Brandkommando – Changes C60
Nil By Mouth
Brandkommando is a project that I have still not made up my mind about yet. Their material tends to be solid yet even out of their rather large body of work they haven’t released anything that strikes me as very memorable. This is a full-length release on tape once again nicely packaged by the excellent label Nil By Mouth.
Side A demonstrates much of what I’ve come to expect from the project. Long winded tracks of chugging death industrial, or whirring hums with feedback layered on …

Animal Steel/EUU – Split C30
Self Released
This is an exciting release to have found in my review pile as these are two lesser known Boston artists. Animal Steel is Ted of the infamous PE trio 2DeadSluts 1GoodFuck. EUU is Joey who also operates as Typical White Male. Both artists focus on experimental electronics yet this release offers some surprises.
EUU is up first featuring one long track on side A with squelching analog synth pulses combined with crusty atonal throbs. It’s an echoing sci-fi alien planet vibe with spastic tape manipulations, and …

Lupus Sol – Lupus Sol CDr
Live Bait Recording Foundation
I’m not totally sure but I believe Lupus Sol is a collaboration between Aaron Vilk of Nyodene D and Stephen Petrus of Murderous Vision, two diehards of the Cleveland industrial scene. This disc spans 4 tracks and 47 minutes of death industrial/drone.
The general sound here has a focus on texture most of which is different forms of metallic drones. Where Invokation / Hight Tension has a noisier chug to it and more shifts than the following The Eroded Face of Edward Paine, …

Suicide Bomber – Do Amphetamines and Fuck Everything CDr
Self Released
Suicide Bomber is a currently defunct power electronics project from Calgary Canada. He now performs as Citadel which I’ve heard is somewhat in the same direction as this material goes. What he presents with this quick CDr is 2 tracks totaling 12 minutes so this is definitely an “EP”.
The first track is simply titled Worship and is more of a buildup track that leads into the intensity of the second track. Textured feedback tones eventually build into a wash of intense …

Gnarly Sheen – Tansit of Venus CDr
Dumpsterscore Home Recordings
Gnarly Sheen is a new name to me, obviously a take on the actor Charlie Sheen who has actually become pretty gnarly himself. Simple packaging surrounds this limited disc which contains 7 tracks of varied synth music in 28 minutes.
The majority of the disc falls into the more musical realm of things using synths, drum machines and employing various melodies and harmonic tones. The music is roughly strewn together and also roughly performed. There are elements of drone, kraut rock, and early …

Merzbow/Actuary – Freak Hallucinations LP
Obfuscated Records/Love Earth Music
It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve reviewed a Merzbow release but now I’m remembering it wasn’t that long ago having reviewed his LP on Blossoming Noise which unfortunately was sonically completely forgettable. Now I am faced with a split between Him (capitalized because Akita is of course, the God of noise) and up-and-comers Actuary who seem to be getting around a bit lately.
Merzbow is up first utilizing a digital feel with crazy atonal computer babble accompanied by some rather weak distorted …

Kevin Greenspon – Maroon Bells CDr
Bridgetown Records
Kevin Greenspon is a traveling solo musician who creates melodies and textures of guitar drone also touching on ambient, noise, and musique concrete. The style lies somewhere in between Fennesz and Grouper.
The disc has an air of melancholy to it featuring mainly peaceful floating atmospheres. The tracks are very well layered and almost delicate in their structure and sparseness. This is listening for a rainy Sunday, or a peaceful snowfall.
The tracks are varied enough to easily keep the interest of the listener while also …

Sharpwaist – Poison Harbor C30
Razors and Medicine
Sharpwaist offers some of the best industrial/power electronics in the world and hails from my very own hometown Boston. It is the project of Carl Haas who has been active in the scene since the mid 2000s. Yet, the project has managed to keep a dedidedly low profile.
This is some of Sharpwaist’s best work. The raw character that pervades most of his recordings is still here, yet this time it’s coupled with a ferocity not seen in his earlier endeavors. This material hits hard …

Ophibre/Hunted Creatures – Split C40
Oph Sound Recordings
Drone, experimental, ambient are the styles that both these acts employ. Packaged in an intricately layered affair the tape isn’t too far off from the sounds it contains. For those of you unawares, Ophibre is from Boston and Hunted Creatures from Pittsburgh yet both haunt the same dusty corner of the scene.
Ophibre is up first with a beautiful drone track. Glistening stalactites of varied spectra ensorcel the listener with their haunting harmonics. The track is constant throughout but the textures are so finely interwoven …

Iron Fist of the Sun – I Will Never Have the Right CD
Freak Animal
I lost track of IFOTS releases a few years ago when this artist became too prolific to keep up with. Although they are still using iconography of Princess Diana all over the place I’m not really sure if her visage remains to be anything more than a logo for the project at this point. Predictably the release features simple, understated black and white artwork with minimal text.
The artwork reflects the sounds well because what is to be …