PAMIRT - Mausoleum

Schon irgendwie seltsam, Post von Tartarus Records zu bekommen, und es steckt keine Kassette im Umschlag. Nein, diesmal ist es tatsächlich eine Schallplatte. Anderseits ist es diesmal auch kein superextrem lärmender Doom/Sludge/Noise oder sonstwie übel brutaler Metal, der mich erwartet, warum also nicht auch gleich ein anderes Format? Das Coverfoto ist es auf jeden Fall wert.

PAMIRT - Mausoleum (iridescent marbled color vinyl LP) (2021)

Gestartet als ein von Stimme und Klavier bestimmtes Soloprojekt von Kristiāna Kārkliņa, Sängerin der lättischen Post Black Metal-Band Eschatos, hat Pamirt sich dann doch zu einem vollen Trio aus drei der sechs Mitgliedern jener Band entwickelt.
Der Fokus liegt allerdings immer noch auf ganz klar auf Kārkliņa, um die herum die mal dezent atmosphärische wabernd bis dröhnende, mal postrockend aufbrausende Begleitung ein an sich immer eher minimalistisch arrangiertes Fundament bildet.

Ihre zentralen Einflüsse trägt die Band dabei derart offen zur Schau, dass sich ein Review diesbezüglich schon beinahe erübrigt. Die "For fans of"-Aufzählung des Promotextes bringt es schon komplett auf den Punkt, wobei ich mit Chelsea Wolfe eigentlich noch am wenigsten übereinstimme. Durch die Vielfältigkeit ihrer Diskographie, passt sie als Referenz bei allem was weiblich und künstlerisch anspruchsvoller zeitgenössischer Gothic ist, natürlich immer irgendwie. Hier sind es vor allem Passagen wie der Refrain des Openers "That Day", die an ihrte "Hiss Spun"-Phase denken lassen.

Viel mehr noch sind aber zu ziemlich identischen Anteilen Lingua Ignota, Anna von Hausswolff und Jarboe präsent, und dies gilt sowohl für die musikalischen Arrangements als auch für die Theatralik und Phrasierung der Stimme, die vom Opernhaften übers Überakzentuierte und bedrohlich Animalische zahlreiche Stilmittel und Manierismen aller Inspirationen teils sehr offensichtlich zitiert und mit eigenem osteuropäisch eingefärbten Vocal-Jazz-Duktus zum individuellen Gesamtbild verschmilzt.

Demnach ist dieses kurze (45 rpm) Album eines jener Werke, die zwar nicht mit der allergrößten Originalität protzen, allerdings so dermaßen gut gemacht sind - allein all diese Künstlerinnen so gekonnt auf Augenhöhe emulieren zu können! -, dass man daraus niemals einen Vorwurf stricken könnte.
Ich bin zwar gespannt darauf, was für Möglichkeiten Pamirt offen stehen, wenn sie sich stilistisch noch mehr emanzipieren, doch "Mausoleum" ist jetzt, ganz so wie es ist, bereits ein grandioses Werk.

Das einzige, was hier ein bisschen blass bleibt, ist zumindest bei meinem Exemplar der angeblich farbenfroh schillernde Tonträger, sind die Spuren von rot und blau auf dem weißen Vinyl doch eher zu erahnen als tatsächlich zu sehen.
Aber zum Glück mag ich weiße Schallplatten ja auch gerne. Und klanglich gibt es vor allem auch nichts auszusetzen.

                 

HEDVIG MOLLESTAD TRIO - Ding Dong. You're Dead.

Wo wir schon wieder mit Motorpsycho beim wunderwirksamen norwegischen Wasser sind: Im Februar 1982 ist ein kleines Mädchen namens Hedvig in eben jenes hinein gefallen. Und dann hat sie wahrscheinlich auch noch irgendwann geübt!

Auf jeden Fall ist sie heute einer der ersten Namen, die einem in den Sinn kommen sollten, wenn die Frage nach den größten Jazzrockgitarristen unserer Zeit gestellt wird.
Letztes Jahr hat sie sich zudem mit ihrem unglaublichen Soloalbum "Ekhidna" als herausragende Komponistin und Arrangeurin auch für größere Bandkonstellationen bewiesen.

HEDVIG MOLLESTAD TRIO - Ding Dong. You're Dead. (clear vinyl LP) (2021)

Nun kehrt sie etwas weniger maximalistisch mit ihrem Stammtrio aus ihr, Kontra- und E-Bassistin Ellen Brekken und Trommelboy Ivar Loe Bjørnstad zurück.

Auch wenn die Gruppe wie immer versucht, die Ausnahmequalität des musikalischen Inhalts unter einem trashig bekloppten Cover zu verbergen, macht der explosive Fusion-Opener "Leo Flash' Return To The Underworld" schon nach wenigen Momenten klar, dass hier trotz des kleineren Instrumentenaufgebots nichts vermisst werden wird.

Roadburn Festival 2017

Denn was auf "Ekhidna" an zusätzlichen Schichten geboten wurde, das macht die Gruppe durch maximale Bandchemie und daraus resultierendem perfekt aufeinander abgestimmten Zusammenspiel mehr als wett.

Von sanften Tönen im unheimlich durchs Dunkel tapsenden Titelsong oder dem ambienten "Four Candles" bis zum Stonerrockgroove von "Gimbal" oder dem funky Fusionjazz von "Magic Moshroom" - was dieses von Genregrenzen ungehinderte Trio anpackt, das versetzt einen im Geiste unmittelbar in die erste Reihe eines elektrisierenden Livekonzerts. Hach!

Wer Musik ohne Gesang nicht versteht, der hat selbstverständlich wie immer verloren. Wer irgendwo zwischen Jazz, Prog, Funk, Metal oder einfach nur fucking Rock! zu Hause ist und dazu noch auf unprätentiös verpackte und immer dem Song dienende Instrumentalmeisterschaft steht, der läuft akut Gefahr, sich hier ding dong tödlich anzustecken.

MOTORPSYCHO - Kingdom Of Oblivion

2017: "The Tower"

2019: "The Crucible"

2020: "The All Is One"

Wer meint, dass sich Motorpsycho nach diesem Lauf von Meisterwerken, mit denen geringere Bands ihre Karriere krönen und sich vorzeitig aufs Altenteil zurückziehen würden, irgendeine Form von Müdigkeit antäuschen würden, der hat noch nicht mitbekommen, dass das Wasser in Trondheim magische Ingredienzien hat, die zu einem Übermaß an musikalischer Kreativität und Arbeitswut führen.

Dabei ist die neueste Doppel-LP "Kingdom Of Oblivion" noch nicht einmal Resultat des Vorsatzes, ein weiteres Album aufzunehmen, sondern (unangemessen abwertend ausgedrückt) nur die Resterampe von in den vergangenen Jahren parallel zur "Gullvåg-Trilogie" entstandenen Songs, für die sich im Zusammenhang jener Longplayer noch kein Platz finden ließ.

MOTORPSYCHO - Kingdom Of Oblivion (clear vinyl 2LP) (2021)

Wer nun jedoch glaubt, es hier mit einer Compilation halbgarer B-Ware zu tun zu haben, hat sich natürlich gewaltig geschnitten. Die Norweger hangeln sich nicht nur wie gewohnt gewaltige dynamische Bögen spannend von einem Rockmeisterstück zum nächsten, sondern lassen ganze am Ende auch wie aus einem einzigen Guss klingen.

Das ganz große Avantgardekunst- und Prog-Gefrickelfass machen Motorpsycho diesmal nicht auf. Wo auf den letzten Alben Magma und King Crimson ihr Haupt in die Höhe reckten, scheinen diesmal eher Pink Floyd und Deep Purple Pate gestanden zu haben. "Kingdom Of Oblivion" klingt über weite Strecken wie Motorpsychos Version eines großen 70er-Jahre-(Hard)Rock-Klassiker-Doppelalbums.

Große Hooks, dicke Riffs, Rockstarsoli, natürlich immer mit dem typischen Markenzeichen, dass es vor allem Bent Sæthers monströses, doch stets songdienliches Bassspiel ist, welches die Musik im unaufhaltsamen Groove rollend vorantreibt.

Die offizielle Besetzung der Band ist auf diesem Album wieder einmal ein Quartett inklusive Gitarrist Reine Fiske, es tauchen zwischen den mächtigen Rockkrachern allerdings auch eine ganze Reihe balladesker und instrumentaler Stücke auf, die das Kernduo Sæther / Ryan (beinahe) im Alleingang aufgenommen hat. Was tatsächlich immerhin elf der zwölf Tracks als roten Faden gemeinsam haben, ist, dass mal subtil, mal auffällig das von der Band heißgeliebte Mellotron mit von der Partie ist. It really ties the album together. 

Die abgefahrensten Ausreißer aus dem (wieder einmal unangebracht despektierlich formuliert) soeben beschriebenen Allerlei sind das als Soundtrack zu einem Kurzfilm geschriebene "The Crimson Eye", welches allerdings gar nicht so heißt, sondern "The Watcher", weil der Text jenes Hawkwind/Motörhead-Stücks darüber zitiert wird; außerdem er sich erstaunlich mächtig auftürmende, von Sæther fast alleine eingespielte "Dreamkiller" und der zum Ende hin dann doch noch megaproggige, allerdings noch sehr viel mehr spacige Abenteuertrip "The Transmutation Of Cosmoctopus Lurker".

Das humoristischste Detail ist wohl das im ersten Durchgang durchaus überhörbare "Saxomophone" (ja, genauso geschrieben wie in der berühmten Simpsons-Folge), also das von Hans Magnus Ryan bewusst dilettantisch gespielte Saxophon in "The Hunt". Ganz meine Wellenlänge!

"Kingdom Of Oblivion" ist ein absolut komplettes Album: Musik, Texte, Artwork, Gestaltung des Gatefolds, Qualität des transparenten Tonträgers - nichts bewegt sich hier auch nur einen Millimeter unter Spitzenklasse.

Es könnte fast schon langweilig werden. Wenn es nur nicht so irre gut wäre.

Ich finde es übrigens auch mal wieder ganz entspannend, es mit einer normalen Hülle zu tun zu haben, bei der ich die LP ganz einfach aus der Seite entnehmen kann, ohne mir vorher eine Faltstrategie zurechtlegen zu müssen.

Man sieht sich dann wie immer weit oben in der Album-des-Jahres-Liste! 

BANDCAMP DAY Mai 2021 mit BRUTUS, SNEEZING PUS, VOMI NOIR und YAZZ AHMED

Dieses Hobby nimmt manchmal schon bekloppte Formen an. Ich komme zwar im Moment gar nicht hinterher, mir alles, was ich mir irgendwann an Ohrenfutter bestellt habe, nach Feierabend reinzupfeifen, und trotzdem musste ich an diesem ersten Freitag des Monats schon wieder pervers zu vieles einfach unbedingt haben. Dabei hätte es realistisch vernünftig pragmatisch langweilig betrachtet wahrscheinlich schon genügt, mich auf meine morgentliche Album- und abendliche Single-Vorbestellung außerhalb von Bandcamp zu beschränken.

Gerüchte sagen, dies sei der letzte Der-komplette-Gewinn-geht-an-die-Künstler-Tag gewesen, andere Quellen sagen, es geht doch noch das ganze Jahr so weiter. Naja, für mich zählt erstmal das Jetzt.
Und diesem habe ich über die Plattform diesmal zwei niederländische Kassetten geordert, die genau wie die auf einem peruanischen Label veröffentlichten, aus Polen gelieferten LPs zweier Bands aus Mexiko zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt von mir besprochen werden.

Aber nee, das war natürlich noch nicht alles:

BRUTUS - Burst ("Glow In The Dark" vinyl LP) (2017/2021)

Das belgische Trio Brutus um Drummerin/Sängerin Stefanie Manaerts steht schon eine ganze Weile auf meiner Merk-/Wunschliste, vor allem live, was ja nach wie vor... ihrwisstschon, aber auch auf Tonträger. Ist es Hardcore? Indie? Post Rock? Shoegaze auf Adrenalin? Wen kümmert es? Auf jeden Fall drückt Manaerts der Gruppe sowohl mit ihrem ungezügelt treibenden Schlagzeugspiel ihren Stempel auf, als auch mit ihren gleichzeitig punkig direkten wie beflügelt über allem schwebenden Gesang. Dass ich mich manchmal an die cleanen Vocals von Oathbreaker erinnert fühle, mag vielleicht am verwandten Akzent liegen - oder ich bilde es mir einfach ein.

Sicherer belegbar sind da wohl die stilistischen Parallelen der Band mit Esben And The Witch, von denen sie sich jedoch genügend unterscheiden, um eine eigene unverwechselbare Identität zu behaupten. Eigen, aber eingängig. 

Vielleicht ist mir das aber auch alles Banane und ich möchte einfach nur wissen, ob diese aktuelle Vinylneuauflage des Debütalbums tatsächlich im Dunkeln leuchtet. Beweisbilder werden nach Eintreffen der Scheibe nachgereicht!

[EDIT: Hmmm... ok. Das Ding sieht super aus und glimmt tatsächlich, wenn es ringsherum komplett dunkel ist. Das ist nur schwer zu fotografieren, wenn man keine Lust hat, für eine Langzeitbelichtung ein Stativ am Plattenspieler aufzubauen, haha. Deswegen jetzt doch nur die normalen Fotos im Hellen.]

YAZZ AHMED - Solo 7"s Vol. 1 (violet vinyl 7") (2021)

Weiter geht es mit einer alten Bekannten dieser Rubrik, der kontemporären britisch-bahrainischen Jazz-Großmeisterin Yazz Ahmed - deren Schallplattenveröffentlichungen mir neu - und dann noch mit Inselporto obendrauf - eigentlich immer ein bisschen zu teuer sind, weshalb ich mich tendenziell eher mit Download oder CD begnüge. Dies trifft auch für diese 7" zu, für deren elf Minuten Musik ich - insbesondere am Ende eines eh schon verschwenderischen Tages - verhältnismäßig schon etwas zu tief in die Tasche gegriffen habe.

Mit dem scheiß Titel hat sie mich aber rumgekriegt. Wenn das Format schon im Namen steht, dann will man irgendwie doch, dass auch stimmig ist. Das Ding "Solo Downloads" zu nennen, wäre für mich also ganz klar sparsamer ausgegangen. Dabei werde ich mit Sicherheit noch einige Monate nur mit dem Download/Stream  auskommen müssen, bis die Single tatsächlich gepresst werden kann.

Aber hey! Auch ohne etwas zum Anfassen ist die Musik ist auch richtig gut. Es handelt sich hier Soloaufnahmen an Trompete und Flügelhorn, allerdings unterstützt durch Elektronik bzw. über den Hintergrund eines "Polyhymnia" Remixes gespielt. Was mich darauf bringt, dass "Polyhymnia Remixed" ja auch schon seit Ewigkeiten in meiner Merkliste schlummert...

Aber was soll's, diese beiden Stücke, eines ein alternativer Teaser für Ahmeds nächstes Album, das andere ein neuer Take von "One Girl Among Many" glänzen wie gewohnt durch virtuoses ohrenstreichelndes und doch aufregend zwischen Orient, und nahem wie fernem Okzident gleitendem Spiel. Miles would smile. 

SNEEZING PUS / VOMI NOIR - Putrid Necrotomy / Toutes les Couleurs de la Cacophonie Humorale (download) (2019)

Und zu guter widerlicher Letzt gibt es noch einen garstig eitrigen Download. Allerdings auch nur, weil mir der gute tote Neanderhaler Rene Aquarius die auf individueller Zufallsfarbe gepresste 7" neulich schon als Goodie zur "Rat Licker" beilegte. Ich habe allerdings gerne von allen Tonträgern eine digitale Version und in diesem Fall noch keine Kopie erstellt. Also nichts wie her mit dem kranken Scheiß!

Beide Bands dieser extrakurzen Split-EP, sowohl Sneezing Pus, in denen Arbeitstier Aquarius die Drums blastet, als auch die Franzosen Vomi Noir spielen dreckigen Goregrind der ganz alten Carcass-Schule, und alles weitere, was ich über sie sagen könnte, bräuchte dreimal so lange niederzuschreiben wie die insgesamt sieben zwischen ein und zwei Minuten ähem... langen Tracks durch das Gedärm wüten. Spaßmusik, ganz klar. Und als superbes Gesamtpaket verpackt! Die 7" ist genauso großartig wie sick, oldschoolig und doch originell gestaltet. Kostet tut das Ding nur sechs Euro. Also nichts wie reingesprungen in den eklig splatternden Körpersubstanzenauswurfmix!

cassette craze chronicles IV (feat. ASSUMPTION, CHELSEA WOLFE, DSKNT, KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD and 夢遊病者)

Whoah, already? Yes? Here's yet another installment of my little segment hitting the play button on recent tape purchases old and new.

CHELSEA WOLFE - The Grime And The Glow (2010)

CHELSEA WOLFE - Unknown Rooms (A Collection Of Acoustic Songs) (2012)

The UK webstore of Sargent House is closing down and thus giving high discounts, so it was a no-brainer for me to snatch these last two Wolfe works which were still missing in my collection. Nothing spectacular regarding the package here, but then the price was also accordingly sparse, right?

The music is of course wonderful. Much closer to PJ Harvey than today, minimalistic, raw and sometimes challengingly shrill on the debut, pure and beautiful on the acoustic album. She may have only been ascending the stairs back then, but you can't deny that the artist on these two tapes is on the unstoppable way of becoming our all rightful contemporary gothic queen.

Two awesome albums which haven't lost any of their original impact.

The next four tapes were all ordered on last Bandcamp Friday (where the artists/labels get the full share of the profit without fees). And three of them all come from the always interesting black/death/avant-garde label Sentient Ruin Laboratories:
 

ASSUMPTION - The Three Appearances (2014/2020)

Originally released on CD in 2014, Sentient Ruin saved this EP from obscurity with a fresh run of vinyl and cassettes. And boy they did good, because the not three, but four tracks on "The Three Appearances" are a master class in thick, sludgy, yet still atmospheric doom death metal.

I can only approve the label's own promotional text when it places the sound of these Italians between Asphyx, Bolt Thrower, Skepticism and Winter. Especially the thirteen minute title track with its mournful contemplating organ, Morbid Angel lead guitar madness, psychedelic swirls and many other elements skillfully thrown in, is an enormously exciting crawl through the richness of possibilities within the subgenre.

DSKNT - Vacuum γ​-​Noise Transition (2021)

Could it be that the title is some kind of ironic nod to the fact that anyone who hates this music could easily describe it as just being the sound of several vacuum cleaners in different pitches playing at once?
The good thing is that this description also works just fine in case you totally dig the nihilistic apocalypse which the Swiss black metal commando DSKNT unleashes on this completely mind-and-body-annihilating monstrosity of an album.
If you love the recent dissonant death metal masterpiece "Imperative Imperceptible Impulse" by Ad Nauseam even close to how I love it, but your preference is black metal (squished together with industrial and pure noise) and/or you're just in a mood for more cosmic chaos and utter relentless aggression, this might just be your cowbell.
"Vacuum γ​-​Noise Transition" blasts with a level of unforgiving weird violence that is almost incomprehensible for human perception. If you deem this your prefered soundtrack for romantic hours, you're in urgent need of therapy. Just sayin'. It's bloody awesome though.

夢遊病者 - Noč Na Krayu Sveta (2021)

One may have noticed by now that I'm kind of in an extreme/avant-garde black/death spree at the moment. And yes, even after Ad Nauseam and DSKNT, there are still limits to be pushed.

Personally I wouldn't even per se categorize this new two-tracks/half-hour EP by the - let me quote - "Russian/Japanese/American experimental ritualistic black metal entitiy 夢遊病者" as metal.
The black metal riffs and voices and whatnot are there, but then there is so much more going on in this creative chaotic thunderstorm, which originates in completely different realms, most prominently free jazz, Middle-Eastern folklore, drone, industrial... yeah, it's a lot. And it's always a lot of stuff at the same time, performed by a lot of instruments including Moog synthesizer, fretless bass, quray and bouzouki by the three core band members, but also strings, winds, brass, oud, electronics, clerical choir vocals and whatever a kubyz is by several guest musicians.

This is Alice Coltrane and Toby Driver having a raging black metal baby. This is Mansur torturing Mono in hell. This is ambitious and beautiful, a piercing bliss so bright, it burns the eyes out of your skull.

Congratulations to Sentient Ruin for releasing this gem, which would also have aesthetically fit into the roster of labels like I, Voidhanger, WV Sorcerer or even Karlrecords. And while I'm already at it, thank you also for putting some real love into the artwork and layout of your tapes. Even though - common problem - the typography is really tiny, especially this package is a true beauty. Just as it should be to measure up to the music.

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - Teenage Gizzard (Manic Juice Records version) (2021)

Nope, I'm not even trying to find a smooth transition from Sleepwalker (yes, that's the english name for 夢遊病者) to the hyper-prolific Australians King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. When Stu MacKenzie's insane psych posse announced a whole bunch of "official bootlegs" a couple of months ago, I definitely knew that now was the final point to admit that I'll never even try to catch up with their discography.

Basically published by anyone who wants to publish them, most  of these albums are live recordings from (relatively, you know, you know...) recent shows, but also demos and other leftovers.

And even though some of the many additions seem to be absolutely wonderful works of love and art, I don't think that I realistically need half a dozen of King Gizz live album, so I quickly decided that the one album I wanted from that bunch was the best cassette version of "Teenage Gizzard", which pretty self-explanatory consists of the earliest - teenage - demos of the band, which I could find.
Fast forward to April 2nd I sought Bandcamp thoroughly and found this beauty with just the right artwork from the Canadian mini label Manic Juice Records, which is limited to thirty hand-numbered copies.

Musically infant Gizzard can't really be called psychedelic yet, but their at times almost punky, enthusiastic garage surf rock for sure is infectious and fun.

"Life Is Cool."

AD NAUSEAM - Imperative Imperceptible Impulse

"How can you look into the emptiness

If your own experience exists out of it?

How can you listen to the voice of the self

If the listener hears only his own echoes?"

"When I look at the cosmic mirror

The universe sees itself through me."

(Ad Nauseam on "Imperative Imperceptible Impulse")

Are you ready to be brutally dazzled and confused?

Are you ready to stare into the abyss and embrace it when it stares back?
 
Are you ready for some death fucking metal to end all death fucking metal?

"This is the kind of metal that is worth listening to.

Other metal is just tame in comparison."

(some dude in a YouTube comment)

While I do think that the statement is a slight exaggeration, since there are tons of worthwhile metal out there, I certainly understand where it comes from.
Because frankly, at least while I'm spinning this double album I find my self very close to this sentiment. 

AD NAUSEAM - Imperative Imperceptible Impulse (smoke clear vinyl 2LP) (2021)

I always found "Avantgarde Music" and that of all names combined with a NSK rip-off logo, to be a quite, let's say bold choice as the brand of a metal label. The new album of Italian dissonant metal extremists Ad Nauseam couldn't be represented more fittingly though, since every single minute of the six longtracks on "Imperative Imperceptible Impulse" screams avant-garde through and through.

Yet the huge difference to most other bands earning said tag is that Ad Nauseam don't need to bring in any unusal instruments or crossovers with unsuspected genres to achieve the effect. They even go so far as to declaring "no synths" like Queen did on their 1970's works. (Along with an explanation that this album needs to be played louder than most other because of its dynamics.)

I already said it in the introduction and I'll double down on it: This album is also without any doubt death metal through and through. It's only towards the end that we get some breathier passages with a kayo dotish doom and darkjazz feeling, but far over ninety percent of this is pure death metal onslaught on the highest technical, compositional and brain-bashing level.

So how do these two poles merge together so well?

A common sign of successful (not only) avant-garde art is that it speaks to the gut and soul, even though it might be based on a very intellectual and "set up" concept.
In the case of Ad Nauseam it's obvious that the guys have a profound understanding or at least affinity to the avant-garde varieties of jazz and classical music, but apply their knowledge in a manner that may challenge and broaden the boundaries of death metal, but stay true to the sound and feel of the genre nonetheless. This is just much more traumatizingly intense and horrifying than most other death metal.

The key is the key.
If there even is any.

Just like an avant-garde composer setting up a weird array of custom instruments or Miles Davis contemplating over the then more theoretical idea of modal jazz before recording "Kind Of Blue", Ad Nauseam probably started their whole process with some serious conceptual nerd-work and developed their very own tuning systems, which seems far more "out there" and dissonant to European ears than Arabian microtonal music, which at least has a somehow familiar cultural backbone and should be part of any well-assorted music collection in at least some capacity.

Like always when metal guitars explore the realm of dissonance and atonality, you can of course cite forefathers like Voivod, their ancestors like King Crimson or in this case closer relatives like Ulcerate.
And while the tone of bands like the hyper-bleak surrealists Portal or New York's much more openly jazz-influenced creators of the metal album of the year 2020, Imperial Triumphant may sound similar in many instances, the consequence in which really every single note and sound emerging from this nightmarish cacophony seems to come from a parallel universe of aural perception, is hardly to be matched.

Despite love love loving this sick sick sick monster like I presumably won't love many other metal records of the foreseeable future, I am also kind of relieved that this kind of music will always be a marginal sub-genre affair without any chance of reaching the popularity of Genesis or Pink Floyd. Because how in all hells should any future Volkswagen-sponsored Ad Nauseam tribute band in the 2060s ever be able to decrypt and reproduce this? Come on!

Last but not least "Imperative Imperceptible Impulse" is rounded up by a dark elemental artwork, which totally matches the vibe of the music as well as the beautiful transparent smoke vinyl of the album's second pressing.

Consider all this and you have a complete masterpiece on every imaginable level.

If you dig any kind of carefully askewed extreme metal like Imperial Triumphant, Ulcerate, but also Sumac, Virus, Orannssi Pazuzu, avant-garde black metal in general; or if you just want to know how far the Morbid Angel / Gorguts tradition of death metal can be pushed - you ought to give this a listen!

cassette craze chronicles III (feat. CRYPTOSIS, THE AMENTA and VEKTOR)

 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh... *highthrashmetalscream*

It's time for some cassette craze again. This time it's a smaller and a little more homogenic bunch, as all these three new releases dwell within in the realm of technical over-the-top metal.

Let's start with a sci-fi thrash metal split EP, which marks the return of prime Voivod worshippers Vektor five yeary after their masterpiece "Terminal Redux".

VEKTOR / CRYPTOSIS - Transmissions Of Chaos (Split) (2021)

Even though guitarist/squaller David DiSanto has started over with three new band members, the Canadian quartet's technical thrash metal with tons of lead guitar action remains instantly recognizable.
The only thing which has changed quite a bit is the average pitch of DiSanto's screaming, which is no longer as excessively high as we are (or have never gotten) used to. While this takes a bit off their originality during the verses, it's not a change I really mind, as his voice is still very poisonous and aggressive.

The longer track "Dead By Dawn" begins with an even bigger change of pace, albeit one which isn't totally new for fans of "Terminal Redux". During its slower passages it features pink floydish influences and even clean singing. Not with the most spectacular voice of course. But it's ok, it's cool. It remains to be seen in which capacity these ten new minutes of Vektor foreshadow their next release.

The neon green cassette looks cool, but if you have enough space to fill two booklet pages with a hardly perceptible band picture, maybe you could also include the track titles somewhere?
Sadly apart from its collector's value this whole release is a little redundant anyway, since Vektor have also released their half of it as a single.

And what about the other half? Well, I haven't even mentioned it yet, because the two Cryptosis tracks are also featured on their debut album, which I conveniently ordered together with it...

CRYPTOSIS - Bionic Swarm (2021)

It's quite fitting that this Dutch trio was introduced on a split release with Vektor, because on paper they are doing almost exactly the same thing: high speed thrash metal with off-the-charts instrumental chops, equally based on Slayer, Atheist and Voivod with dystopian science-fiction themes. But luckily you can distinguish them. And not only by the vocals.

(For all who miss the high frequencies vocals in new Vektor - Laurens Houvast has you at least partially covered with the occasional super-high Araya screech here and there.) 

On the instrumental side this shit is an absolutely frantic ride, which never really takes a break to let you breathe. Cryptosis include a lot of synthesizer sounds, which often makes them sound like a thrash version of Nocturnus. There's also a lot of stuff which tonally brings up the "Odium" phase of Morgoth.

Every detail on "Bionic Swarm" has been meticulously refined, these guys are definitely perfectionists. And luckily the precision and clarity in everything does not take away from the impact of the album, but only enhances it.

It doesn't happen too often that I hear a thrash metal tune and immediately think whoa, I got to have this, but this one absolutrely triggered that reflex. Luckily. Because this is a killer that will surely turn some heads and relocate some necks.

THE AMENTA - Revelator (2021)

Last but not least let's get a little more extreme with the Australian group The Amenta, who definitely share the more is more approach with Cryptosis and Vektor, but indulge in a wider and probably more modern spectrum of extreme music, in which thrash metal is only one flash among many others, like death metal, post metal/hardcore/everything, all delivered with a heavy dose of dillinger escapish panic (including a similar variety of vocal styles) and devin townsendish production overkill.

Even though the print on the cassette booklet may be a little too small for eyes older than 16 years, it's very well worth checking out the lyrics of tracks like "Parasight Lost", "Twined Towers" or "Wonderlost" - no wait, that last one is an instrumental -, because just like the titles suggest, The Amenta are permanently diving deep through wordplay hell in the best possible way.

While I must admit that I cannot stomach this particular flavour of overabundance of sonic information and aggression at any given time - there is no way around acknowledging that this album sucks the pus out of your pimples. Fuck yeah.

ROADBURN REDUX - review

Roadburn Festival as we know and love it can't happen right now, obviously.

So this year it's Roadburn Redux - a free to watch mix of exclusive performances (mostly pre-recorded live shows from all over the world) and actual live streams from the 013 venue in Tilburg.

Add to that video premieres, interviews, documentaries... and you're quickly at the point where you decide to keep it real and - just like at Regularburn - don't even try to see everything.

The good thing is that you don't have to watch everything exactly when it happens. Until at some point on Tuesday night everything can be revisited. Good for me, since on Thursday night, when Roadburn Redux began, I was working on "druturum VIII-I" of "Druturum VIII" (further title to be revealed later) with my own band DruturuM. A great piece of psychedelectronic dronekraut low-fi weirdness is forming there, if I may say so myself...

And on Friday the party already started when I still had several hours of work to do. So was a lot to catch up to right from the start for me.

After Tuesday it's up to the artists and labels if, when and where all this greatness might reappear. Much of this would be worth a physical release.

I have written a couple of short reviews about streams in the course of the previous year, but following the fleeting nature of this happening I will keep this one rather brief and just focus on (not even all of) my highlights.
This is the stuff I re-watched, these are the shows I'd tell you about if you were foolish enough to engage in a real life conversation about Roadburn 2021 with me:

GOLD - This Shame Should Not Be Mine

Gold were already established as phenomenal genre-bending live band and being experienced in the live streaming game for me, but this show took them to a whole new level.
Premiering a commissioned personal piece about sexual violence, sounding more electronic and björk-inspired (even using an interview snippet of her as a sample) than ever, this show surely was no easy dish and had an unmatched sincere intensity. The first time I really felt that special, brave adventurous Roadburn spirit fully grabbing me at Roadburn Redux. One for the festival's history books!

I kind of hope that Gold don't even bother to turn this into a studio album, but instead just release it as it is. It's just so damn powerful and on point. Even the underlying discomfort and akwardness which shines through at the end of almost every livestream show without a direct audience, works in its favour. 

NADJA - Seemannsgarn

Drone. Metal. Mastership. Think Godflesh slowed down to infinity! One must have an amazing fantasy to imagine this fourty-minute chunk of cathartic noise possibly being any more perfect. Unconditional love!  

BADA

Bada is the band, which mostly consists of members of Anna von Hausswolff's live band, including Anna herself, but here not in the center of attention, but in the role of an equal member among others on the keys. As their debut record was a fantastic exploration of droning doomy ambient noisy psychedelic rock, so was this live recording, captioned in one of my favorite settings of all pre-recorded performances. Masterfully spellbinding atmospheres!
That one amp in the middle looks like a washing machine though.

JO QUAIL

Short and sweet. Initially the modern post rock and metal's favorite cello player was supposed to play her big commissioned piece "The Cartographer" as the only part of the canceled Roadburn 2021, but due to travel restrictions that wasn't possible. Still nice of her to bring us some dark looped, never before played string goodness in a solo performance instead. 

TRIALOGOS - Stroh Zu Gold

Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Conny Ochs, cellist/composer Sickerman and experimental musician Kiki Bohemia are Trialogos. And their mixture of experimental noises, minimalist krautrock, folk and post rock vibes, that one part which reminds me of the "Knight Rider" theme and some surprisingly heavy monster riffs was without a doubt one of Saturday's highlights. Album pre-ordered!

HAUNTED PLASMA

Sometimes the hype is real. Electronic artists (or bands with strong electronic elements) have become a vital part for Roadburn, and one of my favorite acts embracing the 0s and 1s this year might be Haunted Plasma, a dark and danceable meeting of Finnish minds, including members of Oranssi Pazuzu and guest singer Mat McNerney of Hexvessel in his most gothic register. Addictive!

KNOLL

One of the shortest shows, performed by probably the youngest guys in this Roadburn edition came from the grindcore collective Knoll. So refreshingly close to the early Napalm Death roots of the genre, but still with a distinct sound including some electronic elements. Fuck yeah, this was just pure raw fun!

NEPTUNIAN MAXIMALISM - Set Chaos To The Heart Of The Moon

Every Roadburn edition has this one show which you enter with ridiculously high expectations, to a point that other visitors might not take you seriously anymore. But you are in the know, and after the show everyone agrees with you that Magma, Anna von Hausswolff etc. totally won the festival.

This year that show was the larger than life spiritual jazz / drone / doom / psychedelic rock fusion extravaganza  of Neptunian Maximalism. Already when the eight members of this live incarnation of the group started the performance just standing in a row and chanting a capella you felt that this was going to be special. And indeed there's no other band out there invoking this blend of elevating cosmic chaos out there. Not even NNMM themselves in a way, because this show sounded deliberately different than their giant three-part debut "Éons", but equally as ancient, mighty and all-embracing.
No doubt, Neptunian Maximalism have done their name justice. If you're a fan of The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, Sun Ra Arkestra, Swans, Sunn O))), Kikagaku Moyo or just watching the communication between two drummers giving everything, this is for you.

More is more - and more than this is as good as impossible.

PLAGUE ORGAN - Orphan

When we start to talk about drummers of Roadburn Redux, there is no way around René Aquarius and his blasting-it-relentlessly-for-fourty-fucking-minutes performance with Plague Organ. Accompanied by an equally persistent almost-only-one-note bass and his Dead Neanderthals mate Otto Kokke, he delivered one of the surely most talked about instrumental performances of this weekend.
While the meditative aspects of "Orphan" may haven taken a little longer to set in than on the album, the live version made up for it with the typical Neanderthals trolling quality, which was taken to a whole new level with this display of stamina.

DEAD NEANDERTHALS - IXXO 

And the drum robot strikes again! But this time in another tempo. The Dead Neanderthals show on Sunday took their concept of pushing minimalistic ideas to maximal effect into a quite surprsing direct. While you would typically expect some kind of extreme jazz or drone noise from them, the performance of "IXXO" was actually quite... let's say listenable.
Extended to a quartet with three synth players they grooved through a hypnotically repetive krautrock piece, which you would have rather expected from Minami Deutsch or Radar Men From The Moon. Just a bit more minimalistic of course. I was actually a little disappointed that it already ended after thirty-five minutes, haha. If you can blast for fourty minutes, you can do this for a full hour, right?

STEVE VON TILL - A Remote Wilderness

Let's close this bunch of impressions with maybe the most emotionally striking performance after Gold! Why hasn't Steve von Till's solo work been more on my radar before?
What a charismatic presence. What a real voice. And what a profound work of art. If I had to choose, then this show would be among my top 3 alongside Gold and Neptunian Maximalism. I'm speechless.

DE WOLFF 

Or no, let's close this with the actually last band on the bill! The Dutch working animals DeWolff are what you could call streaming veterans by now. I've just seen them do a very entertaining special streaming show in a vintage TV show setting with many guest a while ago. And after that they played a string of nine shows a row, on each performing another one of their studio releases in full.
That probably made them the ideal candidates to jump in almost in the last minute without the chance to rehearse extendly, because Radar Men From The Moon sadly had to cancel their appearance. DeWolff confidently promised "the freakiest, dirtiest, heaviest and swampiest set we'll ever play".

Of course we're not talking The Body or Conan dirty, yet rather Dirty Purple, so yeah, it definitely was a fun vintage rock dirty blues jam party finale. Good times, fuck yeah!

MIZMOR - Wit's End

So far I've only written about live streams and pre-recorded live performances.
Of course there were also tons of audio and video premieres. Kayo Dot, Darkher, Telea Jacta meets Electric Moon or my personal favorite among all those: This epic ultra doomy commissioned track by Mizmor, which comes with a fittingly dark animated video. Looking forward for the forthcoming EP with this on it very much!

Oh wait. I forgot that that was also an amazing video premiere from Big|Brave. Well, I'm getting their new album anyway and it's not a competition, alright?

Ok folks, that's all I was able and willing to write about for now.

That doesn't mean there wasn't more quality and greatness in the line-up. Of course some artist weren't my cup of tea or failed to completely reach their full potential like the Wolvennest offspring The Nest, which despite Ryanne van Dorst being on guest vocals, just had too many aimless and dragging parts.
Similarily Solar Temple, who achieved an amazing richness of sound for two people, just could have told their whole story in half an hour instead sixty minutes.

Both shows weren't really bad at all though. Further shoutouts go to all that those flavours of black metal, be it the crushing might of Regarde Les Hommes Tomber, the class of Wesenwille, the western variant of Wayfarer or the harsh raw purity of Doodswens. There were also great ambient-influenced shows from Die Wilde Jagd,  Autarkh III, the unbelievably beautiful Of Blood And Mercury or Dirk Serries. There was the joyful experimentalism of Spill Gold and the melancholic punch to my gut seeing Hexvessel, who were the second last band I've actually seen in the flesh over a year ago. There was the dirty rock of Maggot Heart. There were Might, Tesa, Kairon; IRSE!, Doctors Of Space, Territoire and more.

And there are some a lot like The Ocean or Aaron Turner, who I still have to catch up on by the time I'm publishing this review.


What a line-up for a freaking streaming event! And what an amazing and elaborate production on all fronts! Roadburn has never done something like this before and is already setting new standards.

I didn't use all social media gimmicks which were offered, but I sure as hell successfully tried that "donate" button, because this weekend of excessive live music consumption exceeded all expectations by far and has been the best thing since forever really.


Thank you Walter, Becky, the whole Roadburn Redux team and all the artists who made this possible!

And also cheers to all fellow Reduxians, each one in their own special bubble, but united in being apart, who against all odds made this feel like a communal experience!

WORK MONEY DEATH - The Space In Which The Uncontrollable Unknown Resides, Can Be The Place From Which Creation Arises

Ein

Titel

welcher so

ausufernd lang

wie dieser ist, ergibt einmal zitiert
ja im Grunde schon eine halbe Rezension.

WORK MONEY DEATH - The Space In Which The Uncontrollable Unknown Resides, Can Be The Place From Which Creation Arises (LP) (2021)

Wie empfehlenswert dieses Album der Band um Saxophonisten Tony Burkhill ist, ergibt sich zum großen Teil schon automatisch aus dem Verhältnis des Rezipienten zu den spirituellen Werken Alice Coltranes, dem Klassiker "Karma" ihres an jenen beteiligten Pharoah Sanders und der überlebensgroßen Inspiration wiederum jenes Albums, John Coltranes "A Love Supreme".

Es gibt also drei mögliche Ausgangslagen:

1. Jazz ist keine Musik und Du findest diesen Scheiß furchtbar.
Alter, komm mal klar! Wieso liest Du das hier überhaupt?

2. Du kennst die genannten Künstler/Alben (noch) nicht.
Beneidenswert! Du kannst mit diesem Album eine komplett neue Welt entdecken.

3. Du kennst und liebst diesen Scheiß!
Wenn Du nicht gerade zu der speziellen Stock-im-Arsch-Fraktion gehörst, die unverfrorene Huldigung prinzipiell als Majestätsbeleidigung ihres Heiligen Grals betrachten, musst Du mit "The Space In Which The Uncontrollable Resides, Can Be The Place In Which Creation Arises" sehr glücklich werden.

Denn dieses Album ist eine perfekte, authentisch zeitgenössisch klingende Hommage an die Giganten des Spiritual Jazz. Schon der Titel weckt ja Assoziationen zu "The Creator Has A Masterplan" und dem afrofuturistischen Big Band Sound des Sun Ra Arkestra ("Space Is the Place").

Und big klingen die beiden Longtracks "Dusk" und "Dawn" auch in jeder Beziehung. Dafür müssen Work Money Death allerdings gar nicht das ganze gigantische Besetzungsbesteck auffahren. Der größte Teil des Albums wird von einem klassischen Quartett aus Saxophon, Klavier, Bass und Drums bestritten, allerdings erweitert um zusätzliche, für den Eindruck epischer Breite entscheidend mitverantwortlicher Congas und Percussions.

Weitere Bläser, welche dazukommen, fügen sich da eher subtil, fast unbewusst ein. Im Finale allerdings, wenn sich schließlich Gesang dazugesellt, blüht das Album vollkommen auf und das Karma Supreme Worshipping erreicht seinen strahlenden Zenit.

Sind Work Money Death hier besonders innovativ? Nein. Doch das verlangt dieses Album ja auch überhaupt nicht.
Was es aber sein will, das ist es in Perfektion. Jede Note hier gold und voller Seele und Liebe zur Musik. Absolute, heilige Jazz-Ekstase!