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All Are To Return – AATR III (2024)

The Dutch label Tartarus Records has a varied roster. I found them when I was looking for experimental doom metal. At some point I also started to look for noisy doom metal and I again came to Tartarus because of the second album of AATR (2021). And now there is AATR III.

“The two-man formation” makes a heavy wall of noise, but it seems to be (mostly?) guitar based, with heavy blasts and screamed vocals. Not exactly easy listening, but that can be said about noise music in general.

An interesting project in you enjoy a somewhat industrial approach to noise and do not mind it being metal in basis.

Links: All Are To Return, Tartarus Records

Kadaver Fauna – I (2024)

So Michael Idehall has a couple of new projects going on. Kadaver Fauna is a collaboration with an artist unknown to me. “I” was first released on a new label called Reality Gap Records and as digital release through an also new label called Nü-Sejd.

Now when you go through the Nü-Sejd catalogue currently five releases, you also encounter Idehall under the name Yxan with a soundscape mini album. Äsping (Idehall, Asa Nordgren and vaying contributors) also with a soundscape album. He is not listed as a member of Moral Excerpt (on Discogs), but Idehall can be heard of the first and fourth track of the interesting minialbum “Incan Marshland” which goes more into the industrial approach that Idehall also uses sometimes.

Also Kadaver Fauna has that more industrial and sometimes noisy sound in which you can hear the hand of Idehall. There are also the typical vocals of Idehall with ‘abstract lyrics’ and here and there a little bit of noise. As the album continues, the sound becomes more soundscape, sometimes ambient, and somewhat ritualistic. I like the more industrial tracks best, but this is a nice album overall.

Link: Nü-Sejd

Ausströmen – Still Stehen (2025)

  • noise

While waiting for the cd-version of “Intersection“, Ausströmen releases a four track digital mini album.

“Still Stehen” opens with a fairly chaotic, but great noise track in the recognisable Ausströmen style, a bit of a ‘noisescape’. The second track “Void” has a similar style, but this track has a bit more rhythm and samples.

The speed goes further down in the third track “Reptile” and the fourth track “Cocoon” contains so many samples, that I have to think of the ‘filmographic noise’ approach of some work of Propergol.

Another good release from this British project.

Link: Ausströmen / Faktion

Maschinenkrieger KR52 – Stroke Unit (2024)

Maschinenkrieger was the absolute highlight of the 2024 Wave Gotik Treffen. Half past four in the afternoon, first act of the Täubschental of that day, sunny outside, yet a well filled room with a varried audience as is usual with this type of music.

There is a lot of so-called “rhythmic noise”, especially on the Hands label that also released “Stroke Unit”, but seldom does the style get as noisy as Maschinenkrieger.

So I found myself in a dark room full of wildly dancing people to an energetic piece of ‘indancetrial’ as I used to call it.

Discogs makes it sound as if “Stoke Unit” is the first album under this name, while all previous seven album were made under the monicker “Maschinenkrieger KR52 vs. Disraptor”. Perhaps that means that the project went from being a duo, to a solo project. There was -indeed- but one guy on stage that sunny day.

Music-wise nothing much changed. Maschinenkrieger makes -I said it- a noisy form of “rhythmic noise”. As before, quite a few tracks are ‘mid tempo’, while only a few are more energetic. It is probably hard to tell this album apart from earlier releases, but, it is a descent album and more interesting than most “rhythmic noise” to my ears.

Links: Maschinenkrieger KR52, Hands

Kommando – Wage Of Wrath (2024)

It appears that nowadays Kommando is Dan Courtman’s solo project.

“Wage of Wrath” contains the familiar industrial approach to noise, but also more typical noise material like in the early days. I especially like the death industrial tracks “Death On Demand” and “Drifting In Echoes”, an industrial rhythm, highly distorted vocals, that is the side of Kommando that I like best.

The noise tracks are not bad, but I like the more industrial approach better. All in all 11 tracks, 39 minutes and -if you are fast- available on vinyl.

Link: Ant-Zen

Spur On To XS – Indulge In Primal Ecstasy (2024)

One of the Radar Men From The Moon members started a new and noisy solo project.

“Indulge In Primal Ecstasy” opens with a wall of noise track and continues with an excellent piece of ‘throbbing’ noise with vocals (perhaps think Anenzephalia). Then follow more minimalist tracks that I would call “ambient noise”, some are more ´noisescape´ in approach, other more industrial.

A descent album of 28 minutes, available on cd and as a Bandcamp digital release.

I think I heard of the label Dunkelheit Produktionen, but most of the projects on their roster are unfamiliar to me. I should perhaps try some other material to see what it all is.

Links: Spur On To XS, Dunkelheit Produktionen

Radar Men From The Moon – Vomitorium (2024)

Four years ago, a concert announcement for my hometown (that never took place due to the Covid pandemic) made me circle to a local band that I heard of, but did not really know. The previous album of Radar Men From The Moon had just been released and I decided to review it.

I had heard of the new album “Vomitorium” and I think I even listened to it, but them holidays came and I forgot about it until one of the members let me know that he has a new project.

“Vomitorium” is again a noise rock album that in sound goes from Swans-like heavy industrial rock to more a Ministry-type approach, to a direction that I would rather describe as ‘noisecore’, a noisy version of hardcore rock. Actually, the description about the label Fuzz Club Records is quite fitting for “Vomitorium” as well: “raw, experimental rock ‘n’ roll, influenced by psychedelia, shoegaze, noise, garage, blues, folk and experimentation”.

A nice album.

Links: Radar Men From The Moon, Fuzz Club Records

Uncodified – Erased People (2024)

Seven years ago I was looking at Unrest Productions and ran into “Maybe All Is Not Completed“, a pretty good noise album of a project I was unfamiliar with. Already then, I mentioned that Uncodified was an active project.

This time I was looking at the Dunkelheit Produktionen roster and noted a recent Uncodified release. Many releases have been made available between these two. Obviously I failed to follow the project.

Just as with the other album “Erased People” opens with a somewhat noisy ambient track and continues with a chaotic piece of noise. Then comes a more industrial track, an excellent death industrial track and some more noise, chaotic noise and death industrial. So again a varied album from which I prefer the death industrial side.

Not bad and currently the only Uncodified release available on Spotify.

Links: Uncodified, Dunkelheit Produktionen

Ozigiri – Floor Killer Death Machine (2024)

I have to take something back from my previous review. Ozigiri is not “constantly great”. I just got two emails from Bandcamp with two new Ozigiri releases, both released today.

First we have “Color Me Blood Pastel“. It does not come under the name “Ozigiri”, but under the name “わんぱくスレイヤー” (‘naughty slayer’). It could be another artist, but released on Ozigiri’s label. In any case, “Color Me Blood Pastel” is one of those annoying Japanese baby music breakcore albums. Not my cup of tea.

“Floor Killer Death Machine” on the other hand, is Ozigiri with almost no breaks. The album opens with a blast with the title track and the next 18 minutes is for a large part full speed Ozigiri. Great! Digital grindcore as it should sound.

Link: Ozigiri

A Place To Bury Strangers – Synthesizer (2024)

It is utterly incredible. APTBS is constantly on tour and yet they manage to not only change line-up, release a series of singles, but also work on a new album. What is more, the steady part of the band, Oliver Ackerman, also proves to be behind Death By Audio which used to be a concert hall, studio, guitar effects pedal factory and more. Death By Audio still exists in some form and Ackerman decided that the new release of his band would come as a synthesizer that you have to assemble yourself. Where does he find the time to come up with such ideas and to execute them? “Synthesizer” also seems to come available as 12″ in the near future.

The album opens with the great track “Disgust” which has been released as a single before. It sounds like the band sounds live: energetic and noisy. While concerts are always extremely noisy events, recorded, the band shows its softer side. Sometimes. “Synthesizer” contains the noise rock side that we love APTBS for, but also softer (‘shoegaze’?) side and more electropunk type experiments.

Not all tracks are brilliant, but a couple of them are. “Synthesizer” is yet another very nice album. And if you have not seen the band live yet, be sure to get out your earplugs and go and hear and see them when they are in your vicinity. With their touring schedule, that should not take too long.

Links: A Place To Bury Strangers, DedStrange