Jääportit / Umbra Nihil / Aarni / Caput LVIIIm - Tribute to H.P. Lovecraft - Yogsothery - Gate 1: Chaosmogonic Rituals of Fear (2010, Split)

Funeral Doom, Dark Ambient, Psychedelic, Drone

Finland

320 kb/s

From what I got, my friend found this album and bought on impulse. He gave it to me and said "I totally had to show you this." I'm glad he did, I'm a sucker for H.P. Lovecraft shit. At first, I wasn't expecting much but when I finally listened it grew on me. It's haunting, trippy, and very sifi. Basically what I feel when I read a story by Lovecraft. The track I have a problem with is Lovecraft Knew, as Aarni sounds kind of weak compared to the other artists here.

“Yog-Sothoth knows the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the gate. Yog-Sothoth is the key and guardian of the gate. Past, present, future, all are one in Yog-Sothoth. He knows where the Old Ones broke through of old, and where They shall break through again. He knows where They have trod earth's fields, and where They still tread them, and why no one can behold Them as They tread.”

H. P. Lovecraft, The Dunwich Horror

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Oxbow - An Evil Heat (2002)

Full Length, Neurot Recordings / Hydra Head Records
March 19th, 2002

Genre: Avant-garde/Noise-Rock/Sludge
Region: USA

If you haven't already seen or picked up a copy of the recent fantastic underground music industry documentary film Blood, Sweat & Vinyl: DIY in the 21st Century then I suggest you do so. For a while I've been hearing about this band Oxbow but only in vague mentions. Having received my copy of said documentary I was better introduced to them through it and I was surprised, confused and compelled by what I heard. Specifically their passionate live performance of Stallkicker and the vocalist's presence.

Apparently Oxbow been around for a while, jumping between Neurot and Hydra Head making some bizarre yet heavy noise-rock/psychedelic sludge, with a lead singer (Eugene S. Robinson) that is absolutely insane. What they remind me of is Daughters and their oddness if they slowed it down, went in a psyche-sludge direction, and had far more sexual undertones.

Similar to Neurosis they're impossible to describe accurately.  Likewise An Evil Heat is hard to describe without repeating myself. I'll just say it's not for everyone, you'll either love it or absolutely hate it, and the final track is a 32 minute tribal vocal/drum drone fest which is much different from the rest of the album; guaranteed to put you into a trance. Get a copy of the cd over at Neurot Recordings.

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Heresiarch - Hammer of Intransigence (2011)

EP, Dark Descent Records / Satanic Skinhead Propaganda
October, 2011

Genre: Death Metal
Region: New Zealand

Still waiting on my copy to arrive but since it's floating around out there already I might as well get it up. Their demo was promising and this takes another step forward with their sound. Containing members of the no bullshit death metal group Diocletian, Hammer of Intransigence is a destructive EP indeed. Not terribly unique but it packs quite a punch without a doubt.

It really isn't necessary for me to say much about this one. You already know if you'll like this or not but if you need a taste check out Carnivore, and if you do indeed like what you here support them by going to Dark Descent or Vault of Dried Bones to pick up some of their merch. The guys on both those labels are acquiring some excellent bands recently.

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Thrones / Sedan - Split (2011)

Split,  Joe Preston's Solid Gold Recordings
April 24th, 2011

Genre: Doom/Drone/Post-Rock
Region: USA

Since I didn't see this up elsewhere yet I figured I'd put it up here. I think it's vinyl only so yeah.

Joe Preston is a nice guy and has made heavy tunes for a long time. Both shows I've been to he puts on a great set and acts quite friendly before, during, and after all the doom.

This is his most recent release with a band called Sedan which I don't know anything about. They seem to be a instrumental/post-metal-ish band and offer up one 12 minute track "Erdman Set : El Jefe" to coincide with Joe's 14 minute spacey, droney, alienesque song "Bridal Veil". It's much quieter and ambient than Sedans side and has the trippy voice modulation found on tracks like Obolous. Sedan's track is surprisingly good, nice drumming and quite atmospheric with an 'ancient' psychedelic vibe around it (like a tamed Grails).

You can get a copy from him on his recent tour or over here.

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Gates - A Precessional Winter (2011)

Full Length, ASTRAL RA / Ivory Antler Records
June 21th, 2011

Genre: Drone/Doom/Noise/Ambient
Region: Canada

I've seen the 'spectral doom' ensemble Gates three times now (most recently last night) and honestly they get more dark, intense, loud and fierce every single time. Last night they tore the venue down and drowned it in waves of suffocating/oppressive noise and drone, performing a slight variation on this album (and thus of They Hide In The Shadows as well to some degree). Visual evidence from the show can be found here and here in two parts. It was quite an experience. If you ever get a chance to see them live don't hesitate.

This is a 2010 live recording of the album "Moths Have Eaten The Core", very limited (30 copies originally self-released from ASTRAL RA) though there are still a few copies floating about at live shows and Ivory Antler Records (who are repressing the aforementioned album) — I highly suggest grabbing one. Extremely loud and raw, paced well and engrossing. These guys deserve your attention and support so follow them here for updates (or listen here) and do what you can because they're doing something different, and doing it very well consistently.

"Recorded at a show last November as the snow began to fall. This one was the first performance where it all really came together. A fairly raw, rough document of the evening and of a developmental point in Gates growth as a live ensemble."

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Amenra - Mass III-II + IIII (2011)

Compilation, Tokyo Jupiter Records
October, 2011

Genre: Atmospheric Sludge
Region: Belgium

Yes I'm posting Amenra again. Why would anyone complain? I don't know.

This is the recent re-release/remaster of Mass III-II + Mass IIII from Tokyo Jupiter Records. If you don't have a copy of it (cd/vinyl) I suggest picking this one up from them, especially if you're not in North America. This contains the live variation of "Shapeless Pain" from their 23.10 Live Ritual DVD which is slower, more intense, and absolutely devastating. Colin's vocals are unbelievable.

I've posted both albums before but you can never have enough Amenra — never. Their next Mass is my most anticipated album for next year easily. To put it bluntly: they are unarguably one of the heaviest bands on the planet right now. Steve Von Till (Neurosis), Dwid Hellion (Integrity) and Jacob Bannon (Converge) concur:

"Amenra is deep, and real, and moving, and incredibly inspiring. A heavy, sonic spiritual quest awaits you at Mass in the Church of Ra" - Steve Von Till

"Mass IIII is the music within the darkest black dream" - Dwid Hellion

"Amenra in my opinion are one of the most interesting and powerful bands in aggressive music" - Jacob Bannon

Support them. Enough said.

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Gadget - Remote (2004)

Full Length, Relapse Records
February 16th, 2004

Genre: Grindcore
Region: Sweden

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet, I love this record. Gadget aren't very well known but they put out some top-notch grindcore, carving out a unique sound in an overcrowded genre.

Remote is filled with brilliantly written, furious, occasionally technical riffs and monstrous drumming and vocals, as well as a few brief moments of slower/sludgy tracks that break up the blasting appropriately ( "Failure" and the closer "Tema: Skit" are great examples). I highly recommend this one. Any fan of the genre should definitely give this a try as I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Get a taste at their bandcamp.

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Heresiarch - Obsecrating the Global Holocaust (2011)

Demo, Satanic Skinhead Propaganda
April 4th, 2011

Genre: Death Metal
Region: New Zealand

This demo is full of promise and excellent dirty riffing. Their new EP "Hammer of Intransigence" (which you can pre-order over at Dark Descent Records) is about to be released in the coming weeks, and if it's anything like this we can expect some more top notch killer death metal out of New Zealand.

Three tracks (one Bathory cover) of unrelenting death in the vein of Antediluvian, Vorum, Cruciamentum, Witchrist Vasaeleth, and Diocletian. No wasted space, everything here is geared towards fast-paced, face-crushing efficiency leaving you breathless.  Memorable and promising.

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Nahvalr - Nahvalr (2008)

Full Length, Enemies List Home Recordings
2008

Genre: Noise/Industrial/Black Metal
Region: USA

Don't know about my fellow posters here but I've been a little busy with presentation preparations, papers, readings, and now Battlefield 3 so apologies for the lack of activity. Have another bizarre release from the weirdos at ELHR.

"Nahvalr is Open-Source Black Metal. What does that mean? It means using the internet, using the solitude and separation caused by home recording and digital distribution, to bring together sounds, songs, and lyrics from dozens of artists, each working in complete ignorance of the other.

Collected, edited, and added to by Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga (of Have A Nice Life), Nahvalr evolved from dozens of unconnected sound files into a shrieking whirlwind of noise, blasphemy, distortion, reverb, and evil. Distortion and noise are used as intruments; cacophany gives way to quiet ambience, ambience gives way to black-metal pounding and screaming, screaming gives way to mumbled singing and lo-fi buzz."  - Enemies List Home Recordings.

Not for everyone that's for sure. It's a very dark, ambient, chaotic record filled with strange samples and noise, and while one may get the impression that an album composed the way this one was would be disjointed or unfocused, this record comes together cohesively. If you didn't know better you'd think everyone involved was in the same room when it was created. ELHR described it better than I ever could so have a listen if you like their other projects or just strange shit in general.
 

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Gates - They Hide in the Shadows (2011)

Full Length, Handmade Birds Records
July 19th, 2011

Genre: Drone/Doom/Noise/Ambeint
Region: Canada

"Gates bring a refreshing sound to the dark landscape, documented here in this enormous live performance from The Music Gallery in Toronto, Canada on 11/3/11. Those of us that were not present to bear witness to this epic performance are still experiencing regret. Thankfully, the performance was archived here; a perfect segue into their forthcoming Handmade Birds full length due late 2011." - Handmade Birds / Gates blog

I've seen Gates twice, once a few months back with Wolves in the Throne Room/Thou/Thantifaxath and again this past Saturday. Both times they put on extremely hypnotic, loud and noisy shows that impressed me a lot. As a full group they're fairly new and perform live even without all members present, resulting in some interesting experimentation. They've been described as "spectral doom" and you can get a preview of They Hide in the Shadows here.

It is one long and slow "continuous performance, comprised of live adaptations of the songs from 'Moths Have Eaten the Core'" split into three tracks just over ten minutes each. Despite the fact this record is based in a previous recording the changes are significant and engaging. Each track has the musicians building on each other meticulously to form a wall of suffocating atmosphere through wailing guitars, chaotic swirling noise, roaring vocals, and quaking bass. Creeping and ebbing. It's controlled very well, you can hardly tell it is a live recording, and does not wear on you as some drone can.

Great creeping drone that stands out in the genre. Recommended.

EDIT: Link has been fixed,  first track no longer has a gap at 1:04 in.

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