Shattered Hymen – Gash Worship C20
Anabolic Dimensions
Here’s some ultra raw noise from Chicago. These dudes appear to be influenced by power electronics and most definitely harsh noise but the pe influence doesn’t come across in their sound too much – mainly only in the aesthetic of packaging design.
The noise here is actually surprisingly wanky and not very harsh. Much more on the experimental side of things with bare passages leading into quickly moving feedback manipulation. The fact that it’s almost not layered at all though prevents it from being heavy …

Lethal Dose 50 – 21st Century Awakening CD
Nuit et Brouillard
Here’s an album that was released way back in 2006. Not sure why it was sent to me for review now but I’m trying not to refuse anything. 21st Century Awakening is an album that spans industrial, ambient, electro and synth pop and unfortunately it’s spread a little thin for my taste.
The tracks where LD50 stays committed to one style are decent, like Dose V.S.291 and Solitude. But when LD50 strays into electronica territory it tends to ruin the mood too …

Autocancrena – Homo Sacer 3″CDr
Diazepam
Here’s a very nicely packaged 3″CDr, a step above what I’ve seen from Diazapam already. The artwork is simple and portrays the sound on the disc accurately which is also quite basic in its delivery.
The disc contains two tracks the first Malsana Dottrina is a simple dark ambient piece with delayed and reverberating chants being quite organic and meditative. The second track is more electronic with sinister electronic pulses, muffled samples yet also remaining minimalistic.
The material here reminds me of the quieter moments of Brighter Death …

Kama Rupa – :Kama:Kontra:Kontrol: CD
Regimental Records
Here’s a release from the esoteric New York city based outfit Kama Rupa. This digipak is beautifully packaged with iconic design and simple text layout that makes for a professional presentation.
Oddly enough there is a tracklist of 5 different songs listed on the back but the audio is presented all in one track on the disc with obvious movements showing each individual passage.
The style here is intimate and sordid which is what makes Kama Rupa so special. Spanning dark ambient, death industrial, sound collage and …

Ophibre – Psyllium Husks C38
905 Tapes
Another sick release from 905 Tapes this time from Boston native Ophibre. My first exposure to his work was his release Drone Works for Differing Digital Audio Formats and Encoding Methods which wasn’t so much a proper release but an experiment that yielded rather interesting results.
Side A sounds consists of one long evolving track which is an in-studio live recording. I mean to emphasize evolving because the composition here is great. What starts out with awkward circuit bent sounds eventually forms into a drone piece …