The Vomit Arsonist – Reason C30
Nil By Mouth
Black on black, black tape with a black label and a black spray painted cassette case. The Vomit Arsonist presents some fucking bleak shit with his latest release “Reason” coming from the Nil By Mouth camp. Packaging is well thought out as usual and creative in a D.I.Y. kind of way. I really dig all the interesting things Nil By Mouth does, and this release is no exception because it is packaged in a fused black plastic bag, somewhat reminding me of a …

Sensible Nectar/Mannequin Hollowcaust – Predator Plague C62
Rainbow Bridge
NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Sensible Nectar is back! Predator Plague haunts the airspace in my room. So many tapes… so little time. I will for a change, start this review off on a positive note. I really dig the packaging on this release. Bright orange graphics and the brightest neonist cassette tape I have ever seen. It’s visually offensive in the best of ways.
As for the sound, I am still baffled how Sensible Nectar manages to record this stuff without ripping out his eyes due to …

+DOG+ – Acoustic Shadow CDR
Love Earth Music
+DOG+ is a project that has been active for quite some time now, 1994 according to discogs. Acoustic Shadow is their most recent effort and it seems +DOG+ has got the idea by keeping this puppy around the 30 minute mark. What to expect here is mostly buzzing feedback and synth walls with blasts of noise, amplified and manipulated acoustic junk percussion, and layers of electronics.
The production on acoustic shadow retains a very lo-fi tone but it’s obvious this is intended and it works …

Regicide Bureau – Zugzwang CDR
Side of the Sun Recordings
The thing about Zugzwang is that it’s not a particularly bad disc, it’s just not good. This is a disc of over an hour’s worth of material all apparently recorded live in St. Louis Missouri on 7/18/09. It pains me to think that this dude played this set that was almost one fucking hour.
The production really holds this disc back. It’s obviously a room mic that has recorded the set so it kind of sounds like everything is being played in a …

Sigulda/Sensible Nectar – Split C20
Side of the Sun Recordings
Here are two artists, one of which, unfortunately I am already familiar with that being: Sensible Nectar. This is a short cassette with both artists presenting 2 very mediocre noise tracks, Sensible Nectar’s side is a bit more ambient though.
With “Three in One” Sensible Nectar combines some harmonious ambient drones on top of subdued pedal noise. Well, subdued might not be the right word, it’s really just turned down a lot. Delayed and reverbed-out the first part of the track is ok, …

Regosphere – Gutter Swarm C60
DumpsterScore Home Recordings
Regosphere is a name which is quickly making it’s way to one of my current favorite active noise projects. If you’re not in the loop quite yet, Regosphere is Andrew Quitter the man behind the rising label DumpsterScore Home Recordings. Regosphere takes queues from such epic acts as Megaptera, …Today I’m Dead, and Atrax Morgue to form intensely layered washes of industrial noise.
Gutter Swarm is the first solo album I’ve heard from the project and let me say it is jam packed with #1 …

Patrick Emm – Mythics CDR
Self Released
Patrick Emm is a drone musician who is previously unknown to me but apparently lives right around the corner. I love little surprises like that! Mythics is an easy 3 track disc spanning 45 minutes of minimalist synthesizer and guitar drones reminiscent Michael Gira’s short lived project The Body Lovers or perhaps even the more experimental sections of Godspeed You Black Emperor!.
The first track entitled “Like I Used To Could” features alternating sustained chords of harmonious tonal drones. Skirting along the edges is Fennesz-like electronic …

V/A – Summer Tour 2010 CDR
DumpsterScore Home Recordings
Summer Tour 2010 is a tour release from the Regosphere, Lavas Magmas, and Dios Project summer tour which is happening NOW. Don’t miss it!!! Check here to see if there is a show happening in your city. What they deliver with the release is 4 tracks 1 by each artist and an extra thrown in from the Dios Project.
Lavas Magmas is up first with “Just Ghosts, No Shell”. Not sure what the title is about but the track is a sick barrage of …

Doornen – AIDS Loves You To Death 3″CDR
Scrape Tapes
AIDS Loves You To Death is a quick little blast of the harshest, crunchiest noise that has graced my ears for a while. The disc simply just does not let up. Housed in stolen public service announcement ads the concept here is really doing nothing but reveling in the fact that anyone is susceptible to this sexy death.
With two long tracks totaling twenty minutes the disc is chalk full of harsh cut up destruction. Blaring distortion, washes of harsh noise, moments where …

Hjorten – Travel 3″CDR
FTAM
Hjorten’s Travel is based on just that and with two tracks on this quick little 15 minute release the concept is very clear. This is my first exposure to the sounds of Hjorten but right off the bat it’s obvious he likes to use the sounds of field samples heavily processed.
“Trains” is the first track here and uses sounds of trains creatively to produce an atmosphere that both abstracts the sounds but also pounds them into your skull. It’s like he turns trains into these enormous subterranean …