Blue Sabbath Black Cheer – Witches C20
Destructive Industries
This is the second release from BSBC I’ve been exposed to and it is easily up there with my last glowing review of the project. The cassette is simply entitled Witches with the track Witches III on the A side and Whitches IV on the B side. One long track for each side makes for a great goddamn tape here.
The enormity of sound and intensity that is Witches III is phenomenal and overpowering. Deep booming rythmic swashes of distorted bass ring like the …

Diaphragm – Gauze CD
City Breed
There’s something mysterious about the word diaphragm, like why is that silent g in there? Why is it a ph instead of an f? Having chosen the word as a name says a lot about a project, it calls for mystery yet also simplicity, as it is about the most basic thing you can make a sound with. The only knowledge I come armed with about this artist is that I know this is one-half of the noise duo Cowards, which if you have read my …

Blood Box – Funeral In An Empty Room CD
Loki Foundation
It’s tough for me to think that it’s been 8 years since Blood Box released The Iron Dream, but it’s true. Although Michael Hensley is touted as a member of Yen Pox it’s becoming clear that his focus tends to lean towards that of his solo project Blood Box. With only 2 full-length albums previously under the project’s belt, Blood Box is a name that has already reached legendary status. Yet this is a legend that still lives on. Funeral In …

Michael Graeve – Simple Methods For Complex Times CD
Megalomania, Micromania
Released as an aural accompaniment to Simple Paintings for Complex Methods, an abstract art exhibit in 2001, Simple Methods for Complex Times is a short collection of minimal, improvised sounds. Overall, the sound stays very minimalistic with very minor sections of harsh noise. The sounds are scratching and atmospheric and at times take on a very minor industrial sound.
This 14 minute long album touches on ambient and noise music effectively, and while the minimal motif isn’t always pulled off, I feel …

Metaconquerer – Of Steel, Bone, and Fire CD
Syzmic Records
Metaconquerer is the solo project of John Stillings who is also one half of the power electronics unit Steel Hook Prostheses. With Metaconquerer Stillings focuses on a more minimalist atmospheric sound, yet there are still plenty of industrial elements at play on Of Steel, Bone, and Fire. This is a record that is as black as the darkest night, perhaps a perfect soundtrack for a satanic mass, and it may just be Metaconquerer’s strongest effort to date.
Most recognizable is the airy low …

Vipcancro – Tropico CD
Lisca Records
Vipcancro is a new project to me and appears to have been going since 2008. Not new, but not too old either. With Tropico they present about an hour of rough-around-the-edges but well crafted ambient noise.
The sounds are wallowing and contemplative, lo-fi yet with an academic edge that adds just a touch of sheen to the production. Slow moving but with a healthy dosage of layers Vipcancro succeeds in creating atmospheres with some depth on Tropico.
The album evolves nicely with the tracks becoming more engrossing the …

Death Factory – Chilling Impressions C30
No Visible Scars
Yet another great release from the No Visible Scars label. Somehow they manage to keep churning out some of the best death industrial that I’ve heard released lately and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. With Chilling Impressions Death Factory presents two long tracks, each one “dedicated” to a horror film.
Side A presents Manifestation of Fear which is dedicated to the film Phantasm, which I am actually familiar with. If I had to choose though, I would say that …

Demonologists/Deathstench – Incantations in Dead Tongues CDR
Black Goat Records
Here is a sick split between two artists who I’m unfamiliar with. I always enjoy hearing new stuff that peaks my interest, and there’s nothing like a good dosage of black noise to do so. First off the artwork on here is somehwere inbetween black metal and stoner ink drawings which represent the sounds accurately.
Demonologists kick things off with a mix of wall noise and creepy ambience. With song titles like Corpse Orchard and Blood Soaked Pregnancies this is a dark, soulless …

D.S. Miller – The Glass Snail CDr
Self Released
D.S. Miller’s The Glass Snail is an album that’s as beautiful as its subtle cover art. With sounds ranging from intrinsic, complex, and glitchy IDM-esque electronics, to dark and progressive, to high-floating, ethereal ambience, this album contains an impressive array of electronic tastes without ever becoming sparse or scattered.
The amount of influences present here is what really causes The Glass Snail to shine. If I had to pin this album to one genre overall, it would probably fall fairly nicely into “ambient”, but …

Bastard Noise/Actuary – Skeletal Uncertainty LP
Love Earth Music
Here we have a split LP between the mighty Bastard Noise and the lesser-known Actuary. Of course I am familiar with BN but I have not yet been exposed to the sound of Actuary. The packaging of this is pretty strait-forward with text and simple logos. The only issue I have is that cover looks a rather shoddy with a skull graphic that reeks of cheap photoshop filters. Aside from that the inner spread is pretty sick with a nice variation on the …