Orme - No Serpents, No Saviours EP

Labels: Self-Released

Formats: CD/Digital

Release Date: 23 Aug 2024

Tracklist:

1. No Serpents, No Saviours

There's a hell of a lot of discourse and misinformation doing the rounds right now, especially here in the UK. I'm all for peaceful protest but when it becomes violent, I switch off because said violence dilutes and illegitimises any such "legitimate" cause. Obviously, my small rant means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things but given what's going on across the globe right now, being aware is important. 

I'm kicking off my latest review schedule with drone/doom band Orme and their newest release single track EP (due for official release on August 23rd) called No Serpents, No Saviours, that stretches beyond twenty-four minutes. With their roots in the county that I called home for the first four years of my life, Hertfordshire (I lived in Bishop's Stortford), Orme released their debut self-titled EP in April 2023. They've since followed it up with this new EP and a split release with Wreaths (released earlier this year via Inverted Grim-Mill Recordings and the sadly departed Trepanation Recordings).

It isn’t often that I review single tracks, mainly because I feel that they don’t last long enough for me to formulate any sort of reasonable commentary. This release from Orme is different due to it’s sheer length. No Serpents, No Saviours spans just over twenty-four minutes and is made up of some of the finest drone/doom the UK has produced in a long time. When I think of similar bands; Ommadon and Bismuth spring to mind. Sadly Ommadon are no longer active, but Orme fill the void left brilliantly. 

This is just the perfect combination of epic percussion, rumbling bass, sloth-like riffs and deathly vocals. Psych influences manage to slide their way in at times, but ultimately there’s nothing bright about the sound produced here. That’s fine though because it should only herald darkness. In the case of the latter-half; beautiful yet crushing calmness, stark spoken-word samples and soaring musicianship take over. The lead-guitar work/solos encapsulate what I was just trying to convey in a much better way.

A couple of paragraphs don’t do Orme and their music justice. Merely giving a verbal taste of what’s on offer is enough for me. This is a blisteringly good EP. If you like heavy and/or really well written and performed music in general, you won’t go wrong here.

The EP isn't available to stream yet for obvious reasons but you can pre-order it both on CD or digital formats here - https://ormedroneuk.bandcamp.com/album/no-serpents-no-saviours.

Orme - https://www.facebook.com/ormedroneuk

Cryptorianus - Eternal Sorrow - Nameless Joy

Labels: Self-Released/Scum On Earth

Formats: Digital/Tape

Release Date: 25 Nov 22

Tracklist:

1. The Wanderer At The Shore

2. A Hole In The Heart

3. Unknown Call Of Yearning

4. The Honesty Of Decline

5. Ghost Lament

6. The Minnesinger's Quest

7. Black Is The Colour

8. Forest, River, Moon and Sun

9. The Sea Of Ice

10. I Can Feel You There

11. The Sea Of Ice (Vocal Version)

12. Unknown Call Of Yearning (Vocal Version)

13. The Honesty Of Decline (Vocal Version)

14. The Wanderer At The Shore (Early/Raw/Vocal Version)

15. Nameless Sorrow - Eternal Joy

Eternal Sorrow - Nameless Joy is the latest release from German solo drone/noise/post-black metal artist Cryptorianus. It was released back in November of last year and contains two distinct sides. The first ten songs are instrumental while the final five songs that make up the album's fifteen are vocal and experimental versions. As well as being self-released by Cryptorianus digitally, it was also released on tape by Scum On Earth.

I’ve decided to write this review over two sittings, given everything there is to take in here. Album opener ‘The Wandering At The Shore’ is filled with heavily fuzzed-up bass guitar, which is both droning but also upbeat with a definite melody flowing through it. Some might call it primitive, but it’s not. If you’re a listener that prefers more defined songs and structures, you will find this hard to listen to as ‘A Hole In The Heart’ follows with a much more unnerving tone and progression. Initial impressions brought Sunn O))) to mind but I don’t think that comparison’s right now I think of it. I’m not even trying to compare Cryptorianus to anybody else either.

‘Unknown Call Of Yearning’ is the last of the longer players (for the time being at least) and it’s crawling tempo, even without the help of percussion, is very mournful and almost inward in it’s delivery.  I guess using the term “longer players” was a bit of a misnomer as ‘The Honesty Of Decline’ crawls along at the same pace as it’s predecessor, filled with distortion aplenty. It very much feels like all of the songs here are really just one movement broken up. They follow on from each other as if they were anyway, as ‘Ghost Lament’ demonstrates. 

Cryptorianus clearly had a singular vision about how Eternal Sorrow - Nameless Joy was going to sound and sometimes it’s interesting to understand that vision. Perhaps I’ll do a rare interview at some point soon. The reason I talked about vision is because musically, as ‘The Minnesinger’s Quest’ comes to an end, it’s becoming obvious that variation isn’t something that’s being employed through these initial ten songs, though that strikes me as being deliberate on the part of Cryptorianus and I’m not trying to do the band or album any disservice.

One thing’s for sure though, it’s nothing if not mesmeric at times. ‘Black Is The Colour’ is as droning and as hypnotic as it gets on the album. It’s also the moment at which the fuzziness fades out a little to open a slightly clearer bass sound (briefly). The light begins to shine through during the song’s last thirty seconds, which kind of blows my point about variation out of the water. The experimental nature of Cryptorianus is very clear and the melodic tones that opened up this album reveal themsevles once again during ‘Forest, River, Moon and Sun’, which sometimes sounds digital almost. 

This latter half feels more laid-back (though that could just be my mind playing tricks on me). ‘The Sea Of Ice’ is the penultimate instrumental song on Eternal Sorrow - Nameless Joy. It’s very haunting and leads into ‘I Can Feel You There’, which has some really cool bass textures flowing through it. The final five songs here are where Cryptorianus adds vocals, beginning with the reimagining of ‘The Sea Of Ice’, which actually sounds like a completely different song with them. More black metal influenced but still just as droning and noisy.

From stark black metal and noise to spoken-word on ‘Unknown Call Of Yearning’. The spoken-word makes this composition sound even more unnerving, especially thanks to the very eloquent delivery of Cryptorianus. Very gothic to these ears. It’s a brave thing offering re-imagined songs like this but then again you see it happen all the time. It depends a lot on the band too, but here I think that they work really well and show a different, more expansive side to this project, especially on ‘The Honesty Of Decline’.

The version of ‘The Wanderer At The Shore’ that’s reserved for this section of the album is an early/raw vocal version mixing both black metal and spoken-word, making it much more theatrical. The album closer proper is called ‘Nameless Sorry - Eternal Joy’, which in case you haven’t guessed, is a play on it’s title. This song is an amalgamation of the dark noise and gentle melody that Cryptorianus is able to create, but in a much longer form. 

This whole release is an odd musical trip and it won’t appeal to everybody; however, it’s well worth giving a chance for it’s final five songs alone. I’ll be completely honest here and say that I felt more comfortable listening to those than I did the instrumental offerings. You as a listener might feel differently though, so give it your full attention. It will reward you.

You can stream Eternal Sorry - Nameless Joy below:-

It can be purchased on tape and also digitally from Scum On Earth here - https://scumonearth.bandcamp.com/album/eternal-sorrow-nameless-joy

Cryptorianus - https://www.facebook.com/Cryptorianus

Scum On Earth - https://www.facebook.com/scumonearth

ZOS - The Whole Of The Body I Call ZOS

Label: I, Voidhanger Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital

Release Date: 22 Apr 2022

Tracklist:

1. The Whole Of The Body I Call ZOS

2. Volition

3. Black Albatross

4. On The Announcer Of Great Events

5. Oh, Mighty Rehctaw!

I hope the current holiday season is treating you all well! I'm currently planning my review schedule for early January, but I've still got time for one more review this year. I'm also having an I, Voidhanger Records binge of late, which is where this 2022 release from Polish drone/doom/weird trio ZOS comes in. It was released via I, Voidhanger in April and is the band's third full-length since their formation in 2018. Aside from the above, I know very little about ZOS. Let's allow the music to do the talking.

Starting with the opening track ‘The Whole Of The Body I Call ZOS’, you’re greeted with droning bass and ambient instrumentation centred around guitar and synth. After the initial near two-minute intro you’re thrust into a cacophony of seemingly indecipherable noise coupled with haunting and whispered black metal vocals. After spending the last few days reflecting on music in it’s countless forms and whether it’s virtuous  for an artist/band to follow their own creative path or one laid down for them by fans/trends, it occurs to me that ZOS are merely here to divide and fracture. That’s not to say they’re bad though; far from it. It’s what you make of it that counts.

I, Voidhanger is known for some of the most avant-garde portrayals of extreme music you’re likely to hear in this modern age and in ZOS the label has managed to capture a beast. ‘Volition’ shows off their droning influences to a greater extent, while also making use of anguished depressive/suicidal black metal wails that pierce your very soul. The world’s slowly descending into chaos, so music might as well provide an accompaniment.

Rewards come in the form of many things nowadays and the glorious metallic riffs that open ‘Black Albatross’ await you if you’ve made it to the mid-point of this album. The latter half of that sentence probably sounds a bit harsh on ZOS but please don’t take it the wrong way, because experimental music such as this instrumental proves there’s more than meets the eye here and it’s as gripping as the album artwork is frightening.

The disarming spoken-word sample/verse that sits atop of the minimalistic instrumentation during ‘On The Announcer Of Great Events’ cloaks the album in darker shrouds, before being overtaken by more immersive metallic tones and a further nod towards lowly doom. Sometimes it’s easier to spot the pretenders and to completely overlook those who genuinely mean what they’re doing. ZOS are certainly not pretenders. 

Album closer ‘Oh, Mighty Rehctaw!’ provides one final momentary glimpse into the minds of those behind ZOS. It relies much more heavily on drone as the backbone for something deeply rooted in occultism. The term ‘occult’ is being used a lot nowadays, especially thanks to the likes of Beastmilk and Ghost; however, it does describe the feeling you get from this final song and ZOS are unlike either of those aforementioned bands. 

2022 as a year has been many things and given what it’s followed, bands have a right to produce and release music that draws from the most challenging times. ZOS came through those times and in doing so, provided a body of work that’s both inwardly and outwardly reflective. To truly appreciate is to listen.

You can stream and purchase the album on all formats below:-

ZOS - https://zosvelthanatos.bandcamp.com/

I, Voidhanger Records - https://www.facebook.com/i.voidhanger.records

The Owl & Dan Clarke - Improv Collab Pt.1

Labels: Self-Released

Formats: Digital

Release Date: 02 Nov 2021

Tracklist:

1. The First Euphoric Mammoth

2. From Silence Into A Stupendous Trek

3. Mentally Conjoined Peacefully Warped

4. This Twisted Terrain To Trounce

5. Marching To The Castle

6. If Mountains Had Legs

7. Checking The Guidelines

8. Ecstatic Vision Enablers

9. Crumbling Planets

I apologise for the inactivity over the last week. Things have been a bit weird and those around me have been struggling a bit, especially in work life. it kind of feels like as the seasons have changed and the clocks have gone back, people I know and work with have got sick and in one case, worse. It also meant that I had to miss the farewell gig of my good (but sadly distant) friend Paul, before he jets off to Czechia.

About a week or so ago he sent this collaborative release that he'd recorded with drummer Dan Clarke, one of his longtime friends and musical collaborators. It was recorded at Eiger Studios, Leeds (I have some great memories of noisy shows there!) back in June and it's been tweaked and twisted to form this nine-song release. 

It feels like very much the right time to be listening to this release, albeit a little later than planned. Completely improvisational and recorded on one mic, you can’t get more organic in musical terms. Even with The Owl’s post-recording manipulations, it still sounds and feels eerily like it was meant to be. Album opener ‘The First Euphoric Mammoth’ is a swirling collage of bass and drums that fade in and out amongst layers of organ, and other ambient touches. Dan Clarke is a member of Sloth Hammer and if you’ve witnessed one of their shows before, you’ll know that they’re anything but normal. He brings a part of that band along with him here. Add to that the use of some bizarre electronic effects and you have something totally unclassifiable.

One thing’s for sure with The Owl, the song titles always seem to be spot on with the music as ‘From Silence Into A Stupendous Trek’ illustrates. The song that bears that moniker stretches out for over fifteen minutes, which in musical terms is a stupendous trek! Very doom-laden and sludgy, it’s not gonna get your pulse racing a mile a minute, yet it will reach you in different ways. Ways that will see you painting pictures with your mind. 

From here the songs become shorter but no less enthralling. The brilliantly named ‘Mentally Conjoined Peacefully Warped’ aptly describes the minds at play here. Despite it’s short running time, there’s still something truly harrowing about it and I’ll never get used to the interjections of weird electronic mayhem. Talking of weird electronic mayhem, you might want to replay the intro to ‘This Twisted Terrain To Trounce’ over and over again. It’s followed by noise that’s a lot simpler for the most part, but you’re never too far from strange internet (maybe cosmic) sounds.

Improv Collab Pt.1 is definitely a release that you can listen to all the way through. I’m not sure if that was fully intended but it works out that way. Even if you’re not a fan of instrumental noise, this isn’t harsh and is way more musical. The winding, knuckle-dragging tempos of ‘Marching To The Castle’ plough a somewhat depressing furrow yet you’ll struggle to stop listening.

Things are no brighter on ‘If Mountains Had Legs’, which veers towards The Owl’s sludgier side again, kind of sounding like a weirder version of Meth Drinker (at least in my head anyway). The drumming once again works a treat and the randomly placed electronics stop you from drifting off to another plane. ‘Checking The Guidelines’ is the shortest but also probably the most intense song on the album, at least percussion-wise anyway. The beats and additional effects give it a weird drum n bass feel, with plenty of glitches too.

It’s left to penultimate song ‘Ecstatic Vision Enablers’ to truly scare you with menacing noises that seem to come from all directions. It reminds me of the ‘Kin Hell Fest gig at Temple Works in Leeds back in 2013 where I witnessed Sloth Hammer and their ace live show for the first time. I specifically remember the random piano they found and the noise/electronic oddities they perched on it. Oh and the member in the pig mask walking through the crowd hitting a drum. Good times. 

The album’s closer ‘Crumbling Planets’ seems to follow on directly from ‘Ecstatic Vision Enablers’ musically, albeit with a significantly slower tempo from the bass. It’s a really cool way to end what has been a real journey. I’m not embarrassed to say that it took me two sittings to be able to right this review, which isn’t normal for me. That said, it’s the kind of improv/experimental noise that I like the most. Even with the electronic manipulation, it’s still got a warm organic feel that you only get from instrumentation and human interaction.

Clearly this has been a labour of love and one that lives long in the memory. Perfect for these darker nights and colder outlooks. It’s made me forget that I was feeling down when I started writing. I’m now more reflective and upbeat. Music does strange things to a person. 

I implore you to give this release your full attention, as it demands it. You can listen below via The Owl's bandcamp page, where it's available as a name-your-price download:-

The Owl - https://www.facebook.com/theowlsounds

The Owl - Beyond The Vastness Of Infinity

Labels: Self-Released

Formats - CD (hopefully)/Digital

Release Date: 02 Jul 2021

Tracklist:

1. Paracosmic Expansion

2. Luminous Stellar Explosions

3. Transcending New Heights

4. Hymn For Laniakea

5. Pōwehi

I've spent part of this morning putting together a small review schedule for the coming week, which will hopefully grow a bit bigger in time for my up-coming week off in mid-June. Also, I'm due to have my first Covid jab next Saturday, so depending on side-effects I might not be heading out as much, which should give me more time to write. It's time to focus on the task in hand through and this soon-to-be-released record from the ever-prolific noisemaker The Owl. Beyond The Vastness of Infinity will be self-released by The Owl in July and it continues the momentum built by previous releases Odyssey One, Hibernation and Further Into The Vastness. This time you're treated to five live and improvisational bass jams with the entity's usual layered effects and drone/doom forays. 

Starting with a spoken word sample featuring Alan Watts, it doesn’t take you long to realise what mood The Owl is trying to portray here. ‘Paracosmic Expansion’ is a simple yet mind-expanding opener thanks to that sampled speech and your senses are indeed awoken by the rumbling bass, and subtle ambience present.

From there you’re immediately shocked into life by ‘Luminous Stellar Explosions’, which is where the improvised bass really takes over. Encased in white-noise/feedback that buzzes alongside it, the hypnotic elements of the song begin to open up. When that noise dissipates later on, you’re left feeling calmer though noisier heights are just around the corner and sure enough, the loud/quiet/loud dynamic comes full-circle and the volume level increases. It’s worth noting that there is no percussion on this release (I hope that’s correct), so any rhythms that can be heard come directly from the bass.

Momentum continues to be strong on this release because each song flows Into the next without a pause. ‘Transcending New Heights’ is the longest song here at over nine minutes; however, compared to ‘Luminous Stellar Explosions’ before it, it’s a lot calmer and meditative. Once again low rumbling bass is the backbone and branching off it is very subtle, sometimes distant melody. Not even my neighbour (annoyingly) drilling or planing in their flat can detract from my listening pleasure.

Penultimate song ‘Hymn Of Laniakea’ begins very quietly indeed before bursting into life with another shock of crashing bass guitar. You can hear the live sound of this release more clearly here than anywhere else and it definitely adds to the album’s organic charm and feel. We all have creativity within us, but some people are better at using it than others. The Owl’s productivity and vision is a prime example of that (now, will there ever be a full collaborative release with Oathbreaker I wonder?!).

Finally, album closer Pōwehi is a throbbing, rhythmic beast that’s filled with short waves of sound that increase and decrease in very quick succession, leading to a low-end collage of maddening sounds, glitches and just generally hellish bass. This album for me sits in between both the light/ambient and harsh noise ends of the genre spectrum, so if you’re new to this type of music then hopefully you’ll find this to be a good route in. The balance of both of those dynamics make it a really enjoyable listen.

Keep you eyes peeled for news on the release of Beyond The Vastness Of Infinity via The Owl's social media page here - https://www.facebook.com/theowl

Also, make sure you go to The Owl's bandcamp page, where you can listen to all of the band's releases to date and new ones as they are released - https://theowl.bandcamp.com/

Cryptorianus - Melancholia - Eight Silent Ghost Songs

Labels: Veinte 33 Records

Formats: CD/Digital

Release Date: 12 Oct 2020

Tracklist:-

1. The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymo)))

2. Melancholia

3. Counting The Stars

4. Pale Rose Lips

5. Spell

6. The Butterfly Catcher

7. Through The Eyes Of A Penitent

8. Wise Men Never Wish For Eternity

Last week was set aside to focus on some of the more established names in heavy music, while this week will focus on some of the more obscure names. From Thursday evening, I have a few days off work so hopefully I'll be able to get a few more reviews written but let's see. This evening's subject is German solo drone/post-black metal/ambient band Cryptorianus and their most recent album Melancholia - Eight Silent Ghost Songs, which was released in October. It's actually the band's second album, following April's From Deepest Soul's Reverberation and it's been released digitally and on cd with the help of Uruguayan drone/ambient/noise label Veinte 33 Records (as well as digitally by Cryptorianus). The entire album is performed using two bass guitar and violin bows.

The very first song on Melancholia… is a nod (I think) to both The Walker Brothers and Sunn0))) (which, is apt considering Scott Walker (RIP) and Sunn0))) collaborated on an album together). I’m not sure if this is meant to be a noise/drone version of ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine’ but it’s hauntingly good. ‘The Sunn Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymo)))’ is very melodic for a song played only with bass guitars and violin bows, which bodes well for the rest of the album. The last time I witnessed this type of thing was when I saw Hundred Year Old Man live at Santiago’s in Leeds, which was a brilliant night.

In one way, this album epitomises what a weird year 2020 has been and Melancholia..., despite being riddled with dissonant noise, is surprisingly calming at lower volume (mainly because my neighbours already seem to be banging on the walls/ceiling/floor for some reason!). Overall, it’s a slow droning dirge with bizarre dreamy melody that’s quite soothing actually. I’m sorry but I just got distracted by how astronomically shit the “new facelifted” Facebook layout looks, but set to ‘Counting The Stars’ you forget all of that and sink into repetitive, hypnotic drone that perfectly embodies a social media platform going down the u-bend (that’s meant to be a compliment to Cryptorianus and the music!).

I guess I’m used to music from this genre being a bit longer and more drawn out, as ‘Pale Rose Lips’ goes by in a bit of a blur and leads straight into ‘Spell’, with very little time for pausing. I’m glad of that though, as pointless gaps in between songs can and do ruin the momentum of a lot of albums, without bands even realising it. Both of the aforementioned songs go by again with subtle melody that’s captivating, even without any percussion being present whatsoever. There are elements of Spaghetti Western compositions within Melancholia…, which might not come as a big surprise. You certainly get that feel in a left-field way from ‘The Butterfly Catcher’, which in turn leads me to another tenuous link to Scott Walker, who collaborated on the song ‘The Ballad Of Sacco And Vanzetti (Here’s To You)’ with none other than Ennio Morricone, on his 1972 album The Moviegoer. I’m pulling the knowledge out tonight!.

I used to find it hard to gain inspiration from noise/drone releases like this and I still can’t profess to be an expert on the sub-genre, but Cryptorianus seems to be hitting a particular spot here. Penultimate song ‘Through The Eyes Of The Penitent’  is dark and mystical yet also harmonic and once again relaxing. Album closer ‘Wise Men Never Wish For Eternity’ comes across as a dual between Electric Wizard and Jesu, in a weird kind of way. It’s neither doom-like nor industrial but that’s how it sounds to me. Maybe I’m starting to see things thanks to the pure strangeness of this record, but either way I like it a lot.

Once again, I’ve reached for some noise/drone/ambient music and have been rewarded. I’ll still reach for other facets of metal more often than this but Cryptorianus has certainly opened my ears with a really creative and original release. I know there’s many of you out there who will find the same enjoyment when listening to this too.

You can stream and purchase Melancholia... digitally below:-

CD copies can be purchased from Veinte 33 Records here - https://veinte33records.bandcamp.com/

Cryptorianus - https://www.facebook.com/Cryptorianus

Veinte 33 Records - https://www.facebook.com/33veinte

Lords Of The Drift - The Arecibo Message

Labels: Stay Gold Records

Formats: Digital

Release Date: 20 Nov 2020

Tracklist:

1. The Arecibo Message:

Act 1. Earthmakers (0.00 - 11:30)

Act 2. Geomancy (11:30 - 16:45)

Act 3. The Golden Ratio (16:45 - 29.02)

If anybody tells that housework/manual labour is good for you, it's all lies. I got up especially early this morning to do some and now my lower back is killing me. I'm now resting and this strange one-track release from US drone metal band Lords Of The Drift. The quartet that make up Lords Of The Drift are guitarist Tomo Milicevic, guitarist Tim Showalter (Strand Of Oaks), guitarist/keyboardist Arjan Miranda (Black Mountain, S.T.R.E.E.T.S) and bassist David Bason (Barfbag, War Oprhan). The Arecibo Message is made up of three movements and has been released to pay tribute to the interstellar radio message that was sent to star cluster M13, carrying basic information about humanity and earth. Apparently, the message wasn't an attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial life but was merely to show off our technological advancements at the time. Seems quite fitting.

The first act is titled ‘Earthmakers’ and if drone is what you’re looking for, then you’ve come to right place. Given what this song pays tribute to, you can imagine the feedback-laden guitar being the white noise that the communication travels through. The communication being represented by the treble and melody (at least that’s how I interpret it anyway). There are no drums present here, so all of the music is performed solely by guitars and a keyboard, with no vocals tainting the atmosphere. The ambient noise also sounds very real here, making the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. You feel like you’re there listening to the message in real time. 

I don’t usually reach for drone of this kind very often but it’s actually oddly relaxing as second act ‘Geomancy’ takes over. There’s no obvious gap between acts so as to create a seamless piece of music, but there is a definite change in sound here, with more melody and less feedback. It’s more airy and calmer, maybe representing the original message as it flies through space on its way to it’s final destination. Compared to ‘Earthmakers’, this second act only lasts around five-minutes but there’s no attempt by Lords Of The Drift to merely use it as filler. 

Final act ‘The Golden Ratio’ is darker and more menacing at times. It highlights the quartet’s experimental approach and continues the journey with swathes of drawn-out riffs, repeated feedback and general ambient noise that’s all layered together to create a real feeling of warmth. I know there are fans and writers out there who can describe this better than I, but it’s not an exact science, like the creation and interpretation of the music itself. The Arecibo Message will invoke different images for different listeners. 

Even without the use of mind altering substances (I don’t do drugs), this release is easy to get lost in. It’s really well thought-out and is thought-provoking as well. I know several people who will enjoy this greatly, as I did and if you’re new to this genre of music the it’s a great place to start.

Act 2: Geomancy is streaming via Youtube below:-

You can order The Arecibo Message via Apple Music here - https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-arecibo-message/. Lords Of The Drift do have a profile on Bandcamp, but it has nothing streaming on it. There are no social media pages for the band.

Clawing - Spectral Estate

Labels: Dullest Records

Formats: Tape/Digital

Release Date: 23 Feb 2018

Tracklist:

1. Mythology

2. Gourds

3. A Clearing

4. Coma

5. Plastic Glowing Stars

6. Home

The last release to see the light of day through Philadelphia's (PA, USA) Dullest Record was this album by tortured drone/noise band Clawing, from Montgomery (AL, USA). I don't know too much about the band themselves but I believe that "Spectral Estate" was their debut. It was released digitally in early February by the band and followed very shortly after on tape. The trio gives very little away, preferring instead the psychological images brought on by their music.

Opening with Mythology, the album’s lengthiest piece, Clawing paints a stark picture with ambient noise and spoken word lyrics that speak of a harsh reality. There’s subtle melody hidden in the depths but no real sense of light, as you’d expect from this sub-genre. The trio weaves experimental soundscapes using both traditional instruments and electronics, giving their sound elements of the haunting and the futuristic. Gourds isn’t the melancholic song you expect it to be, as the calmness is shattered by what is either extreme feedback-ridden screams or just harsh electronics. Whatever it is, it’s a jolting sound that makes this short number very hard to ignore. 

The switch to drone on A Clearing is welcome after the abrasiveness of Gourds. That said, Clawing still manages to produce something that’s menacing, while also being mesmerising too. Throughout my time as a hobbyist writer/blogger (almost 8 years now), I’ve never been able to fully get absorbed by drone/noise and I’ve always needed the more traditional/familiar band structures to be present on recordings and that hasn’t changed. I have grown to appreciate it though as I’ve delved deeper into extreme metal and so this feels like a natural listen. 

The combination of percussion and guitar effects during Coma form something of a release. There’s definitely a sense of less is more here and the initial reluctance to flood the song with layers and layers of noise is a nice touch. It’s minimalistic structure and reliance on those more traditional instruments make you realise that this is the work of a fully functioning band and not just someone in their bedroom making sounds with a synthesiser (not that there is anything wrong with that at all). Distant light finally manages to punctuate “Spectral Estate” thanks to the ambient melody that flows through Plastic Glowing Stars. As the title suggests, there is a cosmic element to it all and the spaciness that’s mixed with the introspective lyrics makes perfect sense. It feels like you’e staring beyond the black void and onto something more cleansing and warm. 

Home is the final song and at this point it almost feels like you’ve come full circle on “Spectral Estate”. The harrowing, hellish feelings of that might have overcome you earlier on are replaced by feeling of relief and quiet contemplation. Despite the uneasy undercurrent that this release possesses, it’s still easy to enjoy. I may have approached and described it in a different way to how it was perceived by Clawing themselves, but that’s the beauty of music I guess. If you’re tastes go beyond the usual Horror movie soundtracks and extreme metal worship, then this is definitely one to bury yourself in. 

You can stream and download "Spectral Estate" directly from the band below:-

Clawing - https://www.facebook.com/Clawing

Tape copies can still be purchased from Dullest Records here - https://dullestrecords.bandcamp.com/album/spectral-estate

Dullest Records - https://www.facebook.com/DullestRecords/

Bunkur/Mordor - Split

Labels: Nuclear War Now! Productions

Formats: CD/Vinyl/Digital

Release Date: 16 Nov 2017

1. Bunkur - The Subhuman (Carnivore Cover)

2. Mordor - In League With Wotan (Venom - In League With Satan Cover)

This is a strange split. It sees both Dutch doom band Bunkur and Swiss band Mordor re-imagine songs by classic metal bands. Bunkur chooses to cover Carnivore's The Subhuman while Mordor chooses In League Satan by Venom, but renames it In League With Wotan for the purposes of this split. Don't get me wrong, I understand why bands cover songs by other bands, but I don't understand why they decide to rename them (but that's just me I guess). A little bit of history about both bands; Bunkur is a drone/doom quartet from Tilburg (The Netherlands) and they've released several demos and split, as well as two full-lengths since their formation in 2001. Mordor is from Lausanne (Switzerland) and is more of a black metal/funeral doom type of band. They formed in 1987 at Arog before splitting up and reforming (sort of) as Mordor in 1990, going on to release a few demos, splits, a comp and an EP prior to this release.

I doubt this is going to be easy listening at all. Bunkur is first up with their re-imagining (urgh) of Carnivore’s The Subhuman. Their take on it is one filled with heavy and slow doom, with grisly vox. This song is 21 minutes long, so make of that what you will. As doom goes, it’s certainly at the extreme end of the spectrum and it’s certainly not bad by any means. Given the history of the band they’re covering and of Pete Steele’s (RIP) more melodic endeavours with Type O Negative later on, it’s hard to imagine a song more harrowing than this.

Next up is Mordor’s version of Venom’s In League With Satan, titled In League With Wotan. I don’t know the reason behind this re-branding, but it does irk me a little. That being said, the music that Mordor produces is equally as bleak yet also quite thoughtful. It features a lot of more sensitive instrumentation and a war metal slant, with vocals that consist of deep growls and the occasional use of grand clean singing. There’s a lot of groove that helps accentuate the higher tempo of the music as well.

This split is clearly the work of two bands that both have singular visions of how extreme music should be and for that reason, it is very engaging, though still a hard listen. Fans of the previous work of both Bunkur and Mordor, as well as that of Nuclear War Now! Productions will enjoy this for sure. Less adventurous metal fans might not. 

You can stream and purchase the split digitally below:-

Bunkur - https://www.facebook.com/Bunkur13/

Mordor - https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Mordor

CD and LP copies can be purchased here - https://shop.nwnprod.com/collections/nwn-releases

Nuclear War Now! Productions - https://www.facebook.com/nwnprod/

Spectral Lore/Jute Gyte - Helian

Labels: I, Voidhanger Records

Formats: CD/Digital

Release Date: 19 Jan 2018

Tracklist: 

1. Jute Gyte - Helian

2. Spectral Lore - Helian

This new two-song split comes from Greek band Spectral Lore and the USA'a Jute Gyte. Both bands play extreme, atmospheric black metal of sorts and this release sees them both re-imagining the 1913 poem "Helian" by Austrian poet Georg Trakl. The split has been released via I, Voidhanger Records on both CD and digital platforms. Spectral Lore was created by sole-member Ayloss in 2005 and to date, the band has released four full-lengths and countless splits and EPs. Jute Gyte, also a one-piece and started by Adam Kalmbach, has released a vast number of full-lengths, splits and EPs. 

This record begins with Jute Gyte’s musical interpretation of Helian. Jute Gyte presents it in a droning, misery-drenched way. The main backbone of the song is doom-like bass/guitar and percussion, interspersed with harsh black metal vocals and organ-like synths. It varies in pace, with the fast sections becoming almost fit-inducing thanks to what sounds like a drum machine that’s set to warp speed. Experimentation is at the forefront of both Jute Gyte’s music and this song. The song is lengthy so thankfully the tempo and mood changes are at points that will maintain the interest of the listener, without turning them off due to it’s extremity. 

The soothing guitar that opens up Spectral Lore’s take on Helian is surely there to draw you into a false sense of security. It’s incredibly musical yet the sense of foreboding that filled the air during Jute Gyte’s song is still there and it’s not long before more feed-back drenched notes fill your ears. Again it’s doom-filled but more restrained as well. The spoken-word sample/vocals sit within the mix before giving way to rasping growls. At times it’s more introspective and relaxing (if I can say that), with less reliance on bold and extreme musical shifts. The song kind of splits in to two movements, as around ten minutes in there’s a very brief moment of silence. That silence gives way to riffy blackened doom, amongst the band’s atmospheric textures.

My futile attempt to write a synopsis of this record is plain to see. It has two very different sides to it though. One is bizarre and extreme, while the other is more insightful and relaxing (in a strange way). It’s a record that you’ll need to listen to yourself, to truly appreciate. Needless to say, it’s inspiring. 

You can stream "Helian" and purchase it on CD and digitally below:-

Jute Gyte - https://jutegyte.bandcamp.com

Spectral Lore - https://spectrallore.bandcamp.com

I, Voidhanger Records - https://www.facebook.com/i.voidhanger.records/