately.


I have mentioned some of these earlier in obscure Japanese bands topic, but listening again:
Yama-akago is Incapacitants Kosakai’s wife doing mostly vocal drone and quiet ritual sounds.

666th Impact is odd Japanese pop culture themed electronics noise blasting. No info of any kind seems to exists of this tape.

Dead Body Art ”dada 1995” tape is goofy sound collage which may work best for those who understand japanese. Few moments of noise blast, but mostly spoken word and intentional crap sound waste.

V/A ”slaughter age 1995” tape, with advertizement sticker of... I recall Japanese shop I bought it from in one of the visits decade(s) ago. Dark and sinister industrial/ambient suffocations. Some good tracks, not all gold, but certainly good comp!

V/A Autoficial 7” was listened couple of times to start evening. Con-Dom, S&Q, Chop Shop, Haters. 45rpm short and good.

Con-Dom ”Prince of our disorder” 3”+tape. I listened the 3” first. It’s has sharp and crisp sound in overall recording. Live material. Noise itself is 8th pillar album related material, innovative, conceptual, full of detail and concrete sounds. Live recording gives this great added brutality if compared to studio material. Which is flawless too. Tape is great, as it is not full live shows of one type of sound, but collection of tracks from various live shows and it makes whole thing varied. Different vocals sounds, different level of noisiness. It is always pure Con-Dom. Nasty as fuck and way more blurred and raw than album. Basically one could say Con-Dom live is just playback with vocals, yet these sound utterly different from what studio versions are. Totally essential release in unusual packaging and even more unusual format combination!

Evil Moisture "Creem-Lube Romantic Storage System" tape has been luring me for long time too. Packaging by Banned Productions is pretty damn odd. Just way too large sealed "foam" cube. Had to throw it in. 1993 brilliant tape-deck / pause button heavy wreckage and saturation. It is almost mindblowing that tapes this good would not reissued. 15 owners at discogs... 5/5 rating? Probably yes! I think perhaps Evil Moisture would need topic of its own to make recommendation what to check out and what not. I am not totally sold for everything I hear, but especially with early ones, there are material that crushes a lot of other noise 10-0.

[Theodore]

Good news was that the man was reached for Special Interests magazine interview. He has been out of the scene for 20 years now and quit all the activities... unfortunately.

Found him ?! Spoke with him ? Is the interview done ? OK, he has quited, but is he OK with reissues ? Any more info please ? - Fuck, only the fact that he is alive and someone reached him, gives me hope !

[SILVUM]

Good news was that the man was reached for Special Interests magazine interview. He has been out of the scene for 20 years now and quit all the activities... unfortunately.

Found him ?! Spoke with him ? Is the interview done ? OK, he has quited, but is he OK with reissues ? Any more info please ? - Fuck, only the fact that he is alive and someone reached him, gives me hope !

That's huge.  I'll put up cash if we can get him to just one and done a Skin Crime scale CD box of all releases (orig J card art on card sleeves, w large booklet and nice non balsa wood box.).

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

JSH/Vomir/Black Leather Jesus/The Rita ‎– U.S. Tour C64 (Foul Prey)

The U.S. Tour tape documents what is very likely the last tour of it's kind pre-Covid lockdown. An exemplary line-up of artists from Sweden, France, America, and Canada. One set from each of the four artists of the tour and I thought it was interesting to note that each artist's set was from a different night.

JSH kicks things off with a short but powerful set recorded at Skeleton Dust Records (*Love this shop BTW). Efficient harsh noise show of force that has peaked my interest in checking out other releases by the artist.

Vomir's set is as one would expect, inflexible and un-shakeable. Hard to go into more detail but it's a good one.

Black Leather Jesus starts off with a smut sample that reminds of a certain ball gag scene in Pulp Fiction. The sounds then quickly turn necrotic and BLJ let's loose. This set was recorded in a NYC apartment and I can't imagine how loud it must have been in what I assume to be a compact space.

The Rita provides a dynamic set I wasn't quite expecting. I think it encapsulates Sam's development of sound over time rather well. Sharp and stabbing sounds which balance and contrast with somewhat quieter expressions of texture and strewn samples that involve a range of some aquatic predators and foot strong dancers. Sounds have a subtle bass mixed underbelly in the stabbing that remind me of stringed instrument bow scraping at times even though I know this isn't the source material.

What I assumed would be a tour-de-force of wall noise turned out to be a rather dynamic hour of live performances! Really happy that the enthusiastic applause from the end of each set were included. It certainly helps recreate the illusion of being at the show. Let's hope we can attend shows again in the near future...

[Baglady]

T.D. - Music History: Sound Arrangements For Instruments, Tape, Environments CS (Crisis Of Taste, 2020)
It is what is says really. What the title leaves out is how broken and mangled it all sounds. Thin electronic hiss, crackle and buzz married with warbly samples of chamber music and pitched down voices on tape. Sort of reminds me of the lovely mess Andy Bolus is putting out nowadays on his great Royal Sperm imprint. Nothing new about this what so ever, but there's a funny hubris in the contrast between the titles Thomas DeAngelo always picks and the sound at hand, which that makes him stand out from the "magnetic tape mess crowd". Deliberately putting a nice dress and some makeup on a village oaf, sort of.

MNEM - Elyktrion LP (Verlautbarung, 2020)
I've been going on about the greatness of this LP in other threads and elsewhere already, and I will probably keep going for a little while longer. I wrote the label's description, so I'll refer to that for my take on it. But I'll state again and again that this is most likely the album of the year for me, and certainly my favorite MNEM to date. I can't think of another contemporary industrial album that is as evocative and spine chilling as Elyktrion. Would have served well as an alternative soundtrack to La Planete Sauvage. The world of MNEM just grows. Another album, another strange scenery.

BLUE SABBATH BLACK CHEER - Crows Eat The Eyes From The Leviathans Carcass CD (Release The Bats, 2009)
The label boss gave me this five or six years ago when he went through some old dead stock. For some reason I haven't played it until now, and I realize that I probably haven't even heard BSBC at all before. Their discography is too big for me to start exploring now, but this compilation of odds and ends ain't bad. The band name suggests something rather jovial, but this is surprisingly austere. Big ambiences and big cavernous sounds with plenty of crisp ear-tickling textures and subterranean gurgling in the midst. The screamed vokillllz on "Borre Fen" puts me off a bit, but the rest was all enjoyable.

[[MBD]]

MNEM - Elyktrion LP (Verlautbarung, 2020)
I've been going on about the greatness of this LP in other threads and elsewhere already, and I will probably keep going for a little while longer. I wrote the label's description, so I'll refer to that for my take on it. But I'll state again and again that this is most likely the album of the year for me, and certainly my favorite MNEM to date. I can't think of another contemporary industrial album that is as evocative and spine chilling as Elyktrion. Would have served well as an alternative soundtrack to La Planete Sauvage. The world of MNEM just grows. Another album, another strange scenery.

I'm in complete agreement.  I ended up with the tape version but all of your descriptors are exactly how I feel about this album.  Bleak, decaying sounds that seem otherworldly, yet, oddly enough, grounded in our harsh reality.  Easily the best I've heard all year as well.

[Soloman Tump]

MNEM - Elyktrion LP (Verlautbarung, 2020)
I've been going on about the greatness of this LP in other threads and elsewhere already, and I will probably keep going for a little while longer. I wrote the label's description, so I'll refer to that for my take on it. But I'll state again and again that this is most likely the album of the year for me, and certainly my favorite MNEM to date. I can't think of another contemporary industrial album that is as evocative and spine chilling as Elyktrion. Would have served well as an alternative soundtrack to La Planete Sauvage. The world of MNEM just grows. Another album, another strange scenery.

I'm in complete agreement.  I ended up with the tape version but all of your descriptors are exactly how I feel about this album.  Bleak, decaying sounds that seem otherworldly, yet, oddly enough, grounded in our harsh reality.  Easily the best I've heard all year as well.

Have read only good things about this release. Can only see Cassette copies for sale - any UK / EU vinyl still about?  Would be happy with digital but whatsoever seem to be an option.

[urall]

MNEM - Elyktrion LP (Verlautbarung, 2020)
I've been going on about the greatness of this LP in other threads and elsewhere already, and I will probably keep going for a little while longer. I wrote the label's description, so I'll refer to that for my take on it. But I'll state again and again that this is most likely the album of the year for me, and certainly my favorite MNEM to date. I can't think of another contemporary industrial album that is as evocative and spine chilling as Elyktrion. Would have served well as an alternative soundtrack to La Planete Sauvage. The world of MNEM just grows. Another album, another strange scenery.

I'm in complete agreement.  I ended up with the tape version but all of your descriptors are exactly how I feel about this album.  Bleak, decaying sounds that seem otherworldly, yet, oddly enough, grounded in our harsh reality.  Easily the best I've heard all year as well.

Have read only good things about this release. Can only see Cassette copies for sale - any UK / EU vinyl still about?  Would be happy with digital but whatsoever seem to be an option.

check http://www.millstonevinyl.se/ for vinyl