Crown of Bone/Tenebrious – Epitaph Crusted Black CD
Obfuscated Records
Who would have thought that Indiana would become a hotbed for black noise? Just when you thought all was lost with the world something as surprising as a split between two black noise projects from Indiana shows up at your door. Released by the ever growing force Obfuscated Records this CD is sure to impress any fan of the genre.
Tenebrious is up first with what I would consider a more traditional showing of black noise as coined by the late great Aural …

En Nihil/Striations – Split C20
Danvers State Recordings
First off, I freakin love the packaging of this bad boy. A big, soft, white poofy case with darkened artwork and a slot for the tape. It’s simple yet effective much like the music here.
En Nihil kicks things off on side A with his usual devastatingly heavy production style. Absolutely pummeling repetitive industrial loops sprinkled with various drowned elements of scrap abuse. Each track has it’s own plodding rhythm and will destroy your mind. Like a meeting between Brighter Death Now and Wolf Eyes.
Striations …

Boar – Dead Existence CD
Breaching Static
Boar is a project I have no prior experience with, so I had no idea what to expect from this disc. The design was good enough and on giving it a spin I found it offered up some crusty noise destruction.
The first few tracks are filled to the brim with heavily overdriven textures. Somewhere between wall noise and cut-up attacks. The overall style reminds me of bands that create “black noise” like Demonologists and T.O.M.B. but perhaps with less black metal influence.
On track 5 Boar …

Grunt – Europe After Storm CD
Industrial Recollections/Force Majeure
This album represents the second re-issue of Europe After Storm. Tracks 01-04 re-mastered from the original Europe After Storm tape released by Spite Recordings USA in 1998 limited to 50 copies. Tracks 05-07 unreleased studio material, tracks 08-11 live at S-Osis/Turku/Finland, 1999. The first re-issue was of the same titled CD released in a limited edition of 489 copies in 2001. This edition features the same artwork as the 2001 re-issue but is instead packaged in a jewel-case and limited to 500 copies.
I …

Herpes Ö Deluxe – Tollerort Organisation Verfügt 7″
Divergent Series
Divergent Series is a Boston based label (soon to be relocating to San Francisco) from the man behind FRKSE who has been reviewed here before. I’m not familar with Herpes Ö Deluxe but they are said to be “Swiss Legends” from the label. Skepticism set on high as I delve into the tracks.
Well the words of the label could ring no truer because immediately the record impresses with Friester Auf Der Lauer an incredibly weird yet creepy layering of strange sounds culminating …

V/A – X Means Not Welcome 2xC20
FTAM
Straight edge harsh noise & power electronics? Can this be true? Have these scenes finally collided and if so, how will they possibly reconcile themselves? Well, X Means Not Welcome is the first step on a very slippery slope that will probably never lead to these scenes ever being able to successfully collide but what it certainly does offer is 40 minutes of militant heavy electronics that will appeal to any fan of the genre, but probably not just any straight edge kid.
Baculum is …

En Nihil – Crimes C60
Phage Tapes
Remember the scene in Terminator 2 when Sarah Conner has a flash forward into the future and everyone’s skin is blown off their skeleton? Well hitting play on En Nihil’s Crimes is very similar to experiencing that moment, but luckily my skin bounced back after being almost blown off by the intense barrage of distorted walls that assaulted me. The production of this tape is absolutely massive and it’s noticeable immediately.
Worth mentioning is the beautiful artwork and manufacturing offered by Phage Tapes with a …

Compactor – Desensitization Reprocessing C32
Out-Of-Body Records
Compactor is the project of Derek Rush the man behind many impressive music/noise projects including A Murder of Angels, and Dream Into Dust. Although A Murder of Angels is pure dark ambient you will find much more traditionally music leanings with Dream Into Dust, split the difference and that is where Compactor fits in.
The project combines more industrial underpinnings with new school electronica and power noise to create a varied mix of styles. But Desensitization Reprocessing is anything but a rehash of 4-to-the-floor beats …

Joe Marshall – The Evening Redness in the West C22
Double Dot Dash
I am trying to refrain from making any jokes about this album title because I have to remember my roll as a reviewer and not as a comedian. It seems the only time I utter something I think is funny I end up being the only one laughing. I’m sure any comedy is not intended on The Evening Redness in the West though because in addition to the abstract, colorless artwork the song titles are quite foreboding.
It turns out …

Colorguard – Channels C13
Elm Recordings
Yet another unknown artist from this label and right here in New England as well! I love hearing new and interesting artists one of the few reasons I write these things. This is a quick blast of two opposing tracks represented well with the artwork using inverted white/black art on the cover.
Side A is all lo-fi noise destruction relentless in it’s attack. Not exactly harsh but more hypnotic and mesmerizing. Side B features echoing smooth layers of harmonic sounds forming a droning din of pulsating trails.
At …