Old Tower – Rise of the Specter CassetteTour de Garde website LINK
There’s a new wave of dungeon synth music coming out as of the last couple of years and it seems that Tour De Garde has been helping to proliferate it. Old Tower has a pretty decent discography ranging from somber medieval ditties to full on epic fantasy war battle leitmotifs. Rise Of the Specter opts for the latter.
One may attribute this type of music to prison-era Burzum where he sought out old casio keyboards with murder fresh on his …

Insect Ark – Portal/Well LPSSG BANDCAMP LINK
The woman responsible for Insect Ark used to play guitar for Angels Of Light and has been doing Insect Ark for what looks like close to half a decade. With a cache of singles and EPs under her belt, Portal/Well is her first full length voyage and hits most of the right notes where somber drone oriented rock is concerned.
I’m guessing after Swans reformed (and Angels of Light ended), Dana Schechter probably had a bank of riffs and ideas waiting to be used. Insect …

Hurz – s/t CD
Hurz BANDCAMP LINK
I’ll try to refrain from typing in the name of that one band that scored all those Italian horror movies, but it’s a welcome comparison to the electronic/prog songs that Hurz writes. The band describes themselves as a creator of magic squares where the listener is subjected to symbolic transformations. Very theater oriented stuff here.
I think it’s risky to offer an 11+ minute song up as your first track, but “Il nodo” throws you in the wash. If this track is intended as a …

Never Presence Forever/Isolated Existence –
A Future Scarred By Memory/Forever In The Dark CD-r
Darker Days Ahead BANDCAMP LINK
This CD-r release offers harsh noise and industrial elements split across two pieces by Never Presence Forever hailing from Virginia and Isolated Existence. Similar sonic elements bring these two artists together, but complexity (or simplicity rather) of the compositions are really what sets them apart.
Never Presence Forever‘s constructions of simple sound columns with minimal sequencing are really satisfying. The tracks are succinct and simple, but you will find dynamics here. …

Black Earth – Diagrams of a Hidden Order mCD
Malignant Records
Ambient black metal in this day and age is a far cry from the warped primitive manifestations of Abruptum‘s In Umbra… (RIP Tony), so I really appreciated that Black Earth didn’t go the purely electronic route of flitting evil touches and general “grim” vagaries that adjective oriented artists like. This mCD is a hazy and flagellating test that rewards listeners on multiple levels.
Black Earth‘s bandied color descriptor and geometry cult designs are among the things that make me grimace. …

Starboxxx – E02: Addendum 5″ Lathe
Empty Space Collective
This is an awesome little serving of cut-up sound oriented trip hop insanity from mysterious Swedish short player Starboxxx. Primarily focusing on the more musique concrete aspects of sample-based composition, these two modest tracks pack in quite a bit of sustenance. Side one fondues itself in a collection of hard fucking drums and knobby noodlings and side two goes skittish and then spooky warping time and space.
The 5″ lathe format offers two really unique perspectives on this genre of music – …

Анатомический Атлас Compilation CS
UIS LABEL
Looking for one of the best experimental compilations of this year? Анатомический Атлас not only has a great array of artists, but a really compelling and cohesive theme. Great curation and a mandatory acquisition!
Анатомический Атлас means anatomical atlas. Each track covers a certain aspect of medicine with respect to the enlightenment era and the tracks cover HNW, dark ambient, and power electronics. The tracks are sequenced impeccably in such a way that there are two distinct build-ups. The art for this …

Torture Corpse – Third Human Sacrifice to Samhain lathe
Auris Apothecary
From Auris Apothecary comes a fetid and grim piece of work from Dutch mastermind Torture Corpse in the usually disregarded lathe cut novelty format. Somehow, Torture Corpse managed to edge a surprising amount of depth with this release which features his Buddhist-tinted, pungent HNW approach. The track is pretty straightforward rumbling and cage shaking, laced with some possible guitar elements and a lot of static. Separating the actual track from the poly-carbon surface noise and imperfections is a great …

TRP/Body Cargo split LP
Autarkeia
TRP‘s songs play like b-sides from Perfection and Permanence. It contains two of his ambient works that harkens back to the Martyrium cassette but with the gloss of his success at setting up sparse synth sounds and mortar fire bass drums that peak with a quiet crescendo of ghoulish tact and another more defined track. Having no real idea exactly where “Unclæna Ghast” and “Gravfärd” begins, the listener is left with one continuous distant lawnmower clipping bag of a track that goes on for too …

Jib Kidder – New Works for Realistic Mixer 2016 CD-r
Care of Editions
Every so often, a record label forms to transform some aspect of the industry, however minute or grand. Care Of Editions‘ shtick is offering a certain number of paid (as in you get paid to download) downloads for every physical copy sold of an album sold. The handy guide in the back tells me that there is a non-linear, inverse relationship between vinyl sales and downloads. The more vinyl sold, the more one is paid because …