Administrator - Admn2

'Admn2'
Administrator
2015

(Band Submission)

Genre/s: Synth Punk, Digital Hardcore, Experimental, Electro Pop
For Fans Of: Broken Prayer, Atari Teenage Riot, Adbaloons, Godflesh

Oneohtrix Point Never released an EP earlier this year, and the first track on it was essentially a Slayer track rendered entirely in MIDI instruments. I was hooked, needless to say - hearing one of my favourite electronic music producers channeling the Doom theme song scratched an itch I never knew I had. I mention this because this here release is most definitely in the same vein, and more - and I'm beyond stoked it exists.
Admn2 sounds like the your favourite electro pop band merging with thrash metal, industrial metal and synth-punk. The end result is vaguely dystopian and robotic, yet upbeat and infectiously catchy. Distorted electronic guitar riffs are played off against soaring synth lines and pop hooks, and by jove it works damn you! Special mention in particular goes to closing track Last-Screamed Thing, ending the album brilliantly with a bona-fide pop banger which recalls both HEALTH's more recent output AND Yellow Magic Orchestra - while remaining totally original in its own right.
MIDI-thrash-synth-pop may not sound like your cup of tea, but if you're interested in experiencing this somewhat niche (i.e non-existent) genre, this here is more than definitely the best place to start. What's more it's free on bandcamp, which is fucking excellent AND it also means you have absolutely no reason to not click that link below and get down to some A-Grade hacker music.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Never Wanna (Go There)
2. Blood Painting
3. New Floating Body
4. Bad People
5. I'll Fix it Later
6. I Have a Scream
7. New Ways of Killing
8. New Way of Dying
9. Last-Screamed Thing

Bandcamp

Smegma - Smell the Remains

'Smell the Remains'
Smegma
1988

Review by Xander Johnson

Genra/s: Experimental Rock, Free Rock, Noise
For Fans Of: The Mothers of Invention, Swans, Ween, Sonic Youth.

Smegma is an unpleasant human dairy product created by the churning of unwashed genitals. It's also the name of a fabulous 'Los Angles Free Music Society' group founded in 1973. Since then There have been over twenty members of Smegma most with names like 'Cheesebro' and 'White Mohammad' who's actually present on this recording. The First song on Smell the Remains, 'Potatoe war', sound like Sun Ra making meme music but it gets much better after that. For every faux apathetic band of carefully manicured tumblr kids like 'Teen Suicide' There's a member of Smegma with actual disinterest. Nothing on this album is musical. Smegma's main sound resembles Naked City 'Do Re Mi Fa'ing their instruments before a show but there's also some early 'noise' on the track Beauty School (quite possibly just a metal trashcan being abused) along with tribal drumming, Plunderphonics, some disembodied Ho-down style thumping which seems lost (it was probably meant to be ironic), and then there's the lyrics. Pigface Chant is the best example of the songwriting on this album. It's about a pig-humanoid creature whose kept in a zoo and refused toilet paper. At the end of the song he runs away from the zoo to get his pig dick sucked by cows. If that appeals to you at all then check this album out!

Tracklisting:
1. Potatoe War
2. Forest Fire In Your Left Elbow
3. One Moment
4. Credo Quia Absurdum Est
5. Pigface Chant
6. Roll Down Your Window
7. Beauty School
8. Can't Look Straight
9. Flashcard
10. Outro Is Intro
11. Grass Glob Ball War

Download

  

FUCKED BY NEWCASTLE: Crab Smasher - Discography

'Discography'
Crab Smasher

2002-ongoing

Genre/s: Psychedelic, Experimental, Noise Rock, Noise Pop

For fans of: Boredoms, Violent Onsen Geisha, Mogwai, Pharaoh Sanders, Oval

Review by Jerry Kahale

Continuing with my series on our Novocastrian artists in "Fucked By Newcastle," when it comes to home brewed noise, Crab Smasher are perhaps one of the most fascinating acts to ever come out of the Steel City. I only have a small grasp of their history but I'll try to explain it as best I can. Crab Smasher started as a duo in 2002, with Grant Hunter (Polyfox And The Union Of Most Ghosts, Anal Discharge) and Nicholas French (Polyfox…, Obat Batuk, The Farting Arses).

Although guest artists would frequently appear on their releases, it was the album Serie Un Di Collaborazione that would cement Crab Smasher as the musical collective of Nicholas and Grant, with a revolving door of many different artists joining – including Nick Senger (Castings), Sarah Humphreys, Chris Hearn (Alps), Mike Foxall (Nancy Vandal), James Kritzler (Slug Guts, White Hex), Nathan N. Martin (Anal Discharge, Sweet Teeth, HANNAHBAND, Burlap) and a lot more. In around 2008, Marnie Vaughan (Sweet Teeth, HANNAHBAND), who had already appeared on a few Crab Smasher recordings – was starting to appear on all their subsequent recordings, thus making Crab Smasher a trio. Twelve years on, they are still making music to this day, with their most recent piece, Scum Puzzle, released this year in May.

So, what kind of music do they make? Well, anything and everything, really. Their musical journeys know no boundaries; almost every single release is completely different from the last and are usually always improvised. Take Scum Puzzle for example – an electronic and mostly instrumental album completely driven by coarse and abstract bit-crushed synths gone mad and erratic drumming, with a relatable pop rhythm that falls in tandem of a listenable and uncomfortable experience – but go back one album, to Earth Buddies, and we have a live radio session of the first ever "carbon neutral noise band" which has all the members switch out their synths and drums to get their crazy hands on thumb keyboards, glockenspiels, recorders, percussion, acoustic guitars, zither, battery powered toys and just about anything that isn't connected to a power outlet, creating an aurally destructive but environmentally friendly symphony.

They go from the avant-garde noise pop of the Blue Album to dreamy ambient post rock on The Doctor Is In…Over His Head. Most of their earlier releases are more focused on noise soundscapes like Todd McFarlane Crushes The Tyranny Of Corporate America. Sometimes a single release can have styles and genres all over the shop like Thick Mosquito Sky and Bones Are Stronger Than Concrete.

If I had to choose a favourite release however, it would easily be Impossible Monsters, which is probably because it was my first foray into discovering Crab Smasher (I forgot how), and at a time when I was forsaking a lot of mainstream music and was hungry for something different, this release came along and really left a big impression on me. I haven't heard many albums that can transcend from rumbling drones and short bursts of static attacks crashing in through some extremely harsh noise, before doing a reverse on the mood and presenting the listener with a manic, thick layered and melodically adventurous theme song for some non-existent cartoon. Impossible Monsters continues to flip moods again, to dark and eerie lounge music, and eventually ambient noise flowing from the melancholic to the euphoric. The last song is what makes the entire album for me, as it serves to be a final, cathartic point of how far they can strip down the layers, until we have a minute long song of lone keyboards and bit-crushed drums with the only vocals on the entire release. It makes for an oddly emotional experience as the band bends the rules of consistency to make their own. Some other notable releases for me include DOOM+DOOM=OMG, Serie Un Collaborazione and Forever!.

You can get their entire discography from their bandcamp, with everything free to download. I won't provide a track listing because there are too many releases to put up. As for where to start, well I reckon you should explore for yourself, but otherwise you can go back over the review and try out the albums I mentioned.

Bandcamp

Editing by Simon Dawes
dawes1986@gmail.com

FUCKED BY NEWCASTLE: Hutz - Greatest Hutz Vol. 1

'Greatest Hutz Vol. 1'
Hutz
2012

Review by Jerry Kahale

Genre/s: Ambient, Drone, Electronic, Hip Hop, Experimental
For Fans Of: Tim Hecker, Gas, Brian Eno, Stars Of The Lid, OFWGKTA,12 Oz Mouse

Yo. So i've been AWOL for the past six or so months because its kind of hard to write reviews when you dont have a computer. Here is a review i started ages ago but never finished till now.

Just like how it first grabbed my attention when I was given this cassette in a tape trade with my pal Max who runs White House Records (The Sufferjets, The Nugs, Whitney Houston's Crypt) I can say that the album cover itself has immobilized your mouse wheel from scrolling down in a state of disarray. A paper mache mask of Milhouse in a pink shirt beside a well-crafted rubber mask of Homer Simpson? What is this absurdity?

As it turns out its not even the weirdest thing about it, this is a soundtrack for an obscure webseries called Hommer Simpson (not a typo). Curiosity got the best of me and I can't be ever more thankful because its truly an amazing piece of morbid dadaist comedy. It is pretty much The Simpsons given the 12 Oz Mouse and Dumbland treatment, even more so the former because it starts out the same way with crudely drawn animation with wafer thin plots seemingly give way to a contrived and deliberately confusing conspiracy story but this is with characters you've come to know and love put through the ringer and warped, wrecked and molested in true black comedy scenarios. It even has its own in-show series called Seinbleuth, a crossover of Seinfeld and Arrested Development that also descends into chaos and a plethora of Australian television references of last decade (kinda like another aussie absurd animation called The Big Lez Show). It starts as crap animation but as the series progresses it goes beyond parody and becomes self spiteful art.

The soundtrack for this series is just as weird.. It starts off conventional enough with an extended jam of a "Live From News" theme but then listening to it in one go is a weird ordeal in itself because most of the songs consists of all the collected music from one episode. So here you are listening to lounge music, cheesy but epic hip hop to butchered up versions of original Simpsons songs and then there are the songs that cannot even be described without your brain going to a blithering mess (Homm Grimm) but without realizing it a mood swing comes about and it transforms into these minimal swells to wondrous and lush drones that gradually wash into each other. All of a sudden it doesn't feel like you are listening to a soundtrack from an absurd black comedy animation anymore. Going into "Hommer Simpson 5" it really starts to become haunting but between the drones there are these little moments that are truly unique; a lone gradual electronic beat pulsating in and out, harmonious strings and piano crescendoing up to a pinnacle and really dark moments of crying children and maniacal laughter cutting through static and phasing with some intense industrial drums and synths. 

There are too many of these unique moments to mention here because what makes this release stand out from other ambient releases is that it seldoms stays on the one theme for a long period of time because its all based on a webseries, so you can say its a soundtrack that likes to toy with you. Enjoying these sombre and deep soundscapes? Fuck you take this destroyed version of the Stonecutters song. Even if you don't end up watching the series its still a truly unique release thats there for the kind of music fan that likes it when artists and albums don't pay by the rules.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Live From News (Extended Mix)
2. Hommer Simpson 3 Suite
3. Cletus And Glick - Thuggin' In Springfield
4. Homm Grumm
5. Hommer Simpson 4 Suite
6. Hommer Simpson 5 Suite
7. Seinbleuth 2 Suite
8. Hommer Simpson 6 Suite
9. Cletus And Glick - The Lard Lad Hustle
10. Marge Karaoke - Sanitarium (Welcome Home)
11. Hommer Fixes Dulk (Hommer 6 Deleted Scene)

Download

Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing - Eeling

'Eeling'
Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing
2013

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: No Wave, Post Punk, Experimental
For Fans Of: Kitchen's Floor, Einsturzende Neubauten, Cured Pink, Mars, Rowland S Howard, Throbbing Gristle

Girls Pissing On Girls Pissing (GPOGP from here on in) could very well be the epitome of an unclassifiable band - that is to say genre wise. In terms of 'sound' and 'theme', GPOGP deal in a fairly consistent concoction of unsettling, post-industrial soundscapes mingled with the dying gasps of the No Wave, post punk and something more sinister and erotic. In short, you're looking at nightmarish dirges that certainly recall the hazier areas of the human psyche.
The New Zealand group, operating under something resembling a collective or collaboration piece together 10 haunting tracks comprised of scraping guitars, plodding bass lines and atmospheric synth. At times it's a more introspective listen - offering a calmer, but nonetheless disquieting descent into madness - and at other times it's in your face, with cathartic bursts of pained howls and crashing instruments.
Eeling is certainly an ambiguous listen, especially coming off more clear cut, genre aware post punk/experimental bands - but it's ambiguity goes hand in hand with its disturbing, intriguing songwriting.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Eeling
2. Feast of Trumpets
3. 15th Century
4. Fingers Down The Throat of Love
5. Eight of Cups
6. The Dance of Salome
7. The Dowser
8. Migraine Victims and the Cicadas
9. Nine of Swords
10. Garden of Pomegranates

Download
Bandcamp

NOISE MEGAPOST

It's that time again

'The Harsh Weight Of Anxiety' - Eating Scabs For Protein
Certainly an inventive name, and pretty indicative of the raw, primal sounds that are about to be thrown at you. ESFP is self described 'rudimentary power electronics', though on this release it's entirely 'instrumental' noise, comprised of squealing feedback and gigantic static walls fighting for dominance in the background. This is the sort of noise that makes you want to curl up into a ball and chew your fingernails.
Bandcamp

'HATRED' -SBTDOH
Isolation and discontent with the work-centric world we live in are the basis of this release by SBTDOH. HATRED is comprised of two lengthy tracks that share stylistic similarities to HNW, but break the usual monotony with bursts of dynamic noise. It's an interesting combination of styles and sounds and definitely worth checking out.
Bandcamp 

'I Can Never Know You' - Wolf Cartography
I Can Never Know You is the new 42 minute long tape from Massachusetts based noise project, Wolf Cartography. The solo project takes its cues from the likes of artists such as Glenn Branca or Otomo Yoshihide and delivers harsh, improvised guitar based noise. While there's plenty of guitar feedback, you're also assaulted with string scratches, painful string bends and an assortment of distorted wails and chugs.
Bandcamp

'Vessels' - Rui. P Andrade
More guitar oriented noise, but this time from sound artist Rui P. Andrade. Vessels is composed from numerous sources: prepared guitar, synthesizers and field recordings, all of which intertwine to create a slow, haunting build up of ambient noise. The two tracks here are certainly lengthy, but rewarding in their own right - each layer of sound is so meticulously crafted that you have to listen.
Bandcamp

'Machine Death' - Frequency Killer
Coming at you from Florida, USA is this debut from Frequency Killer, Machine Death. 
Over thirty, short, violent tracks you are slammed with seething, bubbling noise via unrestrained feedback and chaotic distortion. Definitely an endurance test for the ears.
Bandcamp

'Bitch Status' - Stricture Divulsor
Traditional instrumentation, noise, sampling and field recording and an interesting interpretation of Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' all collide on this debut EP from Stricture Divulsor. Somewhere between musique concrete and avant-garde rock is where I'd place this, but there's elements of traditional noise and electronica as well. An incredibly well put together collage of genres and an intriguing listen for sure.
Bandcamp

Interview With Zach Hill

Interview by Brayden Bagnall

HA

Tricked you. 

Well not actually, I am speaking to a 'Zach Hill' and he also happens to be behind a very neat noise project called 'Poète Maudit'. Here is an interview I did with him. Enjoy.

FBN: First of all, an introduction: what's your name, and the name of your project?

Zach: My name is Zach Hill, my project is named Poète Maudit. I create a variety of forms of noise and experimental music, including ambient noise, power electronics, and free improv.

FBN:  Apart from Poète Maudit, have you been involved in any other projects?

Zach: I started out playing in a lot of punk bands, they all failed. I'm currently trying to start an electric free improvisation/noise group. I also have a remix project, I work under the name Johnny 23. 

FBN: Poète Maudit is a name given to a poet living outside of society, and hence has some pretty transgressive connotations. Do you try and channel this concept through your music?

Zach: I certainly do to some extent. I would say that my pieces tend to be more influenced by the poems themselves though. If I ever get a live show, those elements will hopefully become more apparent.

FBN: What sort of equipment do you use to create your music?

Zach: I use handmade instruments, guitars, circuit bent toys, pedals, some basic synths/oscillators....also, staying true to my free improv interests, I use many found objects in some pieces. I've used everything from baseball bats to plungers to newspaper to wine glasses to Newton balls.

Also, I use an iPhone for making field recordings.

FBN: Speaking of field recordings, they are a big part of your composition process - what are some of the more interesting recordings you've used and how did you go about recording them?

Zach: Some of my favorite recordings are the ones I do in nature, such as crawling over a storm drain to catch rain sounds against metal or walking around the gardens/conservatory in Lincoln Park, Chicago, even though it became hard to isolate sounds from voices. Another was when I got sent to a piano shop for work and made tons of recordings of multiple pianos being played at once (the discordance was deafening and wonderful).

FBN: You've got a split coming out with Vomir soon! Do you have any plans to trump the seasoned noise maker?

Zach: I don't know if that's possible, but I did put a ton of work into my piece, and it's harsher than some of my recent stuff. There's field recordings of a lawnmower, a hydroelectric plant, and some nature sounds. There's a few vocal tracks, synth lines, and a bunch of noise tracks. So like I said, a ton of work. I'm really proud of the piece and I think it's beautiful. I don't think I've ever been this excited about a piece or a release, it's going to be a great tape.

FBN:  Your output is certainly prolific -  you've just put out your 20th release in half a year. What fuels you to put so much music out there?

Zach: It's rather simple. Making noise is something I love and enjoy, it's almost therapeutic for me. I stick to a schedule of sorts, and I almost never throw away tracks. I try to release an album a week (or rather, 4 a month).

FBN: What's your take on the whole analogue vs. digital debate that seems to be rife in the noise community? 

Zach: Personally, I don't see the point of the debate. Both can coexist quite easily and effectively. I personally use elements of both. I suppose I lean more toward analogue. I use digital techniques more as a processing tool, but it has become very important in my sound. I always use analogue when I use synths. I even use acoustic instruments quite often.

FBN: This is the part where I'd usually ask you what your top 3 noise releases of all time are - so, what are your top 3 ABBA songs?

Zach: My grandma is a huge ABBA fan, I used to (have to) listen to them in the car with her rather often.

1. "Thank You for the Music"

2. "Waterloo"

3. "Dancing Queen"

FBN: Because I can't think of anything else deep or meaningful to ask you: who'd win in a fistfight between Masami Akita and William Bennett? 

Oh, Akita for sure. Vegan power for the win! Also, it'd probably be hard for Bennett to throw a punch with his cut hands. Then again, he's probably into that kind of thing.

FBN: Finally, would you like to offer any encouraging words to the folks out there? Maybe thank some people, or give a shout-out? Or just shamelessly plug your musical pursuits?

Zach: First off, I'd like to encourage anyone who wants to start in the genre to just jump straight into noise. Don't hesitate or worry about gear or anything. It's a genre that's wonderful because anything can go in it, and as I said, it's a therapeutic experience for me.

I'd like to thank Brayden for this interview and my good friend William Shaw for being involved with some of my pieces and going to concerts with me all the time, I'd like to give a shout out to all the poets I've taken from and want to encourage people to read their works, and a big thanks to any person or artist who gives my stuff a listen and shows support.

Also, to be a bit shameless, I'm always looking for collaborations, remix requests, or splits, so anyone should feel free to contact me, I'm up for anything.

Thank you Zach! 

Mosey on over to the Poète Maudit bandcamp HERE where you'll find a heap of releases to sink your teeth in. Oh, and keep an eye out for that Vomir split - it'll be a doozy.

Hit Zach up at poetemauditnoise@gmail.com to arrange a split or collab

Interview with BoneMagic

Interview by Brayden

BoneMagic is one of several projects from Matt Hex aka 'The Only Noise Artist in Oklahoma'. While BoneMagic isn't strictly a noise project (it owes more to synthwave and industrial), it's no happy walk in the park either. I talked to the man behind the keyboard to find out more about the project and his involvement in the world of experimental music.

FBN:Greetings! Who are you and what do you do?

Matt: I'm Matt Hex and currently the only recognized noise artist from Oklahoma...trust me I've looked or they don't wanna be found.

FBN: How did the name for your project, BoneMagic come about?

Matt: Really it came from none other than a Halloween episode of the Simpsons, the one involving grounds keeper Willie assuming the role of a Freddy Kruger type...in the story Willie is burned alive and proclaims his curse then chief wiggum mentions something like "skeleton power" so I riffed with that hence BoneMagic

FBN: BoneMagic isn't exactly a 'noise' project, strictly speaking. How would you describe it?

Matt: Started with wanting to do something more structured and I've been a big fan of old industrial & 70/80s era synth soundtracks so that played a big part in developing the project, there are bits of noise littered through out the releases but I believe it's coming out into the forefront.

FBN: What sort of themes do your music and lyrics explore?
Matt: They tend to come from recent life changes and failed relationships, not to sound cliche but it's been a real emotional arc in progress to deal with and overcome. Other themes spur from ones own mortality and the end times but that is in my own perception

FBN: Where do you draw inspiration for BoneMagic, musically and otherwise?

Matt:  Damn to be honest, I enjoy everything, industrial and old synth stuff as made mention before but the real Inspiration comes from early prince and older pop music such as Isaac Hayes, BeeGees and a new cat Adrian Younge. Gotta expand and not recycle

FBN: How do you construct your tracks? Is there much of a writing process, or does improvisation play a part in it too?
Matt: I'll spend a few months making loops and toying with various bits of noise for background and when I feel it's ready I'll go in, record the main structure then afterwards add noise and sound bits to make it fuller, vocals are usually done in one day to maintain consistently. When I play live, improv is a big part of it as well, it keeps each show different and loose.

FBN: What do you use to record and play live - instrument/equipment wise?

Matt:right now I'm using Alesis micron, a mix of pedals, a shaker box"crank sturgeon issue" a boss looper, boss multi effects for vocals and a custom Trogotronic hot rod. I tend to mix it up when I play a different show. Helps break up the pace.

FBN: Noise and experimental electronic music has certainly experienced a renaissance period with the internet and development of online music services (youtube, bandcamp, soundcloud etc etc). Where do you see this kind of music going in the next five to ten years?
Matt: That's really hard to say, it's really helped me network and get out there as far as anything else and with the digital medium it's really leveled the playing field for people to be heard but trends change in a heartbeat.

FBN: What are your top three noise releases of all time?
Matt: This is a hard one...
In no order but had a profound impact

Halo - Body Of Light

The Bastard Noise - Rogue Astronaut

Sunn - White One

FBN: This is the part for any shout-outs. thank yous, words of wisdom or inane trivia you may have for the folks reading this. Shameless self promotion is allowed.
Matt: .I really want to give props to Sean Beard, that dude is cool as fuck, Raws"Plack Blague" nothing but nice and genius in assless leather chaps.Wt Nelson...a mentor and a brother simply & Johnny Cash for helping me really network with all the other freaks from the noise scene. Plugs??? My bandcamp Cruel Corrupt Recordings and my other bro Colt "45IVE" who I dj for under the guise of "Dj Fancy Feast". And for those who prefer something more harsh, I have a noisecore project called Video Nasty & a more traditional experimental called GRÆYBACK. Both our up on the cruel corrupt recordings bandcamp
Check him out... But that's all I can riff on. Thanks for having me.


No problemo man!
You can check out Matt's bandcamp over yonder  and, while you're at it, you can scroll down a page or so and check out the review I did for BoneMagic, and maybe give a listen and a download. It's pretty good.

Mittimus - Event Horizon

'Event Horizon'
Mittimus
2014

(Band Submission)

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation, Noise, Avant Garde, Experimental
For Fans Of: Fushitsusha, Zu, Borbetomagus, Skullflower, Ground Zero

Mittimus are doing a lot of things right - well, at least as I'm concerned. I like jazz, I like noise and I like both of those things when they thrown together with reckless abandon and played loudly. So naturally I was drawn to this band's promise of such things and thankfully I was not let down.
Event Horizon begins like a noise album, with a lengthy, spaced out drone track before sucker punching you with full band, improvisational antics. Entanglement the second track introduces you to the highly syncopated, disjointed and oh so good band dynamic that is Mittimus - via call and response instrumentation, challenging tempo changes and tasteful post production manipulation. From there on in you're in for a veritable sonic rollercoaster, that'll see you exposed to harsh guitar drones, synth freakouts, noise rock tantrums and snide jazz outbursts. If you came into this album expecting to be able to place your finger on an exact genre by the time it's over - than you're in for a good couple of hours of head scratchingm friend-o.
Event Horizon is 18 tracks long, with more than a few tracks stretching past the five minute mark. While that may seem long, it never feels that way, due to the band's constant exploration of sound and incorporation of new musical elements. The constant change-up of styles may come of as jarring to some listeners - but honestly I find it to be rather refreshing. To see a band explore more ideas in one release than another band might explore in their entire career is pretty impressive, to say the least.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Piercing the Singularity
2. Entanglement
3. Door to the Edge
4. Dark Matters
5. Passing the Event Horizon
6. Spaghettified
7. Sagan the Father, Hawking the Sun, Tyson the Holy Ghost
8. The Only Signal that Escaped
9. Light from a Million Years Ago
10. Solar Blizzard
11. Voyager's Reply
12. Reflection on the Death of Time
13. Perpetual Flight
14. Universe Bleeding at Edges
15. The Tyranny of Physics
16. Oceans without Gravity
17. Circumstellar Disk
18. A Path Impossible to Retrace

Download/Listen

Noise Megapost

I've gotten a heap of new noise submissions over the past two weeks, and now that I've pulled myself out of the lazy abyss that had been consuming my willpower I think I might post them now.

'DROWN' - GRVD
GRVD is the 'Depressive and Suicidal Harsh Noise' project of Brent Gunn, out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. If you're looking for thick, tightly compacted walls of noise and severely distorted vocals that practically just jump out of the throttle you then maybe you should give GRVD a listen. There's a heap of cool little deviations from the static and feedback from what sounds like a synthesizer and a few pedals, but I think the ultimate goal is to mow you down with some extremely violent noise.
Bandcamp

'13-31/31-13' - BoneMagic
'Charmingly retro' and 'dance-able' are not terms I'm used to throwing around on this blog, but yet here we are with BoneMagic. The brainchild of Matt Hex, BoneMagic invokes ritual atmospheres via the synth and drum machine flavors of 80s electronica, with his own harsh vocals. Seeing artists who've come from noisy backgrounds flirt with other genres is always rewarding, and the same can be said here - the synthwave/noise stylings of BoneMagic are something to behold/
Download

'Some Live Shit' - MPHIAT
As you might've figured from the titled, this EP features two live recordings from MPHIAT aka Zack Dion. This 7" was just released via H8 Track Stereo and features some of the most unhinged, deranged power electronics you'll ever hear. Apart from the wailing, high pitched screeches of feedback you'll also be treated to the inhuman, and utterly terrifying vocals of Zack, who sounds like a man possessed by a particularly malevolent demon. Harsh, scary stuff.
Download
Bandcamp

'Nativos' - God Pussy
Swirling vortexes of harsh fucking noise courtesy of God Pussy, a project from Brazil. My grasp of the Portugese language is abysmal (i.e non existent), so I resorted to google translate to find out more about this release. From what I can gather, Nativos is a chronicle of the atrocities and injustices faced by the native Brazillian people - presented through dynamic,  and very damaging harsh noise.
Download
Blogspot

'Acropolis' - Architeuthis Dux
Architeuthis Dux bring a whole new level of power electronics to the table on Acropolis, with their caustic melting pot of mangled synth, screeching electronics and garbled vocals. It's the weird, insectoid noise you'd expect from the likes of Bastard Noise, but ramped up to the absolute extreme with a constant barrage of the harshest possible tones. Most definitely not one for fans of ambient music.
Soundcloud/Download
Bandcamp

'When The Light Took Us Away' - Blakkr Nio
This one's not so much noise as it is a solo, guitar based drone project - but it should appeal to you noise freaks nonetheless. Across five tracks, Blakkr Nio explores heavy, grating drones, as well as more ethereal ambient pieces that recall some of Earth's later releases. While there is an element of 'tone worship' on When The Light Took Us Away, it is a distinctly lo-fi recording, which, combined with the doom laden, drawn out riffs invokes a superb atmosphere of isolation and desolation.
Bandcamp

Drowse - Songs To Sleep On

'Songs To Sleep On'
Drowse
2013

(Band Submission)

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Ambient, Experimental
For Fans Of: Tim Hecker, Pale Earth, Ben Frost, David Lynch, Planning For Burial

It's fitting that the album cover to this release by Drowse is a pillow, not just because of the project's name, but because of the dreamy, heavenly layers of sound that permeate the three tracks on Songs To Sleep On. Much like the surreal, dreamlike cinematic work of David Lynch (who's musical output is similar), Drowse's music has a similar hazy, uncertain tone but with a much more sugary and uplifting quality - i.e something you definitely want to find in or around your pillow. Songs To Sleep is primarily constructed with minimal synth lines and vocals, but layered and manipulated in such a way that the tracks never become repetitive and boring. Much like shoegaze or noise music, the thick walls of sound will have you coming back again and again, trying to pick apart the subtle nuances and elements that comprise Drowse's music.

TRACKLISTING:
1. leaving
2. needing
3. waiting

Bandcamp
Purchase the Tape Here!

!FUCKED BY NOISE MID-YEAR ROUND-UP! - Brayden's Picks

Welp. It's June already, which means 2014 is at it's halfway mark. On one hand I feel as if I've wasted the year and done nothing of real value, but on the other hand - THERE'S BEEN HEAPS OF REALLY GOOD FUCKING MUSIC RELEASED - and we've got six months of it left!
Without further ado, here is my top ten releases of 2014 so far. EPs, LPs, demos and all.

SWANS - To Be Kind

....


....

.......well duh



But also...

IDYLLS - Prayer For Terrene 
Okay, I've got to give this some more credit. Australia's best band got besterer with this release, honing their math-y brand of hardcore into a meaner, more concise noise machine. Much more of grind influence seeping into tracks such as 'Sow Control' and 'Animal Test', re-recorded tracks from the Indian Circle EP (Pay With Youth/Concord Prison) and my favourite track of the year so far with 'PCP Crazy', a throwback to scuzzy 80s Australian noise rock. A new vocalist, more vicious songs and added sax have really payed off for these Brisbanites.

JARHEAD FERTILIZER/PURGE - Always Faithful
Phwoar. Utterly pulverizing grind delivered in a neat, little package. And by little, I mean this thing goes for less than five minutes.
Both Purge and Jarhead Fertilizer deliver chaotic, breakneck grindcore that it's surprisingly well produced, so not one blastbeat goes unheard. While Jarhead lean towards a more unhinged, consistently fast sound, Purge change things up vocally and musically - ain't nothing wrong with a little chug.
Both sides are as equally devastating (and good), it's just a pity they don't go for longer.

THE LOWEST FORM- Negative Ecstasy
Iron Lung Records continue their winning streak with this absolute beast of an LP. There's hardcore, and then there's the rabid, brutal sonic attack that these British punks peddle. While it may be straight forward songwriting, The Lowest Form deliver their music at such intense levels that you'll be picking your bloody teeth off the ground after listening to this. The mean, buzzsaw guitar is accompanied very nicely by unholy amounts of feedback, frantic drumwork and absolutely pissed of, gruff vocals.
I'm inclined to say this is my favourite hardcore release of the year so far.


WARTHOG - Prison 7"
More hardcore. More Iron Lung Records. Oops.
Warthog are a New York based hardcore punk band who feature ex The Men vocalist Chris Hansell. While they're not a far cry from The Men's noise punk days, Warthog deliver a much more focused, straight to the point punch with their stompy, blown out hardcore tunes.
Hansell is as unhinged as ever on vocals, while the rest of the band conjure up a d-beat/punk inspired storm. This is perfect music to just fucking mosh your way through a wall to. Seriously.



CROATIAN AMOR - Genitalia Garden
And now for something completely different!
Loke Rahbek is a busy man indeed - as if Sexdrome (RIP), Var, Damien Dubrovnik and Lust For Youth (plus running a record label) weren't enough work. But here we are with Croatian Amor, the self styled 'bubblegum industrial' project of the aforementioned Dane. Genitalia Garden  is a collage comprised of field recordings, samples and warm bubbly synth that comes together to form the soundtrack to a grimy European arthouse flick that doesn't exist yet.


1/4 DEAD - Demo
What an excellent demo, seriously. These so called 'weirdo freak noise punks' have certainly lived up to the moniker with this 5 track salute to noise rock and hardcore punk. Erratic Greg Ginn-esque guitar work and manic, reverb coated vocals meet to form a deliciously unique take on hardcore, that just reeks of alienation and frustration. Every thing I could want from a punk release, and more.
Certainly the last thing you'd expect to come out of Delaware, that's for sure


THE BODY/HAXAN CLOAK - I Shall Die Here
This has been wowing music fans all over, and I can't say I'm surprised either - Haxan Cloak's dark ambient/electronica and The Body's experimental sludge dirges proved to be a very, very well suited couple indeed on I Shall Die Here. Haxan Cloak's manipulations, glitches and background ambience launched The Body's already terrifying music into dizzying heights, creating one of 2014's spookiest listens by far. Ignore the hype, ignore the fanboys, just listen to this and form your own opinions. You won't regret it. Probably.


CULT LEADER - Nothing For Us Here
if, like me, you were incredibly bummed out by the demise of Gaza, then you were probably super stoked to here about the formation of Gaza 2.0 aka Cult Leader. The wait proved to be well worth it, seeing a much more honed, precise take on the math/sludge/metalcore/grind formula that we all know and love. Better yet, new vocalist Anthony Lucero's throaty, gritty bellow is so similar to Jon Parkin's vocals, I was barely able to tell the difference. GAZA LIVES - just with a different name, I guess.


DEEP CREEPS - Crown Gall\

At first glance, a garlic themed band may be an amusing gimmick at best, but Deep Creeps proved they had the musical chops to back up their garlic-y alignments. Crown Gall was strung out, weirdo punk at its finest, throwing in a multitude of various other heavy genres to thicken it's musical broth. I reviewed this album on this very blog earlier this year, and I highly recommend you go check it out.




MALLEVS - Mallevs
Arizona's consistently brilliant music scene gave us yet another gem this year in Mallevs' self titled LP.
Mallevs present darkwave/minimal wave filtered through industrial and techno, with a dreary and grimy aesthetic with deadpan (female) vocal delivery. This is the sort of music you listen to while you're wearing a leather jacket and ray bans. This is the sonic equivalent of 70s/80s New York, without the rampant crime and violence. Mostly it's just good.





Anticipated releases for the remainder of 2k14:
- TRIAC (Full length and split with Lie Still)
- New SHELLAC
- COLUMN OF HEAVEN split with SUFFERING LUNA
- New LIZZARD WIZZARD
- FULL OF HELL collaboration with MERZBOW (!!!!!!!!!!)

NOISE MEGAPOST!

So I've been busy doing non-blog stuff for the past week (i.e work/moving house), and since then I have been inundated with noise submissions, which is awesome! On the flipside, I am struggling to do a full write up for each artist, so I figured I'd go with another noise megapost - this time without the shameless self promotion. I'd like to make these sorts of posts more common, so if you're a noiser, and you want your stuff plugged, send it in, by all means! The more submissions, the more mega posts I can put together!

Anyway...

'Auto-da-fé'
Peasant

Topher Wallace is the man behind Glossary Records as well as noise project Peasant. Just last week, the Texan based noiser released this tape and boy is it a doozy.  Auto-da-fé is two tracks (well over the ten minute mark) of swirling, chaotic screeches and static. Both tracks are excellent displays of cut-up, harsh dynamics with beefed up low end. A prime example of how to record longer noise tracks without boring the socks off people.

Bandcamp

'adwa'
HRRR

Coming at you from Toronto, Canada is the solo project, HRRR, courtesy of Gene Fracassi. Rooted in the industrial techno/experimental noise side of things, HRRR's music is built on synthesizers and samplers, as well as effects pedals. adwa is cold, apathetic music that sounds like it could be played in a nightclub populated entirely by robots. Minimal beats, punch synth lines and eerie background ambience make for intriguing listen indeed.

Download
Bandcamp

'BLACK OUT'
Nerve Vitamins

Noise from one of the guys out of Bad Juju.
Travis Pipkey's noise is a harsh and hectic as it gets, with plenty of shrill bursts of feedback, and pummeling effects pedal manipulation to get you all excited too. The extremely distorted and completely indiscernible vocals give Nerve Vitamins noise an even more disorienting and chaotic edge, showing up rather sporadically to shatter your nerves and damage your hearing.

Soundcloud

'Only Torture'
Limbs Bin

Limbs Bin is the noise project from Mr. Josh Landes. Power electronics meets noisegrind meets harsh noise in this cacophonic, intense ten minute track. Only Torture begins as a straight-up harsh noise wall track and gradually evolves into something else entirely, incorporating bursts of drum machine blasts and Josh's vocals. While this super-duper limited tape has since sold out, it's available here for free. Go for it!

Bandcamp

'Body Parts'
Rectocel

Rectocel is the collaboration between Jesse Kling (Rape-X) and Alexandra Pharmakidis (Power Monster, who have been reviewed on here before)
Honestly, the whole sexually deviant power electronics thing has been done to death, but Rectocel have some  brilliant noise work to back up their questionable subject matter with. Massive crumbling walls of static, distorted samples and eerie, menacing vocals are the game plan here, with a cover of Total Abuse's 14 Years Old to boot.

Bandcamp

NOISE MEGAPOST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SO I'm going to do something a little different just to spice things up a little and post a bunch of links to some noise projects I've uncovered, collaborated with or just straight up dig. It's a little self indulgent, it's a bit of self promotion - but hey, it's also a bunch of cool peeps making an unholy racket and a bunch of cool peeps you should check out.

Various Artists // Antifascism Is Self Defence
Okay, I'm gonna get the semi self promotion stuff part out of the way first. This comp was a response to the recent spate of violence, propagated by neo-nazis in Sweden. Myself (Aural Bile) and 11 other artists on here, and it's basically a big fuck you to all those neo-nazis making trouble over there.
All kinds of noise, harsh and otherwise - for FREE
Also if you do wish to pay, all proceeds will be going to Researchgruppen, who are a group of Swedish journalists dedicated to exposing and uprooting Nazis.

Bandcamp

Poète Maudit // The Conqueror Worm
This actually just dropped this morning, so it's officially the newest thing I've ever had up on this site (there ya go). This is essentially manipulations of field recordings of an orchestra warming up and various audience noises. Kinda eerie, very atmospheric and pretty darn cool. In addition to this, there are plenty of other releases to consume and enjoy, mostly field recording/drone/atmospheric pieces, with a few other styles in there too.
The guy behind Poète Maudit is a noisepal, and I plan on releasing a split in the near future, but in the meantime, check out the bandcamp.

Bandcamp

Prayed From The Bottom Of Her Heart // Gigyas
Gigyas is the noise/experimental project group from co-bloggers Jerry and Luke (who are also in a shit-tonne of other bands and projects which can be found here, here and here). I was meant to review this ages ago but then they went ahead and started writing for the blog, so I kinda couldn't.
ANYWAY, this is some ambient stuff with some insidious undertones and some noisy screechy interludes. I believe this release was recorded with a hammond organ that was found on the side of the road, which is pretty cool in its own right.

Bandcamp

いやらしい // Ikari
Ikari is the solo project of my fellow Limb Torture co-conspirator, Cody. This is some intense shit - pretty much full on power electronics by way of whacky Japanoise (i.e Masonna, Government Alpha and Incapacitants).
いやらしい (Odious for all you non-weebs out there)is the only release as of yet, but expect more releases and splits in the near-ish future.
All the hail the raw power of the TROG

Bandcamp

The Innocent // Fit For A Funeral
Rush has a ridiculous amount of projects under his belt at the moment, all of which are pretty neat - and he also writes for this blog occasionally.
FFAF is a noise project I've collaborated with on numerous times, and it's one that can be summed up in one word - ow.
This is some of the most devastating, feedback abuse since Prurients mic/amp temper tantrums and the deliberate and malicious nature in which it's thrown at you makes it even better. Listen at your own risk (and also because I said so)

Bandcamp



And while I'm at it, here's some more cool stuff for you to check out
MALUM - gritty power electronics/noise. Very dense, textural stuff.
CROPSEY - tape loops. delay and sometimes noise grind. Multi-faceted and well rounded noise.
NAHASH ATRYM PRODUCTIONS - total texture worship. A few different projects, but mostly centered around HNW and drone
OHNE - HNW violence from Germany. The dude behind this and the dude behind Carrion Sunflower are working on a PE project together. Get excited.
COMA BERENCIES - unsettling sound experimentation from Greece. Post punk/power electronics/field recordings
PURULENT SOUNDS - It can't hurt to plug my own stuff again, right?

Black Pines - Harsh Out

'Harsh Out'
Black Pines
2014

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Noise Rock, Noise, Drone, Experimental
For Fans Of: No Anchor, Dreamdecay, Planning For Burial, Skullflower

Black Pines are a duo consisting of ex-No Anchor lungsman/bass player Ian Rogers and The Rational Academy main-man Benjamin Thompson. While Ian has defected to Melbourne for the foreseeable future, and despite the considerable distance between Melbourne and Brisbane, it would appear the two have made short work of that setback and produced and utter gem of an album. Using two guitars to create harsh droning soundscapes, Black Pines play psychedelic noise for those of you who like to dabble in less melodic end of shoegaze and drone. There's a constant array of new tones and sounds being thrown at you at any given time, with no beat or standard song structure in sight - for the most part is heavily processed feedback and very minimal guitar playing. It's uneasy listening at times, atmospheric and almost elating at others, but ultimately 'Harsh Out's' sonic intensity will probably win over any one who's a fan of very loud noises entering their ear canals.
Suss it below - and while you're at it, check out the rest of the Wood and Wire catalogue, there's a plethora of eperimental releases on there to sink your teeth into.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Buried Sun
2. Omens
3. W69
4. Die Out
5. Two Years
6. Sacher Masoch

Bandcamp

MALLEVS - Mallevs

'Mallevs'

MALLEVS

2013

(Band Submission)

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Darkwave, Industrial, Experimental, Synth

For Fans Of: Tollund Men, Vatican Shadow, Marshstepper, Christian Cosmos, Mutant Video

Continuing with bands with names in ALL CAPS - I present you - MALLEVS (that's pronounced MALL-E-US by the way), a synth driven industrial/darkwave band from Arizona. Much like the punk and hardcore coming out Arizona lately, the trio make dark, noisy music that eschews the blunt force trauma of the aforementioned genres in favour of a more sleek, sinister vibe. 

Influenced by film soundtracks and DIY electronic tapes of the 80s, MALLEVS incorporates two synthesizers, a drum machine and deadpan vocal delivery (both male and female) to create droning slow burners, oozing with retro charm and unsettling ambience. The band's decidedly lo-fi, distorted quality lends this release a much more gritty, urban aura that to me recalls a version of New York you'd expect to see in a John Carpenter flick or on a sleazy VHS, and it's exactly the sort of thing I want popping into my head whenever I listen to any sort of electronic music. It's minimalistic but in a way that includes layers of grimy synth grating against each other in an impeccably structured manner.

If you're looking for the aural equivalent of Blade Runner, or a slightly psychadelic journey into the realm of industrial and darkwave - look no further. Arizona has done it again.

TRACKLISTING:

1. New Life

2. Grave

3. In The Dark

4. No Space

5. Stages

6. Psychic Lines

Bandcamp

Slum Killer - Self Titled

'Slum Killer'
Slum Killer
2014

(Band Submission)

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Noise, Experimental, Electronic
For Fans Of: Fuck Buttons,HEALTH, Burial Hex, (newer) Prurient, Pharmakon, SALEM,

'Happy noise' - it's not really a widely regarded term (or regarded at all), but I thinks it's a pretty adequate for groups/projects such as Fuck Buttons, Black Pus and Black Dice. Bands who've been approaching music from a decidedly 'noisy' angle, while eschewing the usual negative themes associated with the genre and opting for a more electronic sound and even a 'dancier' vibe. Enter Slum Killer, a solo project that's primarily electronic/synth based but with a definite nod to noise and industrial.
 Opening track 'Meth Mouth' sounds a bit like Pharmakon playing a nightclub gig - with super harsh vocals accompanying a sleek synth line and distorted, bass heavy beat. 'Claw Hammer' is another track that sounds like you could almost hear it playing in a club, though this club would have to be situated in close proximity to a sheet metal factory, with the harsh metallic drones that fade in and out of the mix. The EP closes with 'Low, a chirpy, euphoric tune with some borderline chiptune-y undercurrents.
 My favourite thing about this EP would have to be the fact that I can see a whole range of influences coming into to form something that's familiar, but at the same time vague and new. I'd love to hear some harsher stuff from Slum Killer, but at the same time I'd be totally okay with the happier, electronic stuff. All in all, a solid three track release and a good all rounder.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Meth Mouth
2. Claw Hammer
3. Low

Bandcamp

The Chewers - Chuckle Change And Also

'Chuckle Change And Also'
The Chewers
2013

(Band Submission)

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Avant-Garde, Noise Rock, Blues, Experimental
For Fans Of: Keiji Haino, Captain Beefheart, Arab On Radar, The Residents, Tom Waits

The Chewers caught my attention immediately with their email, stating that they play 'deliberately off-kilter music' and throwing words like 'absurdist' and 'avant' around. Never one to turn down some oddball tunes, I gave them a listen and here's what I got.

Imagine two fellows from the strangest, most isolated backwoods in the world got together and somehow replaced all their body parts, limbs, organs and all, with machinery. Now imagine these two hillbilly robots picked up some instruments and decided to play music based off that one Tom Waits record they heard in their 'human days'. Their new robotic tendencies force them towards cold, clinical repetition, but there's this niggling human need to create something new, exciting and overwhelmingly odd. The robot/redeck hybrids record their magnum opus - it's angular and calculated - just like the machinery that drives them but beautifully flawed in the way that only a living, breathing human flesh bag could be. These robots look at their masterpiece with utter admiration - and by Jove they'd cry if their tear ducts hadn't rusted over.

...While that's pure conjecture, what I can tell you for certain is that The Chewers play some whacky, original avant-blues-noise-rock that is toe tapping-ly catchy and head scratching-ly abstract. The two piece's 'primitive' approach allows them to flesh out their wonky guitar lines with minimal messing about and explore their vivid, absurd and often humorous  lyrics in greater detail. Chuckle Change and Also divides it's time between instrumental jams, blues ditties, storytelling and distrubing sound collages = a mixed bag of genres and styles that keep things from stagnating.  There's a lot I could say about this release, but rather than dragging on I'll let you form your own opinions - that being said you're in for a very weird ride, and one that won't disappoint those of you with an open mind.

TRACKLISTING:
1. (NOW)
2. Can't Sleep
3. Burn it Down
4. Techno-Slaves
5. Filthy
6. Some Folks
7. A Part Machine
8. (LATER)
9. Inmate
10. Smiling Samuel
11. The Fat Man
12. Mutter
13. I'm Afraid
14. Down There
15. Teeth Lock
16. (PAST)
17. Box Head Space
18. Tornado of Stasis
19. Steam
20. Funnel Head
21. Blank Pavement
22. Went Away

Bandcamp

Last Exit - Köln

'Köln'
Last Exit
1986

Review By Jerry Kahale

Genre/s: Free Jazz, Experimental, Noise Music, Bebop

For Fans Of: Peter Brötzmann, Sonny Sharrock, Naked City, Albert Ayler, The Flying Luttenbachers

So my last review (not counting the band submissions) was a band called Final Exit, so i'm going to be a smartass and review Last Exit. Don't worry though its all still very noisy and destructive, and no its not the British power electronics project either (Cheers last.fm). Incase you aren't familiar already Last Exit is an experimental free jazz supergroup consisting of oddball jazz instrumentalists including saxophonist Peter Brötzmann (Machine Gun), the late drummer/vocalist Ronald Shannon Jackson (collabs with Cecil Taylor and Ornett Coleman), bass guitarist Bill Laswell (collabs with Herbie Hancock, Yoko Ono, Iggy Pop and heaps more) and the late guitarist Sonny Sharrock (collabs with Pharaoh Sanders before being his own artist and is most renowned for the Space Ghost Coast To Coast theme song). 

Do you like musical notes, well constructed harmonies and a rigid time signature? Tough titties, because even locking up wild wolves in a music store would not be anywhere near as violent and bewildering as these madmen. Last Exit is a civil war of  noisy jazz music titans to see who can fuck shit up the most. This is by no means an easy listen. There is nothing easy here, even trying to point out a particularly unique part here is an impossible task. All the musicians, even the odd bouts of vocals, are non-stop crashing into each other like a derby, only occasionally letting one person a chance to shine on its own. Its far from a wank however, even amongst this chaos it still has all the professional marksmanship of years and history of world class musicians that defied the common ground and travel on their own path in a truly honest and unique journey. It should be pointed out that they only ever did one studio album and the majority of their releases, including this one, are live albums and presumably improvised too. 

Its a shame that Last Exit is often overshadowed by the equally eccentric Naked City, who formed a little later after Last Exit and both bands were active around the late 80's/early 90's but where Naked City tends to straight up assault towards as many genres and styles as possible in a hyperactive stupor, Last Exit is drawn more to destroying all the relics of conventional musicianship in a ferocious and rebellious fury that has yet to be matched.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Hard School
2. Brain Damage
3. Taking A Beating
4. Last Call
5. Dark Heart

Download

The Ducks - Passing The Poison Back To The Spider

'Passing The Poison Back To The Spider'
The Ducks
2013

(Band Submission)

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre/s: Noisegrind, Grindcore, Harsh Noise, Industrial, Experimental
For Fans Of: Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Insect Warfare, Nihilist Commando, Final Exit, Sete Star Sept, Foetus, The Gerogerigegege

'The Ducks sound like great bears trying to emulate metal or punk but being unable to do it in a polished way'

...You could take the bandcamp bio's word for it, or you could jump right into the sonic miasma that is The Ducks and decide for yourself. The band - split between Brisbane and Canberra, Australia - are an intriguing mix of structured grindcore/punk thrown into a turbulent maelstrom of experimental electronics and full on harsh noise that will surely make your head implode (or at least scratch it). On 'Passing The Poison Back To The Spider' you'll be marched forcefully through the realms of noise, HP Lovecraft, soft jazz, synth and bastbeats and copious amounts of sampling- it's an incredibly large selection of genres. juxtaposed in increasingly creative and opposed ways. At times The Ducks sound like Foetus emulating grindcore by way of power electronics, and at other times it's a synthpunk band covering Naked City songs backwards but ultimately The Ducks are in a league of their own creating some challenging music that defies all structure and convention to blow your mind (and speakers). Go and visit The Duck's bandcamp where this release and heaps of others are available as free downloads.

TRACKLISTING:
1.Terrain Adaptive Surgeries
2. Gods Or Forces Unknown
3. The Unseen Guest
4. Impulse Control
5. Your Children's Sleep
6. Shackled, Awaiting Trial
7. North Central Positronics
8. I Told You Longer
9. Completely Without Warning
10. In The Mist
11. You Go In The Box
12. Perpetual Recurrance
13. The World Will End In 1983
14. Horror Hospital
15. This Is My Last Visit

Bandcamp