Actuary/The Black Scorpio Underground – Metamorphosis of the Transgressor C30
Love Earth Music
This is a pairing that seems to make sense. Both Actuary and The Black Scorpio Underground tend to meander over that line between ambient and noise in a similar style. This is also, the first release on cassette that I have received from Love Earth Music, is it marking a new era for the label? Who knows, but I am quite fine with it.
Actuary is up first on side A with one long track entitled Stricken Host Lies Down. …

Hheva/Shiver – Troubled Sleep C40
Diazepam
It’s kind of weird that this split should bear the same name as Prurient’s seminal album. There are so many great combination of words and images to conjure out there I don’t know why in hell you would choose the exact title of an already landmark noise album. But besides this little pet peeve of mine I dig the simple packaging and delivery on this release. Shiver is familiar to me as I have reviewed them before but Hheva is a new name.
Side A contains …

Objekt/Urian – Tonfragmente II CD
Zone de Confusion
Objekt/Urian is a project that has apparently completely evaded my radar since the year 2000! Always amazing that one can find new things after this many years in the noise scene. Zone de Confusion is a sub-label of Nuit et Brouillard, the long running industrial label.
Presented in Tonfragmente II is a very clean sound of industrial/power electronics much reminding me of a mix between the groups Irikarah and Haus Arafna. Sure, they are great starting points but I’m not sure that Objekt/Urian ever …

Vehement Caress – Existential Squalor C30
Apicult Recordings
Yet more work from Boston’s finest Vehement Caress. It’s a project that is continuing to expand his sound and styles. Where the last release reviewed here was Flawed Eternity – a drone album dabbling in powerful synth atmospheres – now Existential Squalor brings back the lo-fi noise and power electronics in full force.
Side A is really enjoyable with a handful of tracks that are quite varied. Ranging from throbbing power electronics with hateful vocal attacks to sampled speeches accompanied by noise loops and building …

Epaulettes – An Exhortation in Martyrdom C30
Self Released
Epaulettes is an artist hailing from Boston who works with a variety of synthesizers and effects to create heavy industrial-influenced drone. The artwork here is quite understated with merely an abstract shadowy image, perhaps of the artist himself as the cover. It fits the disembodied death drone well, and reflects the minimalist aesthetic.
Side A works very well with it’s early onslaught of very airy industrial ambience. Whispery frequencies coupled with heavy tones eventually build up to an intense powerful synth throb. Then the …