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v/a – 電​子​暴​力​大​集​会 (2024)

Ozigiri is one of my favourite discoveries of the last years. He makes an extremely fast, violent and energetic electronic form of grindcore. The weird mix of styles goes from beats up to 1000 BPM (let us just call that “splittercore” for convenience sake), faster beats (“extratone” because you no longer hear a beat, but a tone) with screamed vocals and guitar. Much faster than your average grindcore and way more energetic. Brilliantly neckbreaking.

There are more such violent projects coming from Japan, but none as constantly great as Ozigiri. It appears that Ozigiri was picked up by the already established project M1dy and the two indeed cooperate frequently. M1dy finds it funny to mix in children’s voices and happy melodies (making a truly insane version of hardcore techno) which I often find too cheerful. Ozigiri also does that sometimes, like on the mentioned last album. Fortunately not too often and on this compilation, no such thing.

I seems that I missed that the album “Party People Must Die” of last year was the first release on Ozigiri’s own new label わんぱくレコーズ (“Naughty Recordings”). The compilation “Electronic Violence” is the second. He gathered similar projects to create a 12 track, 32 minute digital release. “Electronic Violence” opens with a great Ozigiri track. After an intro, the tempo sets in with Ozigiri’s brutal violence. His buddy M1dy did a wonderful speedcore track. Then follow projects that I did not know (except for RedOgre and Qureless). There is the grindcore type electronic music of RoughSkreamZ, Qureless and Maruosa; the more hardcore techno sound of Coakira and sHimaU; the breakcore of Sabi, 鬼畜生 (“Bastard” is not as energetic as the other tracks) and Haizai Audio and the splittercore of RedOgre.

All in all this turns out to be a very enjoyable compilation. Ozigiri is certainly the best project here (to my ears), but most of the other tracks are great as well. If you are interested in some extremely energetic electronic music, check out this compilation. It is available through Bandcamp.

Link: Bandcamp

Michael Idehall – Dadaist Gospels As Inspired Leaves (2024)

  • ritual

On recent releases Idehall often makes a sound that I find alright, but which is not my favorite of his approaches to music. Besides, there have been times with more releases. Recently there was a ritualistic split with Thoabath on Cloister Recordings, but the last release before that was (I believe) in 2022.

On the “Dadaist Gospels” there are five tracks. First there is the “War Magic” type; somewhat industrial soundscapes with spoken word. These are the most interesting tracks to my ears. The more minimalist, slightly ritualistic tracks interest me less.

But Idehall is still around, which is good. This release is not yet up on Discogs, but is available through Bandcamp.

Link: Michael Idehall

v/a – Kosmoloko 3 (2024)

“Kosmoloko” (2004), the first Galakthorrö compilation, opens with the brutal and brilliant “Hymn To Despair” of Haus Arafna. The somewhat calmer, but magnificent “After All These Years” follows. Then there are two superb tracks of Subliminal, dark, noisy industrial. Only with Karl Runau things become a bit more quiet with his analogue soundscapes. Maska Genetik follows with two brilliant angsty industrial tracks and at the end there are two typical tracks for the later sound of November Növelet.

“Kosmoloko 2” (2012) turned things around. The dark dance sounds of November Növelet open this compilation, but they are immediately followed by two raw tracks of Subliminal. Herz Jühing also contributed two magnificent angsty industrial tracks. The odd Hermann Kopp has two tracks and the second “Kosmoloko” ends with two superb Haus Arafna tracks that I can also describe as angsty industrial.

On “Kosmoloko 3” there is but one track per artist. It opens again with Haus Arafna, but this time their new depressive side; well-crafted, but not the style I prefer. More tear jerkers come from Aska, but their sound is a bit more angstpop. November Növelet also have a fairly melancholic track and a not too strong one. Hermann Kopp follows with a slow and minimalist track. The contribution of Sühne Mensch opens in a promising way with analogue humming working a bit towards a Herz Jühning style. This is the most interesting track so far. Interestingly, after a typical Te/DIS track, Jühning himself follows with a good and raw track reminding of older Haus Arafna material. Back to the more contemporary melancholic pop sound with Mode In Gliani and a relatively uptempo Da-Sein. Karl Runau is still around and he closes “Kosmoloko 3” with an alright melodic soundscape.

I miss the brutality of the Galakthorrö releases of old. Where the first “Kosmoloko” contains only great tracks, the second mostly good tracks, “Kosmoloko 3” has but a few good tracks. The three in line -I suppose- show the development of the label over the years. While my musical preferences grow more extreme over the years, Galakthorrö becomes less and less so. Thanks to Herz Jühning for keeping up the energy a bit.

Link: Galakhorrö

Post Scriptvm – Eisstoß (2024)

Both the discography and the time that I know this Russian/American outfit go back 25+ years. But, the first release that I got of him was from 2002. Post Scriptvm is back on Tesco for the fifth (if I am correct) collaboration.

“Eisstroß” comes as a luxury vinyl and -of course- as a digital release. It opens with a somewhat noisy ambient piece with highly distorted ‘power electronics’ vocals. What follows are mostly the weird industrial ambient soundscapes that we know Post Scriptvm for, but often quite noisy again (fortunately!). The third track is a superb death industrial track, some of the best noise I heard in a while.

Overall the album contains perhaps a bit too much soundscapish material with too many high frequencies for my liking. The often used vocals give a bit of a ‘Gnawed feeling’ which is a plus.

Weird as I know him, dark as I like him and one sublime outburst. Overall a descent album.

Links: Post Scriptvm, Tesco

Kojoohar & Frank Ursus – Frost Drought (2024)

  • angstpop

Frank Ursus is Te/DIS. Kojoohar is the angstpop project of Andrii Kozhukhar who also plays in Kadaitcha.

The four tracks on this 7″ are recognisably Te/DIS, but the music leans a bit more to the ‘angstpop’ side, so I suppose that is where Andrii contributed to the sound.

The 7″ contains four fairly tranquil angstpop songs with Ursus’ typical voice.

The covers are printed manually and are all unique.

Links: Kojoohar, Te/DIS, Ant-Zen

Xal – Spirit Breaking (2024)

Tamon “Am Not” Miyakita has a new project. According to Cloister Recordings created together with (the unknown to me artist) Mollusk King: “this tape explores tendency cinematic/dystopian-electronic/ rhythmic industrial to convey the harowing experiences and processes described in the text”.

The opening track is a rumbling piece of noise that shows the hand of Tamon. Then follows a more atmospheric (yet still industrial) track. What comes after indeed reminds a bit of Propergol at times. The tracks are more of a ‘noisescape’ type with samples giving that ‘cinematic feel’. Even though some sounds are known from Am Not, the overall sound and atmosphere here is different. Not as extreme, yet still dark. There is also a reference to the “Auto” 7″ with a track called “Bioluminesence II”.

“Spirit Breaking” is a nice ‘ambient noise’ release.

Link: Cloister Recordings

Riotmiloo – Blackout (2023)

Before “Blackout” there has been another album, also on Ant-Zen: “La Pierre Soudée” in 2015. I did not register that debut.

When I put on “Blackout”, the first track reminded me of Geneviève Pasquier. “Your Eyes” is a somewhat industrial track with female vocals. Also other tracks have hints of Pasquier, not only because of the vocals but also because of the music. Riotmiloo sure is not a Pasquier copycat though.

The artist has an interesting musical career. According to her own Spotify biography, she has a background in riot girl and (digital) punk bands. Cooperation with techno and industrial artists led her to experiment with less punky and more industrial sounds which she releases under the moniker Riotmiloo.

“Blackout” goes from ‘discoish’ industrial, to softer tracks and most tracks are quite alright. The previous album is somewhat more punky reminding me a bit of “NAKED”, an interesting duo that slowly shifted from techno to industrial. In any case, Riotmiloo’s second album is -to me- somewhat more interesting than the debut.

If you are a collector, Ant-Zen made a luxury sleeve for the vinyl version of this album.

Links: Riotmiloo, Ant-Zen

Stars Without Light – Beneath And Before (2023)

Harlow –Funerary Call, Sistrenatus– has a new project: Stars Without Light. “Beneath And Before” is announced for 15 December and will be available on cd in an edition of 300 copies. The album is announced as “dark ambient”, but as usually with this artist, the genre is stretched into more industrial and noisy directions as well.

Most of the tracks are indeed dark ambient, but more in the soundscapish end of the genre. At other times the ‘scapes’ are more noisy and here and there SWL goes into more rhythmic and ritual directions. The atmosphere is dark and threatening (‘of course’ I would almost say).

Not the dark ambient of stretched sounds, but more that of the industrial ambient sound collage type.

Link: Cyclic Law

The Coffinshakers – Graves, Release Your Dead (2023)

The Coffinshakers keep reaching me by surprising ways. Halfway the 1990’ies I found a flyer of their “Vampiric country music undead” among more usual metal (and related) flyers. Country music in the dark metal scene. Odd, yet amusing.

Many years later I was working through the psychobilly (and “gothabilly”) scene and I learned that The Coffinshakers were still undead and kicking. It seemed that the band did play live, but not outside Scandinavia, so I started to suggest them for the Wave Gotik Treffen every year, especially when that festival started to incorporate psychobilly, The Coffinshakers would fit wonderfully. No succes so far.

Then earlier this year The Coffinshakers were announced to play at the Helldorado festival in my home town! I immediately bought tickets. Helldorado is the follow up of Speedfest. Speedfest towards the end was no longer a strictly speedrock/psychobilly festival as other kinds of rock and metal started to be booked as well. Helldorado was last weekend. There was a stage with mainly metal, a stage with different kinds of rock and a small stage for a variety of bands, including a psychobilly band and… The Coffinshakers.

The band gave a wonderful show. Rob Coffinshaker mentioned that there was a new album after 16 years of silence. Fortunately they played many up-tempo old songs, some dating back almost three decades.

The new album is (on the Coffinshakers scale) down- to midtempo, fairly melancholic, at times very accessible, but still with the Vampire-theme lyrics. An odd mix with songs that would fit well on Americana-type radio shows, yet with lyrics that require a certain kind of humor. The album is nice. The band has good musicians and Rob still has his Johnny Cash-type voice. So when you are looking for something out of the ordinary, The Coffinshakers still are.

Links: The Coffinshakers, Svart Records

Thorofon – Angor (2023)

Released exactly a year after “Gladio“, “Angor” is the new vinyl of the “Krankpop” duo Thorofon. Also released today is a cd with both “Gladio” and “Angor” on it.

After a noisy opening comes the nice ‘industrial disco’ (as I call it) track “Perfection”. What follows is different kinds of industrial, from more EBM type danceable tracks to more sound collage noisy tracks. Of course there is also the dirty, rhythmic Thorofon sound. There is also a track recorded together with Te/DIS.

“Angor” is rougher than the somewhat more EBM oriented predecessor, so when you listen to the cd, the music gets rougher and rougher. Not a bad approach!

Link: Ant-Zen