V/A – Singles Series Vol. 2 3″DVDR
Table of Contents
Here’s an excellent 3″DVDR – a format you don’t see too often – with really interesting packaging consisting of full-color printed transparency around a sheet of metal. The disc has 2 chapters on it each featuring the visual work of Christopher Cichocki with the first chapter utilizing audio by Warm Climate, and the second by I Heart Lung.
The first presentation entitled Synovial Moves uses Cichocki’s token video techniques of kaleidoscope images, fast cuts, and geometric-like movement of mainly water, but eventually fades …

Lavas Magmas – Black Friday DVDR
Self Released
Lavas Magmas is the ambient/noise project of Luis Gonzalez based out of Portland, OR. From what I’ve encountered many of his works include a video element including his live sets. I was lucky enough to catch him on his tour with Regosphere and The Dios Project where he put on a brilliant performance utilizing video projections, metal sculptures, electronics, and guitar. Black Friday is a DVDR containing a studio version of the live set with the visuals included.
The sound on here is phenomenal. Swaying, …

Mortuor – I’m Waiting for You… CD
Syzmic Records
Here’s another simply packaged CD from the Syzmic Records front, this time presenting about a half-hour of sickened sounds from this new death industrial act Mortuor. With the lines “Dedicated to the memory of Marco Corbelli and the Italian Death Industrial Movement.” on the back it is clear the direction this disc is trying to go.
Luckily Mortuor is not only successful in re-creating the great sounds of Atrax Morgue, …Today I’m Dead, N. and many of the other great death industrialists, he also …

Valerio Tricoli – Metaprogramming From Within The Eye Of The Storm CD
Bowindo Recordings
Metaprogramming is a disc with one long track ranging roughly 30 minutes in length. This is electro acoustic music through and through with long bouts of silences, shuffling about, loud/soft dynamics, random machine sounds, and subtle drones.
Tricoli has an aptitude for building these kinds of sound structures through what seem like random sounds collected and processed but there isn’t really anything that separates Metaprogramming from the bulk of electro acoustic music I’ve heard. It seems very traditional and …

Hugfucks – Vehement Caress CDR
AsteroidMProject
I really wasn’t expecting much from the goofy named “Hugfucks” project but this D.I.Y. flavored CDR is a creeping, lurking, burping, banging, seriously hot mess in the best kind of way. The packaging design is simple and to the point as is the noise here in style somewhat reminding me of Wolf Eye’s Always Wrong.
Once the opening track Self Immolation has worked up to it’s heavy blast of noise from it’s humming beginnings it’s clear that Hugfucks has a way with controlling sound and frequency that …

Halo Manash – Am Kha Astrie CD
Aural Hypnox
As much times as I’ve reviewed Halo Manash they still manage to just stay one step ahead of me. This time however, I believe this is actually their latest release available and I’m happy to report Am Kha Astrie delivers and veers Halo Manash back into the right direction. The release follows the more recent packaging designs that Aural Hypnox have been employing with heavy cardboard stock and silk screened/stamped ink adorning the surface. Simple yet effective, and it all has a very …

Phragments – Earth Shall Not Cover Their Blood CD
Malignant Records
This is my first exposure to Phragments and is more or less what I was expecting based on the bleak artwork. What they offer here is slow, melodic, synthesized dark ambient in the vein of Raison D’Etre, Endvra, or Atrium Carceri. If you’re at all a fan of Cold Meat Industries then you will be sure to dig Earth Shall Not Cover Their Blood in some form or another.
Of course there are negative aspects that come along with this style of …

Peter J Woods – Creation Death Machine CD
MaxCorp
My ears are consistently left ringing after listening to Peter J Woods’ Creation Death Machine because it’s noisy, destructive and filled with sneaky dynamics but I just keep turning it up and playing it too loud because I want to catch every moment, each minute detail. If you’re familiar with Woods’ work you can expect blasts of noise and sounds, spoken word and screamed vocals, sound collage, snippets of field recordings, static blasts and walls of noise. This is artsy power electronics for …

Proof of the Shooting – Untitled C20
Collapsed Hole
Proof Of the Shooting is a collaboration between Dan Greenwood of Diagram A and John Brown who I am unfamiliar with. This untitled cassette is a strange one with Proof of the Shooting’s last release having been issued in 1998 and now this cassette in 2010 with dedication “in memory of John Brown.” One is to only assume he passed away and this was perhaps left over material from their collaborations.
Sonically Untitled is an intense barrage of everything and the kitchen sink harsh …

Inhalant – Save Our Souls CD
Syzmic Records
Expectations can be a funny thing. I don’t know why I keep setting the bar so high for Texas’ Inhalant, perhaps because I dig the name and the aesthetic, or perhaps because he’s been functioning under the name for 10 years now. Unfortunately I can’t help but just feel a bit under whelmed when experiencing his releases.
Save Our Souls is no exception with the major issues lying in the production. It’s lo-fi in a very exhausting way, and the hypnotic and repetitive nature of …