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industrial

Michael Idehall – Apokryphos (2024)

Another luxury vinyl release on Ant-Zen. A nine track 33 RPM 7″ with a 52 page booklet. As always there are only a 100 copies.

“Apokryphos” has the rawer side of Idehall. Industrial, noisy, growling vocals; but still the recognisable ritualistic approach. It does seem that Idehall tried some new things. The sound is recognisably Idehall, but still somewhat different. Also it is not like all tracks are ‘harsh’. The esoteric avant-garde of the Ant-Zen blurp is a good description.

Idehall created another very enjoyable album of about 40 minutes.

The album is now available through Bandcamp. The physical releases will be shipped soon. I cannot wait for my copy.

Links: Michael Idehall, Ant-Zen

Consumer Electronics – Surge (2024)

Just as with “Airless Space” (2019), the new Consumer Electronics leaves aside the extreme power electronics of old and instead focuses on minimalist industrial sounds and spoken word. That still does not exactly make this easy listening though. The opening track, for example, first has Philip Best in a very calm voice describe the workings of a serial killer, while in the second half he -in the same tone- instructs “Michael” how to make a snow angel. Indeed, CE remains an extreme project even when the sound became less so.

The following tracks are usually odd noisy or industrial soundscapes with Best sounding like he is reading from a children’s book. Most tracks are quite ‘enjoyable’, ‘ambient noise’ perhaps. Towards the end comes a somewhat more extreme “contaminent” and a more noise title track, but nothing compared to a track such as “Come Clean”.

All in a descent album.

Links: Consumer Electronics, Dirter Promotions

Kadaitcha – Tramontane (2023)

Kadaitcha is a (post) industrial project duo, half of which also has a solo project in more of an angstpop vein called Kojoohar. Kadaitcha has been around since at least 2016.

“Fracture” sounds more industrial than what I have heard of Kadaitcha before.

Thus I earlier wrote about Kadaitcha. The second remark I can repeat. “Tramontane” is a pretty industrial album, a bit of the ‘industrial rock’ type perhaps. Just as on “Fracture” there are the guitars, but not as noisy this time. “Tramontane” also contains some less industrial tracks, such as the somewhat “angstpoppy” “Knife”. Most of the other tracks are quite chaotic, sound-/noisescapes with guitars, beats and vocals.

I think this album may mostly appear to people who like the old style guitar based industrial.

Links: Kadaitcha, Ant-Zen

v/a – Arise (2023)

14 July Cold Spring will present another label compilation. Two cds, 33 tracks, 2,5 hours of music. Most tracks are from earlier releases (unfortunately), a few are from forthcoming releases.

Since Cold Spring releases different kinds of music, “Arise” goes from the heavy industrial of Kollaps and Khost to the dark ambient sounds of Jagath and Sleep Research Facility, noise by the likes of of Himukalt and Satori to more folky sounds such as those of Coil and FM Einheit. There are scene classics. Coil as we already saw, but there are also Merzbow, SPK and Genesis P-Orridge. Also projects that were new to me.

A large part of “Arise” is dark ambient and soundscape, not entirely my cup of tea. The good tracks I already knew. I guess this compilation is mostly meant as an introduction to Cold Spring.

Link: Cold Spring

Dødsmaskin – Herremoral | Slavemoral (2022)

I noticed an announcement of a new Dødsmaskin and just as before I thought ‘right, that’s that project that made a very descent ambient noise album’. Well, no ‘ambient noise’ on the new album!

The new album starts with a very rough piece of noisy industrial. Loud blasts, metal clanging, distorted sounds. The second track leans a bit towards death industrial and then we go to some sort of technoish rhythmic noise that ends ‘ambiently’. More tough industrial, ambient that goes over into ‘wall of noise’, downright noise, this is mostly pretty damn good too!

Industrial noise lovers beware, you may have to check out the latest Dødsmaskin.

Links: Dødsmaskin, Ant-Zen, Malignant

Hadewych – Mes (2022)

I had seen announcements for this release, but I somehow thought that it was a rerelease. Good that Spotify surprised me with an excellent track so that I was in time to get me one of the cassettes.

Hadewych is somewhat like O Saala Sakraal, but darker, or perhaps I should say ‘more metal’. There is still the ritual darkness, Dutch lyrics, but more guitar. In the first track at least, the other two are more ambient or even soundscapish.

Just as on the latest O Saala Sakraal, Michael Idehall contributed to “Mes” and there are some other contributors as well.

“Mes” is a three track, 34 minute tape release that comes in a nice little box with a silver print. Also it was my (re)acquaintance with the Dutch Tartarus label that has more doomy music available.

Links: Hadewych, Tartarus Records

Brighter Death Now – Everything Is Gonna Be Alright (2022)

More BDN and he is touring too. Roger Karmanik appears to have an artistic upliving. “Everything…” comes as a 10″, listed as “CMI-03”, but available from Tesco. It does not appear to be a rerelease.

The first track is a throbbing piece of industrial. Not as harsh as BDN can get. A good track. The next track is more noisy, but again relatively tranquil. The same can be said about number three, but this is more industrial than the previous track and reminds a bit of Karmaniks older (Lille Roger) material.

Then comes the absolute highlight of this release. “Love Hard” has a bit of a Thorofon approach. A somewhat ‘rhythmic noise’ rhythm with vocals of an artist I was not familiar with: Åsa Tedebro. She looks pretty classically goth on her Discogs page and appears to be a guest singer every now and then, but not an artist (or band) of her own. Her dramatic vocals go perfectly well with the background noise that intensifies and calms down again. It appears that the Swedish electropunk band Isotope Soap (that I also think I was not familiar with) have something to do with this track. It is a great track.

Links: Brighter Death Now, Tesco

O Saala Sakraal – Heven (2021)

The Dutch collaborative project O Saala Sakraal released a mini album a few years after their debut album “Etmaal“.

Three tracks and 21 minutes that remind of the previous album, but “Heven” is more ritual ambient / industrial perhaps. The music is pretty dark, has vocals reciting poems, more ritual elements such as drumming and singing bowls. Last but not least, in the third track the vocals are by Michael Idehall.

Very ice again.

Link: Cyclic Law

Michael Idehall – Crowned Fool (2020)

Initially released on Idehall’s Patreon, non members can now also obtain “Crowned Fool” through Bandcamp.

The album is in de style of the last reviewed releases. Not the soundscape style, not the ‘pomp’ sound of “Deep Code“, but ritualistic industrial, fairly dark, sometimes a little dirty, sometimes more ambient and (of course) with Idehall’s vocals.

10 Tracks and album length, so “Crowned Fool” is yet another recommended release of Michael Idehall.

Link: Michael Idehall

Michael Idehall – Blood Poison (2021)

Unbelievable. Idehall is so productive that he even recorded an album while hospitalised with blood problems. What is more. By the time I found the time to review “Blood Poison” four new releases have been added to his Bandcamp!

“Blood Poison” opens with a soundscapish, slightly ritualistic piece of ambient. Also the second track is more of the ritual ambient style of Idehall. Also the more ‘typical’ sound can be found on “Blood Poison”, let us call it “angstpoppy”, rhythmic, repetitive and with Idehall’s typical vocals. Also a few noisy tones here and there. Especially the title track is very nice.

The style of “Blood Poison” is more that of recent (non ambient) releases than of the early material, but once again, it sounds excellent.

Links: Michael Idehall