No, even if I only solely concentrate on this task and let my fingers run like hell now, I certainly won't be able to write a review for all remaining 2023 releases in my collection before the year closes.
But cassettes at least? Yes, after this little bunch I'm good. Since I benefitted from promo access to all three of these (mini) albums, I even could have written about all of them a long while ago. And in the case of the first one - I actually did!
NEKUS - Sepulchral Divination (2023)
Yes, I've already covered this Sentient Ruin release in a German Death Metal double review back in April, but as so often with this stuff from overseas I rather waited until this tape was finally available at a European seller until I purchased it.
With a very dark cover (don't trust my picture above!) and low readability it surely isn't the most spectacular packaging, but hey, I wanted this for the music! And on that side the band from Marburg provides us with some quality ghoulish cavernous Blackened Doom Death. The slower they get the more intrigued I am, which is good for the dramatic curve of the whole album, because especially the B side sees Nekus stepping onto the breaks.
With a very dark cover (don't trust my picture above!) and low readability it surely isn't the most spectacular packaging, but hey, I wanted this for the music! And on that side the band from Marburg provides us with some quality ghoulish cavernous Blackened Doom Death. The slower they get the more intrigued I am, which is good for the dramatic curve of the whole album, because especially the B side sees Nekus stepping onto the breaks.
夢遊病者 - Skopofoexoskelett (2023)
And again: Yes, I have also written about this one before, and that has actually been very recently, because I named the EP as my seventh favorite non-album release of 2023. So let me just lazily parrot myself by saying that Sleepwalker once again made it almost impossible to pin them down in terms of genres or even music-historical time frame or continents associated with their inspiration. With a plethora of Classical, Jazz and ethnic instrument guest musicians and singers the enigmatic Far Beyond Post Black Metal trio takes us on an unfathomable journey between completely bonkers chaos which seemingly unites Blut Aus Nord and Mr. Bungle, and relatively relaxed Western and Doomjazz passages, while always maintaining a spellbinding atmosphere.
Even though the tape version looks great, it cannot make up for the only flaw of this release: It seriously just runs way too short.
Even though the tape version looks great, it cannot make up for the only flaw of this release: It seriously just runs way too short.
ÅRABROT - Of Darkness And Light (2023)
With their previous album "Norwegian Gothic" scoring high in my TOP 21 albums 2021 it's admittedly hard to explain while the new work from Kjetil Nernes' and Karin Park's Church of Imagination didn't make it into the list this time. The main reason is simply that other stuff was just a little more important to me and that "Of Darkness And Light" somehow isn't as grandiose and multifarious as is predecessor.
On the other hand this new collection of Post Punk New Wave Noise Rock'n'Roll tunes really has no weak link; be it "Hangman's House", "Horrors of the Past", "We Want Blood", "Skeletons Trip the Light Fantastic" or "Love Under Will"... all memorable hits with strong hooks. As long as you like the vocals, which I know are a deal breaker for many listeners - luckily not at all for me -, this is a fantastic album even without that special Norwegian Gothic flavour. You know what? I probably f***ed up on that one. Guess I was just a little sulky, because the Årabrot / Jaye Jayle / Karin Park tour didn't come to Hamburg.
The cassette looks great. I mainly chose it over the LP version, because I think that the upright format suits the cover better - and it's also an artwork which doesn't need to be huge to work.
On the other hand this new collection of Post Punk New Wave Noise Rock'n'Roll tunes really has no weak link; be it "Hangman's House", "Horrors of the Past", "We Want Blood", "Skeletons Trip the Light Fantastic" or "Love Under Will"... all memorable hits with strong hooks. As long as you like the vocals, which I know are a deal breaker for many listeners - luckily not at all for me -, this is a fantastic album even without that special Norwegian Gothic flavour. You know what? I probably f***ed up on that one. Guess I was just a little sulky, because the Årabrot / Jaye Jayle / Karin Park tour didn't come to Hamburg.
The cassette looks great. I mainly chose it over the LP version, because I think that the upright format suits the cover better - and it's also an artwork which doesn't need to be huge to work.
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