XL. Death In June & Les Joyaux De La Pricesse | Östenbräun

DEATH IN JUNE & LES JOYAUX DE LA PRINCESSE

Östenbräun

©Les Joyaux De La Princesse. France, 1989.

‟When i first heard this album i was incredibly suprised. Alot of death in junes music has a heavy folk element to it, which has slightly detered me quoting them as one of my favourite bands, albums such as "Nada" (my favourite album of theirs) and the debut "The guilty have no past" are pretty good examples of early/mid eighties joy division styled new wave, yet this rather mysterious offering sees them coupled with the french collective "Les joyeaux...." and is actually a damm good example of ambient, nostalgic music. The old trade marks are very evident; germany, soldiers, war songs etc and of course not forgetting nazism and hitler, the album glides along with a freefalling, looped kind of feel, heavy echos and militant muted drum beats with the occasional offering of poetry and text. When the album closes, i always find myself wanting more. A very fine, nostalgic stab at ambience.‟

Schwarz

 

XXXIX. Dark Orange | Clouds, Paperships And Fallen Angels

DARK ORANGE

Clouds, Paperships And Fallen Angels

©Kalinkaland. Deutschland, 2010.

‟Katrin-Elna: Vocals .. Dirk Odu: Guitars & Arrangements .. Olivier Goyet: Sounds & Dulcimer .. Steven Burrows: Bass .. The new album "clouds, paperships and fallen angels" was released in May 2010 on Kalinkaland records. The album featured guest musicians such as Steven Burrows and Emer Brizzolara from the English "And Also The Trees" and Jan Ross and Brida Garland of Mexico City's "Morfeo Speaks". The final sound comes from Robin Guthrie, well known from the legendary "Cocteau Twins". .. On this player you find a song from the new album and also some songs from the Dark Orange period from 1990 - 1993 and an unreleased song called "romance of chevalry" recorded live in mainz in may 1992. .. ..‟

 myspace.com/darkorange

   

XXXVIII. Boyd Rice | The Black Album

  
BOYD RICE

The Black album

©Boyd Rice (Self-Released). US, 1977.

‟This originally late 1975 recorded, 1977 self released (in a run of eighty six copies), and 1981 (Mute) properly (re) released Black Album (as it was originally known) can hardly be considered a standard long player, but more like something of a bricolage of recorded/isolated/(mis)treated/looped/found sound fragments making for a 43:24" (if you dind't go for the multi speed thing) experience rather than a collection of handy song structures.

Contextually, or historically if you prefer, this is pretty much as out there, exploratory/provocative speaking anyway, as any of them.

The fragmentary and at times drone like frenzy here simultaneously evokes a Hymnen period Karlheinz Stockhausen, a young and riotous John Cale, and of course, his highness Milan Knížák. Not a small feat at all in my book. A very chunky (but not quite) musical artifact.‟

Chispita

XXXVII. Einstürzende Neubauten | Tabula Rasa

EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN

Tabula Rasa

©Mute. Deutschland, 1993.

‟Despite its title--Latin for "clean slate" but, more likely, a play off the concept of beginning again--Einstürzende Neubauten's seventh full-length is a culmination of everything that has come before for this extraordinary band. Sure, they were known for making hellish noise in their early days, employing rocks, circular saws, and drills in their performances, but they were musicians, too, crafting elegant songs by the late 1980s that still possess an affecting power. Tabula Rasa, released in 1993, contains all these elements and ups the ante considerably. For one thing, it's a much more varied listen than its predecessor, the grimly powerful Haus der Lüge. The exuberantly melodic ("Zebulon") bumps up against the darkly experimental ("12305[te Nacht]") and the outright rockin' ("Die Interimsliebenden"). But the most startling track must be the ethereal "Blume," a sexually charged lullaby that's fraught with the thick layers of symbolism we've come to expect from lyricist Blixa Bargeld. Sung--in English!--by Anita Lane, whose voice registers somewhere near the Cranes' Alison Shaw, it sounds like nothing we've ever heard before from Neubauten. The disc closes with the 15-minute "Headcleaner," a mesmerizing, bombastic, symphonic cacophony that interpolates the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love." It all ends quietly, but your ears may never be the same again.‟

Simon Landau

XXXVI. Cindytalk | Camouflage Heart

CINDYTALK
Camouflage Heart

©Midnight Music. UK, 1984.

‟Exceedingly dark, cathartic, and at times, seemingly unhinged, Gordon Sharp's Cindytalk was a dazzlingly self-indulgent gloom-fest that anticipated the Industrial-Rock movement years before the genre even had a name. Best known for his fine contributions to the first This Mortal Coil project, It'll End in Tears, Sharp's work in Cindytalk is far more visceral and far less ethereal than what was emanating from 4AD at the time. While Gothic in mood, Camouflage Heart, Cindytalk's debut, has a dirty, gritty undertow that makes it sound something like Peter Murphy at his most dramatic fronting The Birthday Party (in fact, Mick Harvey appears on "Under Glass"). On the standout track,"The Ghost Never Smiles," Sharp's eerie, wailing vocals sound like they are emanating from the bottom of a well as a dull tribal beat and guitar feedback carry the song toward what feels like a free-fall into the abyss. Truly harrowing stuff.‟

Luna



 

XXXV. The Sisters Of Mercy | Floodland

THE SISTERS OF MERCY

Floodland

©Mercyful Release. UK, 1987.

‟For an album that's been labelled THE best gothic rock album ever produced - a view I don't subscribe to - Floodland can be wonderfully uplifting. Maybe it's just my twisted psyche, but the deep, strong, dark, funereal, almost operatic tones that permeate the album have always offered a sense of wellbeing. The music is a vital ingredient of The Sisters Of Mercy's character, a fact sometimes ignored in the face of Andrew Eldritch's growling vocal. Eldritch, the rock world's answer to Lurch, has a voice like velvet covered concrete which suits perfectly the band's industrialised Goth style. It has a deep resonance unlike any other in rock, yet still manages to remain melodic. As a perfect compliment the lyrics, which seem profound, are strangely stilted when examined outside the context of the songs as if they are meant to evoke a feeling rather than a story.

There is no doubting that Floodland was recorded in the eighties – the drums are apocalyptic and the bass makes your arteries vibrate – but, unlike most, the Sisters still translate well today. The epics "Dominion/Mother Russia" and "This Corrosion" still capture the imagination and the choir on the latter is a masterstroke, but "Flood I" sounds weak and tired in comparison. The best of Floodland is in the detail; the bass on "Lucretia My Reflection" is a killer and the piano on "1959" hauntingly beautiful.

So not the classic it's made out to be but still a mighty fine album and one of the few I can play from that period that doesn't make me cringe.‟

Grampus

XXXIV. Blessure Grave | Judged By 12, Carried By 6

 

BLESSURE GRAVE

Judged By 12, Carried By 6

©Release The Bats. Sverige, 2010.

‟Reyna Kay y T. Grave fundaron Blessure Grave a comienzos de 2008 en San Diego, California, desde la edición de "An Understanding Of Nothing" (drown in the grown, 2009), -vinilo que compartieron con las agrupaciones Cold Cave y Crocodiles- les hemos venido siguiendo la pista de manera casi enfermiza, como en un hechizo, uno queda atado a este sonido herido y marginal.

Una especie de darkwave lo-fi, canciones de poco minutaje que recuerdan los primeros 80s', no ocultan su amor por Christian Death, Death In June, Dark Day y The Cure.

Luego de publicar varios trabajos cortos, ahora podemos disfrutar de Blessure Grave en formato extendido, "Judged By 12, Carried By 6" es su álbum debut, una concentración de amargura y frustación, bombas de odio que caen con toda su crudeza y malicia sobre el auditor, han tomado lo más insano del post-punk, le han impregnado distancia y voces de ultratumba, para crear el reflejo exacto de un mundo apocalíptico que da su últimas patadas.

16 tracks que no sobrepasan los 3 minutos, encontramos ritmos marciales, ruido abrasivo a cada paso como los primeros Swans, T.Grave canta como predicardor malvado, peligroso, mientras que Reyna aparece con un grito histérico afirmando la esencia, las guitarras aturden, casi siempre machacantes, el recorrido entero pareciera acercarse a las ruinas de un tiempo pretérito que permanece perdido en la memoria, no hay descanso en el subterráneo polvoriento que ellos vienen a develar y allí se encuentran estas piedras oscuras... "Stop Breathing", "In My Mind", "The Cycle" o "Hindsight", féretros entreabiertos, nubes de devastación y una danza funeraria que sacude cualquier indecisión, terminan con una espartana versión para "City Light", de los desaparecidos The Shadow Ring.

Perdiéndole el miedo al concepto gótico, Blessure Grave destapa una nueva escena en expansión, plagada de bandas destacadas que han tomado a la oscuridad como impulso vital, anoten estos nombres: Cult Of Youth, Twin Crystals, Awen, Altar Of Flies, /Tense/, White Ring y Lust For Youth.

Nubes de lluvia y tiempo frío.‟

Raúl Cabrera H.

XXXIII. Deutsch Nepal | ¡Comprendido!... Time Stop! ...And World Ending

DEUTSCH NEPAL

¡Comprendido!... Time Stop! ...And World Ending.

©Cold Meat Industry. Sverige, 1997.

‟Consisting of a series of recordings made from 1992 to 1996, Comprendido is a good representation of the aggressive, dark black pitch of Deutsch Nepal's work. The band being a one-man operation courtesy of -- kid you not -- one Lina der Baby Doll General, a Swede, everything here, outside of a brief guest vocal/horns appearance by another band on one song, is what one guy can do on his own. The results? Pretty darn fine both in terms of grinding atmospherics and focused intensity. While the themes at play aren't that far off from the slew of death metal releases that seemed to explode from Scandinavia throughout the '90s, sonically Deutsch Nepal is very much a member of the Cold Meat Industry roster, favoring electronic/industrial explorations of sonic gloom and gore. A few tracks fall short of pop radio (if not sounding), like the brief "Morgue Restaurant" and "The Phlegethon Fish," featuring the aforementioned guest appearance from the Moon Lay Hidden Beneath a Cloud. It's not particularly noticeable, more like further shading, if attractive shading, to the heavily flanged rhythm. Otherwise, length and mood-setting are key. "Thomas 29 Needles" is a good track to start out with -- a nine minute number that begins with a lengthy movie sample trashing God and any divine plan (utterly appropriate stuff in context), it shifts to a low, rumbling pulse for most of the song. Towards the end more overt orchestration and arranging comes to the fore, in the vein of Laibach's wry post-Wagnerian epics, though still pitched low, while Lina hoarsely chants lyrics. If Deutsch Nepal has a secret, it's restraint. While whatever vocals there are sometimes sound more goofy than spooky, it's the chilled, hushed power of the music that always wins out.‟

 Ned Raggett

XXXII. Black Tape For A Blue Girl | Remnants Of A Deeper Purity

BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL

Remnants Of A Deeper Purity

©Projekt. US, 1996.

‟Si la excelencia tuviese nombre Black Tape For A Blue Girl sería uno de ellos, y no lo digo a título personal sino como algo común dentro de los que han caído en sus encantos.

'Remnants Of A Deeper Purity' su nuevo álbum no es la excepción a la regla establecida por la banda, aquí se conjugan delicadeza, sutileza, melancolía y mucho sentimiento, logrando quizás su mejor trabajo en estos años.

Sam Rosenthal se hace acompañar esta vez por el siempre magistral Oscar Herrera en voz y guitarra, Lucian Casselman en voz, Vicki Richards en violín y Mera Roberts en chelo. Tanto Mera como Vicki le dan un sabor más clásico a este trabajo, aportando una cantidad de texturas deliciosas y sublimes.

Por su parte Oscar y Lucian hacen de sus voces un deleite a los oídos, variando de lo etéreo a lo dramático con un convencimiento total, como perdurable más allá del tiempo. Los temas "Redefine Pure Faith", Fin De Siecle", "Have No More Answers", "Again To Drift (For Veronica)" y "Fitful" son los más etéreos y ambientales destacándose la gran capacidad para crear atmósferas finas y envolventes. Mención aparte tienen los temas "Remnants Of A Deeper Purity", una elegante canción con bastante folk. El extensivo "For You Will Burn Your Wings Upon The Sun" que por más de 20 minutos nos lleva por un viaje de lucidez musical.

Tal vez el tema que más marca es "With My Sorrows" un triste canto en el que se incluye un extracto de la canción "En La Mar Hay Una Torre", donde Oscar recita en español 'Pescaré mi amor con mis dolores', para finalizar con.. 'Si la mar se hace leche yo me hago pescador, pescaré a mis dolores con palabritas de amor'.

Definitivamente este es un álbum majestuoso y solemne que nos sume en un vuelo de tristeza, quietud y dolor. No hay palabras para expresar lo que se siente al escuchar este disco. Sólo consíguelo y después me lo agradecerás.‟

  José Villegas

XXXI. Hekate | Goddess

HEKATE

Goddess

©Auerbach Tonträger. Deutschland, 2004.

 

‟Hekate started as an experimental atonal project in the early 90ies. We first played at universities and art schools on exhibitions. We started with five members. From those five members are still two left today the others have changed. The founders are Ingo Müller, guitar and percussion and myself. There were many changes during the years. Today there are Achim Weiler, medieval instruments and keyboards, Dirk Diederich, drums , Jörg Schwickerath, percussion. Achim engaged at a castle as an musican. Further he produce musical contributions for regional theatre plays in his little studio. Jörg plays in his own ambient band called Beam Team. I..m supporting several bands live on stage and worked for my project Cascadeur. We love our name the goddess Hekate connects various characteristics, which we work out over the years. But the most important aspect is that Hekate belonged to many cultures, like the Romans, the Greek, Asia Minor…It symbolises the power of an archaic culture and stands for the old way. First we were an experimental group. 

We were influenced by industrial bands from the 80ies, like Einstürzende Neubauten and SPK, but also darkwave bands, like Joy Division, Devo, David Bowie, Klaus Nomi, Test Dept. But our influence goes from classical Folk to groups like Current 93, Death in June to our favourite Band Dead Can Dance. We also like Moby, Massive Attack, Delirium and other Ambient bands. During the last years we become interested in European history, old songs and legends. Furthermore we became more self-confident and found our own style. The main thing of the music are the percussions, connected with old melody lines and actually with modern clichés like electronically ambient sounds. We approach the most of our songs from ideaswe get from reading books, visiting European landscapes or by telling myths from friends. We choose most themes for songs by our instinct not for special reasons. One influence is certainly a movement of the young people in germany from the 20ies, called „Wandervogel“ . We are inspired by painters like Fidus, Franz Stassen and Furthermore we are interested in classical music e. g. Edward Grieg and Schubert. The world lost its magic. Now you can explain nearly everything through science. In former times a moon-darkness was a great wonder but today you know the scientific backgrounds. Where is space left for imagination and phantasy? Ancient men recived a lot of joys from nature. We can learn from ancient cultures about their power and forgotten rituals. We are living on the countryside in a cultural very important area. Besides the ancient places of whoreship of the Celts and Germans there are also sanctuarys from the roman conquerors. We are connected very close to nature and it is important for us to research and experience old rites and cultures. To play live is the best event for us. It is the fulfilment of all our work and creativity. In a live performance we see if a song can pass to the audience. To play live is really the best for our band. Rituals are very important for us before a live performance. A concert of Hekate has a spiritual level as it is dedicated to our ancestor and gods. “Du siehst mein Sohn, zum Raum wird hier die Zeit” (Richard Wagner, Parsifal 1882) A ritual helps to experience a cosmic principle and to use it on your way through life. At the moment we are using German smoke rituals at live performances. The smoke is a sign to the gods. The scent is their food. As we use mostly the taditional smokes we wake memories of holy times. We use herbs from our native country. There is a different smoke ritual for every season. I..m collecting the herbs in our forests as the shamanes of our ancestors did it.‟

myspace.com/hekatesonne

XXX. Die Verbannten Kinder Evas | Die Verbannten Kinder Evas

DIE VERBANNTEN KINDER EVAS

Die Verbannten Kinder Evas

©General Inquisitor. Schweiz, 1995.

‟En las tierras de Vienna, Austria, hacia el año 1994 nace un proyecto que hoy día es conocido como Die Verbannten Kinder Evas, un proyecto que mezcla elementos neoclásicos con el Darkwave y el Ambient con temas líricos como la vida, la desesperación y la tristeza, además de algunos otros temas del tipo filosófico y existencial.

El cerebro principal detrás del proyecto es Richard Lederer, mejor conocido como "Protector", quien también participa con Summoning y participó con Grabesmond y Pazuzu, bandas que realmente son una carta de recomendación excelente y que nos hablan más o menos del tipo de proyecto que es Die Verbannten Kinder Evas, palabras que se pueden traducir como 'Los Hijos Exiliados de Eva'.

En 1995 lanzan su primer full length el cual lleva un título homónimo, y que puedo decir se encuentra en la línea de un sonido entre Summoning y Pazuzu, pero un tanto más digerible, sin caer en lo predecible o repetitivo. En éste disco tiene como acompañantes a Michael Gregor aka "Silenius", el otro cerebro tras Summoning, además de la participación de la hermana de Protector, Julia Lederer.‟

 Sacryel

XXIX. Ataraxia | Simphonia Sine Nomine

ATARAXIA

Simphonia Sine Nomine

©Energeia. Italia, 1994.

‟Desde el lanzamiento de su primera producción en formato cassette en 1990, este trío italiano ha editado 21 trabajos. Ahora nos ocuparemos su placa de 1994, "Simphonia Sine Nomine"  editada en CD por Energeia Records. Esta nos trae música que linda en lo clásico y medieval, interpretada con instrumentos acústicos, de viento y electrónicos. Aquí podemos encontrar pasajes de exquisita calma; voces etéreas que se entrecruzan arrancadas de la garganta de su cantante Francesca Nicoli, quién teje historias -situadas en la antigua Grecia- de mujeres desamparadas y desesperadas. Este cuadro fatídico en sus letras, se contrasta con el sonido clásico de guitarras por parte de Vittorio Vandelli, y el noble piano y sintetizador que aporta Giovanni Pagliari. Conformando así un todo armónico y solemne.

Un canto a la belleza y al misterio.‟

Guillermo Escudero  

XXVIII. Savage Republic | Ceremonial

SAVAGE REPUBLIC
Ceremonial

©Independent Project. US, 1985.

‟Ceremonial started with "Andelusia", which sounded completely different to the beastly Tragic Figures; this was driving post-punk that went back to Joy Division for inspiration. What was different was the desire for soloing by both the guitar and the keyboards, which treated the rhythmic backbone as a canvas on top of which they "painted" an atmosphere. Symphonic "atmosphere" and melody also prevailed in "Walking Backwards", though the pounding post-punk rhythm was also ever present. Truth be told this didn't sound very different to the gothic-rock of bands like The March Violets. "A Thousand Days" confirmed the method: get a melody, apply it in a pounding rhythm, and then jam along it's confines. A new facet was finally shown in "Mediterranea", which was ethnic and more luminous psychedelic.

So far, so good, but unspectacular. "Ceremonial" increased the duration and thus the space for the guitar and keyboard to engage in acrobatic jamming; they didn't disappoint, but they didn't offer anything new either. The 9-minute "The Year Of Exile" sort of did (at first), by going back to the ethnic psychedelia of "Mediterranea" and viewing it from a more manic angle, but then it soon reverted to their usual atmospheric gothic-rock; they also came the closest here to the tribal dementia of Tragic Figures in the penultimate leg of the track, whereas the last leg slowed down and wallowed in one of their symphonic themes.

Let's be honest here, this is a vastly inferior album to the debut, and also a confused one, but because Savage Republic are so talented performers it makes up for it. Barely.‟
 

Ily

XXVII. Ildfrost | Autumn Departure

ILDFROST

Autumn Departure

©Cold Meat Industry. Sverige, 1994.

‟Ildfrost are a Norwegian duo formed in 1992. They were the first non-Swedish group on Cold Meat Industry label. Their music can be described as dark, frightening, but also challenging. Never very active, and containing mainly subtleties, the music, while very soft and approachable, is geared primarily towards a shift in your state of awareness, one of dreariness or oblivious withdrawal.
 

Interesting stuff.
Neoclassical Darkwave? Yeah, I guess that genre-label makes some sort of sense; definitely more than Dark Ambient anyway...
Though -and once again- for this kind of music (ambient-ish), the spoken parts sound totally out of place; ambient albums SHOULD NOT contain these endless (and ultimately pointless) monologues.‟
  

Kurtz. K

 

XXVI. Warsaw | Warsaw

WARSAW

Warsaw

©Movieplay Gold. Portugal, 1994.

‟Firstly, a historical note.  This bootleg is mostly made up of the unreleased RCA recordings, an album the band rejected because of the interference from the producers and an unhappiness with the way the record label handled them (they had a horrible contract).  That said, by that point they were already called Joy Division.  It wasn't long after the failed RCA recordings that they released the An Ideal For Living EP and found themselves on Factory, and you probably know the legend.  So no, most of this record is not Warsaw.  Especially not the recording of As You Said, an instrumental electronic piece which was one of the last things recorded by Joy Division while Ian Curtis was still alive.  The RCA recording is an interesting curiosity for the Joy Division fan, as it has infant versions of many of their classic songs which have improved versions elsewhere.

But, what this recording DOES have is the very rare Warsaw demo, when the band actually was called Warsaw.  This demo is a bit shocking for those familiar with the legendary JD;  it is pure, unadulterated, raw punk.  Ian does not do his monotone crooning, as he takes on a snotty, gruff shout.  The drums are Steve Brotherdale's,  not the robotic precise drumming of Stephen Morris.  The guitars are surprisingly incompetent (not to say Barney was a great player during JD, but he had at least a style that fit the music perfectly).  The bass is a bit gravelly, perhaps due to poor recording.

The Warsaw demo, moreso than being anything good, is a very interesting look into how the band evolved from being purely punk to the amazing and heartbreaking band that they were to become.

It's an essential bootleg for the collector, especially considering how most of the RCA recordings and all of the Warsaw demo were rejected for the Heart and Soul box set. Original Records at 1977-1978‟

 Auritech

XXV. Death In June | Burial

DEATH IN JUNE
Burial
©Leprosy. UK, 1984.

"Industrial innovators Death in June emerged in 1980 from the remnants of the punk unit Crisis, reuniting singer/multi-instrumentalist Douglas Pearce and bassist Tony Wakeford; drummer Patrick Leagas completed the original lineup, which made its live debut late the following year with an opening slot for the Birthday Party. The 12-inch Heaven Street soon followed, and in 1983 Death in June issued their first full-length effort, The Guilty Have No Pride; from the outset, the group was criticized for its adoption of fascist imagery, and charges of Nazism dogged Pearce throughout his career".

Jason Ankeny

"By 1984, angry punksters Crisis had miraculously transformed into Death in June - gone were the leftist ideas and in came black uniforms adorned by the totenkopf. Still, the band didn't really sound like Nazi drummerboys at a Nurenberg rally. Burial is a weird record that bears a notable punk feel, clearly signifying what the band members practiced some years before. The actual studio tracks are but five, the rest of the album consisting of live recordings. Opener Death of the West still serves as one of the neofolk evergreens: a simple but emotional anti-capitalist anthem composed in classic Death in June fashion, concentrating on strumming acoustic guitar and vocals exclusively. Fields, Nirvana and Black Radio all possess a definite '80s sound, meaning they're unmistakably post-punk and have strong new wave leanings. Sons of Europe delivers more pathos: martial drumming, trumpets blowing and atonal singing - it is probably the strangest track of the album. The live section, recorded somewhere in London in late 1983, is predictably psychedelic and somewhat chaotic. Even more than the studio material, the live recordings deliver a mix of proto-industrial, psychedelic rock and punk-influenced wave sound that is impenetrably esoteric and avant-garde".
 

Chroniclesofchaos

XXIV. His Divine Grace | Die Schlangenkönigin

HIS DIVINE GRACE

Die Schlangenkönigin

©Hau Ruck!. Österreich, 2003.

‟Die Schlangenkönigen is the second CD from the mysterious European outfit, His Divine Grace. Die Schlangenkönigen is based upon the Ernst Jünger's book Auf den Marmorklippen (translated as On the Marble Cliffs). Albin Julius is becoming something of a lightening rod for beautiful, orchestral sounds. Die Schlangenkönigen, like Unity from Our God Weeps reviewed last month, features lush semi-orchestral sounds that are tranquil and sombre. Die Schlangenkönigen combines spoken passages and environmental sounds to stunning effect. 'Der In Blätten Lebt' segues from weeping strings and the ache of a cello into the sound of a windstorm. The nearest comparisons would be Simon Fisher Turner's glorious soundtracks to the Derek Jarman films in the way that music, spoken word and effects are interwoven. The major downside of this release is the spoken word is delivered in German. In no way does this diminish the melancholic air that hangs over this, but I'd like to think that an English version would be forthcoming of this absorbing release.‟
 

Compulsion

XXIII. Sophia | Herbstwerk

SOPHIA
Herbstwerk

©Cold Meat Industry. Sverige, 2001.

‟Imagine a choral work performed in a cathedral of ice with distant rumblings of war and you have 'Miserere', the opening track of Peter Pettersson's second album as Sophia. The second and title track, 'Herbstwerk', is brutally penetrated by martial/industrial hammers. This seems to reflect real anger and sets the scene for much of the rest of the album.

'March Of Strength' continues in the same robust mould - grim and claustrophobic, it conveys the grueling agony of war. It concludes with a quiet piano passage, a reflective 'after the battle' survey of the scene of carnage.

'Inner Turmoil' is a piece of rumbling ambience while 'Copper Sun' has a grand martial choir, synth brass fanfares and strident percussion. In penultimate position is 'My Salvation', a more mellow piece transcending the clamour of battle and coming as a contrast and relief.

I wish this grim, Nietzschean, martial music had existed when I was an adolescent - I'd have loved it! But now that my attitudes and tastes have mellowed with age, I am inclined to prefer Peter Pettersson's more melodic work as Arcana.‟

FluxEuropa

XXII. Collection D'Arnell-Andrea | Un Automne A Loroy

COLLECTION D'ARNELL-ANDREA

Un Automne A Loroy

©Lively Art. France, 1989.

‟What a mess... Such nice songs, such a nice voice but such a bad production. CDAA early albums (this one and the truly awful Au val de Roses) suffer from the excess of beats, the excess of sound. Only in 1992's Les Marroniers we could at last hear the singer's voice clearly. I guess they were trying to be a sort of French Cocteau Twins in the early 1990s, but they failed miserably. If only they had picked up these songs and made an acoustic album... this album sounds like someone has just learned how to deal with the equipment and was trying to put every possible sound in these songs. Poor songs, they were so nice when they reach the producer.. Look what that evil man did to them... Terrible. Although not as bad as the next album. The CD version includes 4 tracks from a difficult to find early EP, which is nice; although these songs are also overproduced.. Keep away from this mess if you don't want an headache.‟
 

Anciaes

XXI. The Shroud | Long Ago And Far Away

THE SHROUD

Long Ago And Far Away

©Omnidisk. US, 1996.

‟Lead by the pretty vocals of Lydia Fortner, The Shroud utilize traditional rock instrumentation with keyboards, and instead of representing one subdivision of gothic, they play with its different incarnations. The band apply a slightly ethereal approach while maintaining a harder edge, and Fortner's vocals are not as dreamy as the singing in the very popular ethereal camp, giving them more distinction. The quality of her voice is reminiscent of Victoria Lloyd of Claire Voyant or Monica Richards from Faith & The Muse.‟

Carpe Noctem

XX. 13th Chime | The Singles: 1981-1983

13th CHIME

The Singles: 1981-1983

©Sacred Bones. US, 2009.

‟We are proud to announce the release of the 13th Chime singles collection. Long sought after by collectors, the UK band only released a scant three singles in their time together before dissolving into obscurity. Their sound—a merging of deathrock’s dark driving aggression and post-punk’s sparse arrangements—reflected the realities of life in a small market town in the desolate political landscape of early 80s Britain.

In cooperation with the band members Sacred Bones has collected 13th Chime’s three singles plus rare never before heard demo recordings of “Tinker Man,” “Radio Man,” and “13th Victim.” Detailed liner notes by Clive O’Grady tell the entire story—from schoolmates in the Suffolk town of Haverhill to tours with The Enid, Theater of Hate, support slots with The Adicts and Dead Kennedys, and an inevitable breakup, making friends and fans out of John Peel and The Groundhogs’ Tony McPhee along the way.‟
 

Sacred Bones

XIX. Abnocto | Simon Magus

ABNOCTO

Simon Magus

©Waerloga. Sverige, 2007.

‟Abnocto es un proyecto dark ambient creado por Simon Heath y Simon Kölle, quienes luego de 5 años de haberlo grabado recién decidieron lanzarlo oficialmente. Esta es las agrupaciones que con un poco mas de variedad muy bien podría estar entre los actos más destacados de Cold Meat Industry, pero es Waerloga Records quien se encarga de producirlos y hacernoslo llegar.
Como la mayoria de proyectos de este género, la música es basicamente lineal, pero el detalle aquí radica en que sus siniestras melodias repetitivas se pegan fácilemente en el oyente, también adicionan esporádicos coros, a menudo  ritmos marciales, secciones majestuosas y hasta ritmos neofolk, y en la parte conceptual se reune altas dosis de ocultismo, gnosticismo y otros aspectos basados  en el lado siniestro de las viejas épocas cristianas.
El disco tiene un comienzo magistral junto "Spiritus Arma", lastima que todo el disco no mantenga ese nivel, en cambio en su lado más funesto y oscuro también encontrarás canciones como "Simon Magus", un track de cementerio o de esas noches donde el abandono es tu única compañera.
La producción ofrece un sonido limpio con un trasfondo cavernoso y desolador, ello devido a  que fue grabado a 60 metros bajo la estación central de Estocolmo en medio de una desolada cámara entre túneles, así que ya te imaginaras lo lugubre que puede resultar este trabajo. Una muy buena propuesta para los seguidores del Dark Ambient  más sublime y sombrío.‟ 

Saqrangel

 

XVIII. Autopsia | Colonia

AUTOPSIA

Colonia

©Staalplaat. Nederland, 2002.

 ‟This new album of Autopsia contains a kind of "best of" from Hyperium-period. It's a bit unusual to see a band that has been once signed on Hyperium, joining the more extreme and minimal style of Staalplaat. Anyway, it's an opportunity to get back this very particular and single dark ambient project alive! The global atmosphere and inspiration of this Czech project remind me to the style of numerous Cold Meat Industry bands. The orchestral influences have been directly inspired from the 19th century. It creates a kind of symphonic industrial work that sounds pretty elaborated and grandoise. You can feel considerable research in the writing proces, resulting in a particular ambient dimension. The tracks are covering the nineties decade with a previously unreleased cut entitled "The secret block for a secret pereson in Ireland, pt1". This is for sure a unique chance to dive back in the metaphysical universe of this great project.‟

Karl23

XVII. Svartsinn | Of Darkness And Re-Creation

SVARTSINN
Of Darkness And Re-Creation
©Cyclic Law. Canada, 2003.

‟First in a series of collaborations between Cyclic Law and Ewers Tonkunst, this is a re-issue of the long sold out second Svartsinn album from the year 2003. “Of Darkness And Re-Creation” is a “collection of stories based on heavy mind struggles, emotional complicity or elegies which either leads to emptiness or dark places for a re-creation of the self image. Darkness is all around us or inside each and every one of us, let¹s not fear it.. Prosper in darkness...” (from the original edition release notes). Maybe the most hopeless and desperate music ever done by Svartsinn’s mastermind’s Jan Roger Pettersen, it is definitely one of the classical works from this “new” generation of dark ambient artists that were gathered around Cyclic Law in the first decade of 2000.‟

Cyclic Law

XVI. Lycia | Cold

LYCIA

Cold

©Projekt. US, 1996.

‟Lycia is a cult darkwave act that has been around since 1988, providing several generations of fans with a sonic tapestry of somber reflection and hushed introspection. Consisting of Mike VanPortfleet (guitars, vocals, drum & synth programs), David Galas (bass, drum & synth programs, audio engineering) and Tara Vanflower (vocals), the trio have now released several albums with ‘Cold’ being their most fully realized and popular release. The cheery chaps at Silber Records are in the process of re-releasing the five Lycia studio albums, and ‘Cold’ is the third in the installment.

The inspiration to both the lyrics and overall sound of Cold was the band’s move from the desert landscape of Phoenix, Arizona, to the snow covered landscape of northern Ohio. The bleak, oppressive permafrost that greeted them seeped deep into their musical cerebral, leading to a sound that was more frigid, atmospheric, sparse and crystalline than on previous releases. The album commences with the 8minute epic, ‘Frozen’, a track with a droning yet captivatingly buoyant synth melody combined with razor sharp, thumping drums (straight out of the 80’s super-group pop rock manual). The band utilise these elements to engage the listener into a dark and entrancing lull which sounds like a hushed, pop-orientated My Dying Bride circa ‘Like Gods of the Sun’. VanPortfleet’s whispered and effect-heavy vocals add an emotionally fragile touch whilst the re-mastering work really shows its worth, thanks to the wide and open soundstage.

A similar formula of sharp percussion and atmospheric soundscapes continues forward into the follow-up track, ‘Bare’, although this time we are treated to the angelic vocals of Tara Vanflower. Effect-laden guitars and driven bass create a warm and inviting atmosphere, whilst the arrangement and combination of male/female vocals add the finishing touch to a rather epic and emotional piece. ‘Baltica’ continues Lycia’s vision of grandeur by creating a sweeping and ethereal soundscape to the interplay of giant oceanic currents. Swirls of guitar, synth and bass combine and synergise over a playful yet forceful landscape of percussion whilst Vanflower’s soothing angelic hums drape over the whole-thing to bring it to life. ‘Snowdrop’ is a slower-paced, otherworldly lullaby littered with swirling and disorientating guitars and synthwork which expand and blossom across your speakers. The result is a soundscape which comes across as a portal to a light-filled netherworld. On ‘December’, Lycia lull the listener into a false sense of security with a minute or so of calm and serene beauty before (unhurriedly) bursting-forward with deep and ominous melodies which are fused with pounding percussion and ghostly vocals, which them self sound like an instrumental layer.

The album contains vast, slowly drifting plains of sonic-debris which has had space-rockers and shoegazer’s expanding their minds, whilst the dark melodies and moody textures has made this a cult goth-rock album. The re-mastering work has added extra depth and dimension to the sound as the booming bass and crystal clear percussion demands the listener’s attention whilst the vocals are clear yet mixed in to the soundscape like another instrument. This release comes highly recommended to anyone who missed it first-time round. ‟

Silber Records 

XV. The Legendary Pink Dots | The Maria Dimension

 

THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS

The Maria Dimension

©PIAS. België, 1991.

“Somos los observadores del desastre, somos los bailarines sobre tu tumba. Somos los invasores invisibles de tu intimidad ... tus sueños. Somos los espectros en tu pantalla.” Disturbance.

“Tal vez habrá una visión de Mesías en las estrellas. Ahora todos se confiesan y piden un deseo. El sacerdote pasa alrededor del plato ... nuestra Señora vende pañuelos para secarnos las lágrimas, para todos los años de bendita violación en el nombre de nuestro Dulce señor.” Third Secret.

‟Liderados por el genial Edward Ka-Spel, Legendary Pink Dots, fundados en agosto de 1981 en Londres y migrados en 1984 a Holanda, donde actualmente residen, se han remarcado como uno de los más innovadores grupos surgidos en la década de los 80. Con mas de 40 álbumes a su haber y fanáticos dispersos por todo el mundo, LPD nadan entre la neo-psicodelia, el ambient, el industrial, el psych folk, el synth-pop o el goth rock, con un distintivo sello experimental/avant-garde; su sonido ha evolucionado permanentemente lo que dificulta ubicarlos en algún genero o estilo especifico. Tal sonido distintivo, combinado a las perturbadoras líricas y el característico estilo vocal de Ka-Spel ha hecho que los comparen con el Pink Floyd de Syd Barrett, y con grupos surgidos en los 70’s como Can, Faust, Magma o Neu!

El álbum a continuación, The Maria Dimension, lanzado en 1991, representó su mayor éxito en ventas. Los integrantes del grupo, siempre cambiante, para este trabajo fueron Phil Knight, Bob Pistoor, Niels Van Hoorn y el omnipresente Edward Ka-Spel.‟

Schöne Maschine

XIV. Bauhaus | In The Flat Field

BAUHAUS
In The Flat Field
©4AD. UK, 1980.

‟With Post-Punk taking a sudden turn for the delicate and baroque one starts wondering where the atonal freaky stuff has all gone? Where oh where can a boy turn when he wants to hear scratchy wailing nightmare music? Oh Ian McCulloch! Robert Smith! Siouxie Sioux! You're beautiful melodic textures are too much! Fear not though, because this is where Peter Murphy and his band of goths marches in to return representation to dark noisy post-punk, and with quite a band. In fact Bauhaus kind of takes that form of music to an almost cartoony extreme. Nor are they altogether experimental or anything. Actually...whole dramatic opening paragraph aside, I have to say this really does have more in common with the more accessible theatrical post-punk of 80'. It isn't so deep digging as the 79'ers. But man oh man does it use a wholly different pallet than say Echo. Also, what is with rockers named Peter?? Why are they so....dramatic? Peter Murphy is akin to Peter Gabriel (in his Genesis days) in just how much of a damn show he makes his goth music, this ain't no Siouxie mood thing, Murphy is always in some almost Vincent Price type performance style with what he does. But unlike Gabriel he doesn't really dominate the band, the guitar playing is the central component, courtesy of Daniel Ash. He really makes a work of art with those scratch guitars, whereas guys like Keith Levene took more supportive roles with their guitars, standing aside from the rest of the music and lashing out occasionally, Ash does nothing of the sort. He instead billows up storms and winds of the stuff, unavoidably front and center in the songs. There's also cool things like the distorted opera samples that drift through Stigmata Martyr. They even get kind of Gang of Four on us with dance-punk tracks like Dive. For such clear and obvious elements though they play toward those little things as the groups like the Bunnymen do. It's a strange dynamic actually, such bombastic music made for textures and these small things. The mood's not so subtle either though haha, it's a flamboyant gothic theater. Oh god nevermind, this is a confusing review for a simple album! It's a crazy goth album, simple enough. And a very good one, with wild and fun songs. It's not scary even (or very serious either next to stuff like Joy Division), but you can get a real thrill from the ....almost horror movie like roller coaster value of it.‟

Zephos