Isohunt dies.

Isohunt dies.

You've been a great friend. Hopefully your possible reincarnation will prove to be even better.

Olivia Block ‎- Heave To

Now here's something a bit different from the usual on this blog.

Olivia Block is a musician and electroacoustic composer from Chicago, Illinois using chamber instrumentation, field recordings and digital effects and synthesis. Alongside her audio releases, she produces site-specific installations as well as scores for performance and film. That's what Discogs says at least.

Heave To is  a relatively short (for this kind of music at least) ambient album that she released back in 2006. What strikes me the most here is the closeness of the sound. As soon as this little beast starts roaring its inhumane sounds it feels like your in the dead center of it. I don't know how she does this but the audio quality of his album is pristine. The sounds themselves, much like the cover, are very cold and intense. Often among the drone and really low noise orchestral music kicks in that remind me most of Penderecki's work in sonorism. But I'm not very versed to claim such things (it just sounds like that to me, I might be wrong).

Overall this is a really great, intense ambient/noise album that's actually really accessible and even if you're not into this sort of thing perhaps you should give this a try if you're in the mood for some cold and unforgiving music.

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Various ‎– What Remains Of Eden: Anatolian & Levantine Music 1928-1952

Music can be a very powerful force, if it weren't so people wouldn't strive to make so much of it. Different music serves different purposes and invokes different things in the listener.

Recordings like this one serve as vessels to different times and places. It's a voyage, it takes you away and brings you somewhere completely different from your usual surroundings. This is why I love these kind of recordings. It invokes something really unique and it offers different views and interpretations of music from far and near.


So if you're feeling adventurous today check this record out and take a trip through the old world of Anatolia and Levant. See how it was then and listen to the melancholic songs of its people.

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Andrew Hill - Judgment!

After these few days of br00tal music I think it's about time for some sweet jazz. Well, it's not exactly sweet sounding but it's sweet to the ears nonetheless. If I could, I would share everything Andrew Hill ever made. I adore this guy and his playing, he does this mixture of free jazz and post-bob so well that it's always a joy for me to listen to his albums.

Judgement! is a special album in his discography because he is joined by none other than Bobby Hutcherson on vibraphone. Their interaction is the biggest part of this whole album. The sound of vibraphone and Andrews dissonant chords and passages fit very well with each other and they give this album  a very sinister and brooding feeling. And all this is held together by great playing from Elvin Jones on drums and Richard Davis on double bass (who participated on some great records like Out To Lunch!). Overall it's a great album, not really that "far out" but it's still restless and adventurous. Certainly worth a try.

Get.

Sinister - Diabolical Summoning

Yeah, I'm one some kind of old school metal trip lately. Here's another gem that might not be too well known around the scene.

Sinister comes from Netherlands and they've been around for quite some time releasing a slew of albums. The quality of these albums are disputable, the fandom seems to be divided about it but I can't really have a say in this since I only head their first two (which are apparently the only two good ones).

Diabolical Summoning was the second of the "only two good albums" and it is a journey through some excellent riff based death metal (that reminds me of Suffocation a lot). The album starts with a massive bass riff with guitars pummeling through soon enough and it does not stop until the end of the album. For me, Sinister did everything right on this album. It has that Altars Of Madness intensity, great guitar riffs, excellent tone and production coupled with those great raspy death metal vocals. If you're looking for some 90s death metal then this is something you should definitely try out.


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Sadus - Death To Posers

Speaking of good demos, here's another one. This one comes from the very popular thrash band called Sadus. I guess they're most famous for their Chemical Exposure debut album that they put out in 1988 but they're also probably well known for sucking in doing anything after 1990. I got a hold of this demo a long time ago so I'm not sure if this is a direct rip from the demo or if I got it from a reliable source. So I'm not sure if all the tracks are legit. My main suspicion is on the first track which differs in production a lot from the rest but it also differs in style and in speed as well. It has more of a Kreator shtick. I dunno. It can be anything.

The main part of the demo is really fast, floppy and wild "no bullshit" thrash metal with Darren Travis screaming at the top of his lungs. The vocalist may be the deal breaker here for a lot of people mainly because his vocals tend to break at higher registers and he often does those. But for me this is probably the best part of this demo. It's just a couple of dudes giving everything they got on this little tape from 1986.

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Suffocation - Reincremated

While death metal might not be the most experimental or "out there" genre it still has its share of great bands. Be it traditional or more adventurous there's always some good band hiding around the corner.

Suffocation might not be the most adventurous band out there but what they do - they do good. They also happen to be one of my favorite bands from the genre. Their discography contains some really good and interesting albums while maintaining a steady formula that works well. The newest one is actually really good but perhaps a bit overproduced in my opinion. It's too clean for my taste. Speaking of clean their first (and only?) demo is fucking raw. It rips shit up; VERY INTENSELY.

The demo contains three tracks that will appear on the Human Waste EP and on their first full length but here is where it all started for Suffocation. Unlike a lot of demos their talent and musicianship really shines here. The production (if you can call it that) is lacking that depth which is very iconic for Suffocation albums in the 90s so this demo sounds more like a thrash metal album from '84. But it's all good and well. The raw production and the thrashy sound really makes this demo shine.

Get. (this time it should be the proper link, sorry for the fuck up)

Drudkh - Forgotten Legends

Speaking of autumnal feelings here's another record that I've been highly enjoying lately. I was aware of Drudkh for a very long time. Ever since Swan Road came out I kept reading about it and their past albums all the time on the forums I used to frequent but I never really could get into them. They were monotone and boring to me. The guitars sounded horrendous.

But times change, so do people and so does their choice in music. When the Eternal Turn of the Wheel came out last year my interest in this band resurfaced and after liking it a lot I decided to revisit their discography. It turns out Drudkh have been really busy all these years with releasing a lot of albums. They certainly tried a lot of things with their formula and sound to change things up a little bit but the results were welcomed with mixed views on their releases accompanied with "selling out" accusations and the usual black metal drama that goes on these days.

Personally I find most of their discography enjoyable but whenever I think of listening to some Drudkh I always come back to their first three albums first. Yeah, I guess I'm more of a traditionalist when it comes to this band. There's something really magical in this and their next two releases. Yes, the production isn't top notch and neither are the riffs overwhelmingly original but there's something there. There's this unique charm that this album gives. It might take a while to sit right in your head but once it does this album is great.

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Kazue Sawai - Plays 'Koto' Classics

Koto oriented music always had a special place in my tiny little heart. I love the sound of it, it might not sound very special but it really rubs me the right way. It sounds sinister yet really beautiful. Dunno, I just like it.

This album is for you if you share this passion. There's not much to say about it aside from the fact that there's a lot of koto playing involved. The pace is slow and brooding, there are tracks where there's singing but most of the time it's instrumental and the tracks all last for a long time.

Get.