Locrian & Christoph Heemann – Locrian & Christoph Heemann CD
Handmade Birds Records
Here’s a hefty collaboration between noise’s favorite post-rock offspring Locrian and a collaborator who goes by the name Christoph Heemann. Heemann is a German composer who I am unfamiliar with yet has belonged to a number of projects and has collaborated with Current 93 and other seminal European artists.
The music presented in this self-titled collaboration is a style of post-rock experimentalism with some metal and drone influences. Comparisons include Xasthur, Tarentel, Arktau Eos, Sunn0))) and House of Low Culture …

Crown of Cerberus – Her Strength C32
Cult of Craft
Immediately leaving an impression is the handmade packaging on this excellent tape. Heavy silkscreened stock with a bow holding it all together. The presentation exudes an intimate and spiritual affair which is reflected in the warm and ethereal sounds on the album.
The music is ambient but not necessarily drony, more like moving textures and tones delaying into oblivion. It reminds me a lot of acts like Cold Electric Fire or perhaps Vidna Obmana.
Crown of Cerberus generally emanates an air of peacefulness …

William Fowler Collins – Tenebroso CD
Handmade Birds Records
This disc from Handmade Birds is almost completely devoid of information. Adorned with deep dark artwork and a pitch black inner booklet the only information you will find here is the artist and album name on the spine. So before this disc is even spun you get quite a bleak impression of Collins’ work.
Collins is a self professed dark ambient artist working in the realms of drone with an industrial tinge. Tenebroso clocks in at around an hour with a total of 6 …

John 3:16 – Visions of the Hereafter – Visions of Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory CD
Alrealon
Here’s an interesting release that certainly isn’t something I get everyday. John 3:16 creates an ambient style of cinematic post-rock music that may perhaps have a small experimental influence to it as well. There are a lot of different influences and directions involved here but it comes together as something quite unique and presents a consistent mood which delivers more than what I was expecting.
I really enjoy the tracks that are less rock influenced more – …

Knurl – Pyrolysis C60
Terror
Harsh fucking noise – Knurl has it. Pyrolysis is the latest release from this uncompromising harsh noise act and it continues in the tradition that Knurl has carved out for himself over the years.
This is strait-up junk metal destruction, distortion, loud as fuck in-your-face aggression and pure transcendentalism that can only lead to nihilism. Doesn’t make sense because this is chaos at it’s most refined.
It’s true, Knurl reaches new heights with his renewed vigor on every release. Spastic, brutal and raw are a few feelings that come …