Contrary to some other noise projects, Abscheu has only released a handfull of albums since 2016. After some releases on Unrest, the project found its way to Tesco.
As on previous releases, “Creed” contains dark industrial noise with very extreme vocals. Some tracks are harsher than others. I again prefer the death industrial type tracks over the more ‘ambient’ and chaotic noise ones and especially the tracks that contain vocals.
Abscheu sound somewhat ‘typical’ for an Unrest project, but when it is good, that does not really matter. “Creed” is another good noise album.
Moral Order is an active ‘new’ project. After the 2018 album on Tesco that I reviewed, there have been no less than five albums and as many ‘other releases’. The project released through labels such as Tesco, Malignant and Old Europa. Two of the shorter releases were made available by Cloister who now also release this vinyl full length.
The sound of Moral Order goes from dark ambient, to ambient noise, but often working towards more of a ‘wall of noise’ type of noise and death industrial. Extremely distorted vocals bring an extra layer to the fairly extreme sound. However this is my kind of sound, I cannot say that I listen to Moral Order a whole lot. Perhaps it is good, but does not really stand out or something. Also there are other kinds of tracks, more experimental soundscapish things which work less for me, so I would probably not just play an album from start to finish.
In any case, all I can say is that “Backlash” is a good new album in the noise type of music.
It has been five years since the last cd of Am Not. The meantime has seen some tapes and vinyl. Now suddenly there is a double cd. It is not entirely clear to me what the history of this release is. The album can be listened to on the Bandcamp of a label called “Kampf Unrest” which has the logo of the (defunct?) Unrest Productions label that also released “Unpunished : Appendix” (2018). Bandcamp does not offer buying a physical copy. These physical copies appear to have to come from Tesco, but are not yet available.
Bandcamp says that there are: “10 new songs about dispossession”. According to the Tesco website, there are: “11 new songs about dispossession”. Perhaps the Bandcamp release is one of the cds and there is one long track on the other?
For now, based on the Bandcamp release, I can say that “Cold + Disloyal” has the ‘harsh noise’ style of Am Not. Walls of noise, industrial blasts, metal clanging, extreme vocals. There are not the more dark and structured tracks of the brilliant “Unpunished” (2015). Towards the end there is an ambient track and the Bandcamp album closes with an ‘organ track’.
Update 16/12. The digipack is a nice threefold double cd. The extra cd has an alright 23 minute noisy soundscape.
Am Not remains one of the more interesting ‘new’ noise acts. I am curious what the 11th track will bring.
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.
This British project has remained below my radar. Yet, he has been around since 2006 and this is the fourth release on Cold Spring. The label ‘blurb’ says:
Rhythmic industrial noise – grinding and churning, drenched in crushing doom-laden guitars – drapes the sacrificial bones of the new album from esoteric electronic alchemist Colossloth.
What I hear mostly on “Promethean Meat” is fairly chaotic noise with a lot of screeches and high frequencies. The guitar noise, sometimes with vocals, reminds me a bit of the Dutch Gnaw Their Tongues. Here and there the chaos tones down a bit towards darker (industrial) tunes and towards the end there is a more ‘ritual’ type of track.
Not entirely my kind of noise. Not too bad either. Perhaps I will also try the older material of this project.
The over-active Hendrik Nordvargr Björkk has got a new project together with two other people. Even though two of their releases have been made available by Cloister Recordings (and two other by Old Europa Café), I have missed the project until this new release on Tesco.
By the way, there is one self-released EP in 2021 and all other six releases are from 2022!
What I have heard of the project so far is mostly somewhat typical, but excellent Scandinavian death industrial. On “Dødsverk” the sound is much more noisy. The industrial rumbling rhythms of other releases have made way for high frequency mayhem. I must say, that of all releases that I have listened to so far, I prefer all over this new one…
Concluding that the trio wants to explore different sounds and that most of their outputs are pretty good, we have another project to keep an eye on (and try to keep up with!).
So “Release Now!” became a trilogy with old Cleansweep material and “The Call To Die” closes the series. Like the previous, it was released by Tesco.
You get material created between 1995 and 2004. Of the eight tracks I only knew one, “The Call To Die” which was on the live in Munich album from 2003. All other tracks are not even listed on Discogs, so they have probably never been available before and represent the “unreleased material of lost tapes and material” of Tesco’s ‘blurb’.
Style wise there are no surprises. Noise with slow rhythms, low frequency walls of noise and here and there death industrial. The material is good to amazing (how comes that a tracks such as “Algomania II” has never been released before?).
Most Cleansweep releases were from before I liked them, so it would be nice if other material will be made available again too. New material would be a good idea too!
The latest BDN comes through Tesco. It looks like this is the first cooperation between both industrial dinosaurs.
“All Too Bad” starts with a noisy piece of music, not the “death industrial” style of Karmaniks project. This already returns in the second track, which has a throbbing rhythm and far away distorted vocals.
Karmanik seems to have wanted to lay more stress on the noisy side of the project this time, as the following tracks are much more in a noise direction than death industrial. Usually there is some sort of industrial rhythm in the background though.
“All Too Bad” actually is not all that bad. Perhaps a bit short, but apparently I can stand the noise side of BDN better today than I used to. Perhaps I should start listening to older material.
Am Not comes with a luxuriously packed 7″. The 7″ itself is plain white, but the 100 copies come with a printed acrylic glass plate each with a unique colour. Mine is a bit brownish red. The print on the plate is information and apparently lyrics.
There are two tracks, “Autopia Now”, which, I suppose, gave the title to the release. It is a recognisable Am Not track with a pulsating wall-of-noise type with vocals. The vocals are not as heavily deformed as Tamon sometimes uses.
On the other side there is the track “Bioluminesence” which is a bit more ‘tranquil’ with more heavily edited vocals and a lot less noise.
Am Not keeps the standards high and “Auto” is again an excellent noise release.
So 999 cuts is not a new a label as I thought it was. As a matter of fact, “the first cut” is actually “cut 04” after three earlier cds in 2018 and 2019.
The man behind the label has the Israelian noise outfit Kadaver, which was new to me. It was the contribution of Am Not that brought this release within my radar.
The cds have known and lesser known projects. There are Unrest projects such as S.T.A.B. Electronics, Uncodified, Shift and Detrimental Effect (who is no longer active). Other known names such as En Nihil, Contagious Orgasm, Linekraft and The Vomit Arsonist.
There are also names that are new to me, Yellowsubmachinegun, Caligula031, Rotat and more.
The biggest surprise it the opening artist: In Slaughter Natives. I wondered why ISN would be featured on a noise compilation. Well, he contributed a noise track! Pretty rough, industrial noise. Quite unexpected.
Most tracks on this compilation are pretty extreme and chaotic types of noise. The kind of noise that I do not really like. There are also a few more (death) industrial approaches which I prefer. Am Not came with a very rough track that I do like.
All in all a compilation for people who like the harder kinds of noise. Bonus points: all tracks are exclusive.
