Private Archive – Honey Aspic Enema C30
Private Archive
My immediate visceral impression is that Private Archive is going for the particular type of tone and mood that bands like Sleep Chamber have capitalized on: incorporating drugs, sex, and manliness into the salacious din of fuck den synthesizers with some rhythm. It works for some artists when it plays out more like a dirty secret than a porn theater exhibition. Honey Aspic Enema leans more towards the former category.
Let’s get it out of the way: the packaging is kind of …

Deterge – In Cahoots C26
Heavy Psych
This cassette was released way back in 2013, oh how time flies and how I just sit on my ass and let it pass me by. It’s no surprise that this tape is totally fucking bad ass as most material both live and recorded from Jim Haras has been nothing short of excellent.
Side A opens with a seething hot white noise assault accompanied by Whitehouse influenced vocals. Certainly not my favorite track on the release but a decent opener. However it’s not until Atomic Productivity …

Ride For Revenge – Disturbances 2XCS
Analog Worship
“Disturbances” collects a few tracks of an early Ride For Revenge demo, some live material and a large swath of unreleased tracks. Originally released on CD by Bestial Burst, Analog Worship has committed the compilation to double cassette format in a thoughtful packaging array including a double cassette outer slipcase with some pretty amazing artwork.
If you’re familiar with Ride for Revenge or Mentor’s other projects (Will Over Matter, Womb C, etc.), you’re going to love and appreciate Disturbances, but you probably already know …

Kerrstillingskozletskynyströmpetrus – Death Instruktions LP
Malignant Records
Informed by a single vision (in this case, the cover art), Kerrstillingskozletskynyströmpetrus have crafted Death Instruktions with a mangled and dark vision incorporating each of the artists’ styles collaboratively. The result is a pretty compelling if not a somewhat murky and hazy concoction. Admittedly, I am only somewhat familiar with the work of Steel Hook Protheses, Murderous Vision and Megaptera, but it’s not difficult to understand why these artists would want to work together.
The tracks are crafted as distinct songs that shift within …

Sigma Octantis – Dissipations CD
Malignant Antibody
Malignant Antibody is a sub-label of Malignant Records but I’m not really sure what style of music this sub-label is focusing on. As I look at the discography I see R/A/A/N and Skincage either of which I cannot seem to recall what they sound like – and Skincage in particular just gets mixed up with all of those other skin-themed bands like Skin Crime, Skin Area, and Skin Graft. What I can tell you is that Sigma Octantis creates music that combines several different styles …

Pig Heart Transplant – For Mass Consumption LP
IRON LUNG RECORDS
Perhaps better known as the guitarist in Iron Lung, Jon Kortland is no stranger to noise.
In addition to his punk projects (Gob), he participated in a series of obscure projects in Reno, Nevada, quietly creating disturbing ensembles of noise and filth, firmly ahead of his time. At some point Pig Heart Transplant took root. Its previous works span a huge range of sounds and feature collaborations with a variety of musicians. Iron Lung remains his most prolific project, over …

Citizen 2-13 – A Violent Means Til The End C12
FTAM
I reached into the pile and pulled this sucker out of the deep end and what a fucken grab it is! It’s a shorty but I’m not at all surprised at the high level of quality considering this is coming from Peter J. Wood’s label FTAM.
The packaging is understated as are most of the releases from this label but that doesn’t hold back the fucking excellent barrage of dense harshness that side A employs. Mangled samples with people screaming open things …

Nyodene D/Wolves of Heaven – Split LP
Anthems of the Undesirable
Nyodene D is the project of Aaron Vilk based out of Ohio and Wolves of Heaven is Andrew Nolan and Eric King who I am previously unfamiliar with. For some reason I thought they might be a metal band. I was wrong. It turns out not only are these two projects perfectly matched for a split in terms of sound and style but they have also created one hell of a power electronics/death industrial record!
Nyodene D is up first with what …

Skin Area/Jarl – La Petite Mort LP
Malignant Records
Well this is certainly an unexpected pairing of artists but also a collaboration that makes a lot of sense on paper. Skin Area features Martin Bladh of I.R.M. and Jarl is the long running dark ambient project of yore. The LP captures the previous atmosphere of much of Skin Area’s discography but this release is less guitar driven and focuses more on textural elements to capture the intense and esoteric feel.
Side A kicks off with the sounds of bending cymbals, strings, and vocals. …

Yen Pox – Universal Emptiness 10″
Substantia Innominata
Yen Pox previous proper release before this 2011 vinyl creation was put out in 2002. Although the group is not known for their proliferation they are known for their quality dark ambient soundscapes and I was surprised to hear this arrive with little fan fair. Certainly the lack of excitement is not warranted as this slab of vinyl proves that Yen Pox continues to create some of the best atmospheric music out there.
Side A gets things off to a slow start with subtle spacious …