Dead Neanderthals - Click (2022)

Click is the fourth albumin a raw as a drums/synth duo for Dead Neanderthals. Seems Otto Kokke is not inspired by his sax any more these days, at least with DN. But that's OK since they keep on releasing good albums. Click is a long and hypnotic piece of kraut/noise/drone with a dark/disturbing feel (their previous album Metal with its drums/synth atmospheric black metal was interesting as well). Good stuff as usual from Dead Neanderthals. 

The BC page.

Puce Mary - You Must Have Been Dreaming (2022)

You Must Have Been Dreaming is more ambient/cinematic than what I usually post, and also less industrial/noise than some other releases from Puce Mary (producer Frederikke Hoffmeier from Denmark). But it is truly excellent : an immersive piece of dark and mysterious ambient, ending on a more noisy note. Subtly and finely crafted.

The BC page.

 

Nun Gun - Mondo Decay (2021)

Nun Gun is the collaboration of photograph Brad Feuerhelm and two Algiers members, Lee Tesche and Ryan Mahan, the album cassette Mondo Decay is the companion of a post-industrial decay themed photograph book of Brad Feuerhelm. The music is a mix of modified giallo soundtrack, synth-wave, dub, hip-hop, trip-hop. With featurings from a few vocalists (the track with Mark Stewart is especially awesome). Loved it from the beginning and listen to it every day (sometimes more than once). Easily one of the most interesting and best album for this year. I can't recommend it enough.

The Bandcamp page.

 

Ossia - Devil's Dance (2019)

Ossia's Devil's Dance, released by Blackest Ever Black, is a very nice and finely crafted hybrid of noise, dark ambient and dub techno (better would be to describe each tracks but, hey, listen to the album!). There are many subtleties and a great attention to details so even the less instantly memorable tracks are in fact also very good. I recommend not only you listen to it but also do it with headphones. This one will be rightly placed in my soon to come list of the best industrial/electronic music for 2019.

The Bandcamp page. 

King Midas sound - Solitude (2019)

On their new album, their third, called Solitude (the central theme is a meditation about loss), King Midas Sound is just Roger Robinson doing spoken words (and the words are excellents) and Kevin Martin (Techno Animal, The Bug, etc.). The music is even more minimalistic than their usual and the ambient electro dub is actually often getting closer to drone than to dub, and the tone is quite bleak. But it's beautifull. It's really good and my favourite KMS album up to now. Quiet music rarely get as addictive as this.

The BC page.

ATILA - Body (2017)

Body is already ATILA's, sixth album, it's a very well crafted one, somewhere between dark ambient and minimal techno, with a sligh touch of dubstep. I'd say Body has less beats and bass than he previous album, V, it's more minimal / ambient. But it is no less dark and scary. Its subtle sinister mood would do very well for a ghost movie soundtrack. Good stuff again.

The Bandcamp page.

The Bug - Concrete Desert (2017)

Concrete Desert is a collaboration between Kevin Martin (The Bug, Techno Animal, etc.) and Dylan Carlson (Earth) is released under the name The Bug and by the techno label Ninja Tune but actually it is closer to the most minimalistic Eath albums (like Hex), it sounds more like Dylan Carlson guitar drone / americana / ambient soundscape fearturing Kevin Martin adding some noise aelements and a few discreet beats. I would have liked more of the heavier dub / industrial elements from the Kev Martin musical world but anyway it is still a really good ambient album. I enjoy it like it is for now... but hope in the future another collaborative album, maybe this time with a different dosage.

The Bandcamp page.

Council Estate Electronics - Arktika (2016)

Council Estate Electronics is one of the project of Justin K. Broadrick, here in duo with Diarmuid Dalton. Their new album, Arktika, is the third one, and I think the best. The music is ambient electonics / industrial dub. While the first two were ok but a bit too ambient too my taste (let's say it, a bit boring actually), I think the new one is great : heavier, more rhythmic, which brings more diversity, and also the melodic elements, always subtle, are more presents, which also helps making the music more "multi-dimensionnal".  Arktika manage to sound at the same time quiet and slightly menacing. First half of the album is best but overall it's great stuff!

The Bandcamp page.

Tom Carter - Long Time Underground (2015)

Minimalistic but full. Close but wide. That what comes to my mind when I try to describe Tom Carter's music on this solo album (he plays also in a psych folk band called Charalambides) called Long Time Underground released last year. This is guitar only. With a bit of distortion, bringing a bit of a psych / drone feel. Earth could be a comparison, both are excellent at creating a strong atmosphere. Quiet and very deep. Great stuff!

The Bandcamp page.

Haraam - When the sacred months have passed (2015)

Haraam (it means forbidden, the contrary of halal) is a band (or solo project I don't know...) from Denmark, they (?) released three records (or tapes?) last year and two this year. When the sacred month have passed is the first one released this year. It is really good industrial techno / noise ambient with industrial / techno beats, electronic noise, and a bit of oriental melodies. Their next release The triumph of truth is good as well but without the noise element and I prefer this one.

The Bandcamp page.

Stara Rzeka - Zamknęły się oczy ziemi (2015)

Stara Rzeka is a solo project of Kuba Ziołek of the polish collective Milieu L'Acéphale. Zamknęły się oczy ziemi is the second album and is intended to be the last one (which is a pity but I'm sure Kuba Ziołek will continue to bring us good music in other contexts). The album was done with the help of musicians from the Innercity ensemble (also part of Milieu L'Acéphale). Some songs were written before the first album but this one does not just sound like the other half of the first, for example there's not metal vocals any more. But the basis stays the same :  folk, drones, noise and krautrock played by acoustic and electric guitars, synth, electronic noises and beats, a bit of drumming, and only clean vocals this time. Albert Ayler, Pharoah Sanders and Moondog are cited as influences. The result is fascinating and moving music, mostly quiet and trippy but with also some moments fitting the usual song structure (riffs, singing, etc.). This is a great album, with a unique atmosphere, and I'm impatient to listen to  Kuba Ziołek next project (solo or with a band).

The Bandcamp page

Howls of Ebb - The marrow veil MLP (2015)

This album (or MLP or EP) is as completely nightmarish as its cover. The marrow veil is Howls of Ebb first release after their excellent first album last year (Vigils of the 3rd eye, also on I, Voidhanger records). Their death metal gets here maybe even more unconventional than on the album. The length of the two songs, 19 and 12 minutes, plus a short interlude between the two, makes more evident the complete lack of the traditional song structure in the composing. This is really loose, sounding almost" free" death metal. The metal parts are mostly mid tempo with dissonant riffing, weird leads and ritualistic drum pounding, and they are interwoven with slow ambient minimalistic noisy  / drone guitar and percussion parts. This is really successful in creating a special and bizarre atmosphere with a dark and chaotic feel. Overall it could be described like somewhere between Khtoniik cerviiks and Chaos echoes. If you are tired of the often too "standardized" nature of metal (even "extreme" metal, often following song after song the pop / rock song structure that you can hear all day long on the radio), then this is a really recommended listen. Strong stuff!

The bandcamp page.

The Body & Krieg (2015)

This is a new collaborative album from The Body, this time with Krieg (Neill Jameson). Should we consider it "another" collaborative release with The Body, well technically it is but I'd rather say this is an especially good one. Not that one of those have been disappointing, but I think this one is really good by their own very high standards. Yes, The Body managed once again to impress me, with another terrific sonic display of intensity and creativity. And the Krieg's guy confirm that his musical range is wider than (quality) black metal and the collaboration result in something more than a mix of The Body and black metal. In fact there is little trace of something specifically black metal on this album, except maybe Neill Jameson vocal contribution (and even that is not completely standard black metal vocals). But it sure is an especially aggressive and cathartic "sonic incarnation" of The Body that results from the collaboration. The overall sound is very industrial, with even some techno beats, and creepy keyboards parts. It sounds like a vicious and surprising mix of sludge, technoise, dark ambient, horror soundtrack. The global atmosphere evokes The Swans, Godflesh or Scorn, but of course it's the unique personnality of The Body that dominates. This atmosphere is very strong but maybe what's even more imrpessive is the quality of the songwriting, each song having it's distinct feel, and some songs really standing out as among the best and more memorable The Body ever did. After The tears of job Ep (read my review HERE), the collaboration with Vampillia read my review HERE), and this one, this is a great year for The Body, and this new collaboration is maybe its peak.

Alameda 5 - Duch tornada (2015)

Alameda 5 is one of the band with people composing the Milieu L'Acéphale collective (from Poland, other bands are Stara Rezka, Tien'lai, Kapital, Innercity ensemble, etc.). This album, Duch tornada, was released this year by Milieu L'Acéphale and Instant classic. It shares members with Alameda 3 but i's two distinct band making different music. What to expect from Duch tornada? Vintage synth, percussions, some sax, samples, noise, guitars, clean vocals. Krautrock (exept it's not really rock, like most Krautrock anyway...) comes to mind, but also dark ambient, new age synth, free jazz / contemporary  / concrete music, and King crimson. Science-fiction is a source of inspiration for this music and you could guess by listening to it. This is weird, most often quiet and subtly dark, and very trippy. This is really immersive and fascinating stuff. If you're up to a journey into strange ambient territories this will be perfect. I really like it.

Their Bandcamp page

Utech compilation - And suddenly everything, absolutely everything, was there (2015)

Utech records is one of the best label for releasing experimental music, often ambient dark and noisy, sometimes electronic, often not, sometimes a bit metal, sometimes a bit jazz, always interesting and challenging stuff. This comp' called And suddenly everything, absolutely everything, was there was made to raise fund for an honorable cause (read more on the bandcamp page). It features many artists that released music for Utech records and some more. This is more than 4 hours of music, 41 tracks. probably you know some of the artists like Asva, Dead neanderthals, Locrian, Nadja, Theologian, probably you will discover most artists here, like I discovered Gates, Philippe Petit, Jeks Miller, Pan Gu, Redrighthand, and others. Anyway this will be an exiting journey in the underground. I think all tracks are exclusive, previously unreleased, live, or tracks created for this occasion.
Don't fail to discover Utech records if you don't know it already, and discover some fantastic music.

The bandcamp page

ATILA - V (2015)

ATILA is the solo electro project of Miguel Béco, from Portugal, who also plays Black metal with ÖRÖK. V is (you guessed!) its fifth album and its best (Signal rex is releasing it). This is dark ambient / noise industrial soundscapes with witch house like synth and beats going from nearly dub / drum to techno. As usually in electro music there is a progression in the album with the beats getting more present int he music, but the dark noisy atmsophere stays king to the end. This is a strong, very well crafted album, that people into dark electro / noise will easily dig but that can also appeal to the metalheads that likes dark atmospheric stuff.

The Bandcamp page

Endon - MAMA (2014)

Japanese music at its craziest and most fucked up. And that is saying a lot. This japanese quintet called Endon is one vocalist, one drummer, one guitarist and two noisemakers. And MAMA their first album, released last year could be the soundtrack to a million, ever changing, nightmares. They call their music "Catastrophic noise metal" but I'd say that's a quite mild description, it's actually more extreme than that. Throw in the most ruthless noisegrind, harsh noise / dark ambient parts (those are the "quiet" and "soft" parts!), some black metal drumming and riffing, chaotic hardcore / noise, howls, growls and anguished screams. And you get one the most radical album for the last two years. Saying it's intense and confrontationnal would be a huge understatement. But don't think it's an interesting album just because of it's extreme nature, no this is really clever and well-crafted music. Standard grind and standard noise music are too often predictable and boring, Endon takes the best of both worlds to make music of their own, something really exiting. It's is produced by Atsuo from Boris.  A big thanks to Fucked by noise, for making me discover this great album.

Highly recommended (if you're brave enough)!

Their Bandcamp page

Sommer - On waking and dreaming (2015)

Sommer is the new solo project of Adam Sommer after ending Charnel house. On waking and dreaming is his first solo album (released on his label Sygil records).  It sounds partly like a continuation of Charnel house, with some black metal influences in the dark atmosphere and some guitar parts. The ritualistic ambient element and mysterious feel is also still there. But very few metal drumming this time (more minimalistic drumming with a bit of repetitive / krautrock element), and more rays of light piercing through the dark feel. And no more female vocals exept when Charnel house singer Liv Mershon sings as a guest in "Wake state". Adam Sommer is doing the vocals, clean vocals, quiet and discreet, a bit like whispered incantations. What else do we have? a noise / drone element a bit like in Earth or maybe Arbouretum. And like in Earth there's in this album a great ability to blur the line between dark and light. We also have great guitar work, drones and some quiet, beautifull but sometimes slightly disturbing guitar melodies. we can even find a kind of "noisy blues", like in the excellent guitar parts of "celebration". There's a general feel running through the album and giving it its unity, but with many different shades and subtilities, and each song has it's specificity and distinguish itself. The black meets kraut thing, as well as the somewhat mystical feel, could remind Aluk todolo (we could say it's somewhere between Aluk todolo and Earth). We could try to describe the album as some "droning black kraut music".
But describing it is not the point anyway, just listen to it, it's some very well crafted, creative and interesting music.

Highly recommended!

The Bandcamp page 

Emanation - The emanation of begoten chaos from od (2014)

Emanation is a spanish one man band creating some very personnal music that could be described as "black ambient noise kraut funeral metal". Emanation released this year its first full lenght CD album (after an excellent cassette and a 12'') called The emanation of begotten chaos from god. the black metal association is mostly due to the overall dark and occult amosphere because the blast beats are rare, the beats being mostly slow and repetitive or sometimes bordering free jazz , and the vocals are black metal but it's mostly instrumental. also there are a few guitar riffs but it's more layers of noise, guitars, electronic, keys (maybe even a bit of brass or accordion?).  Emanation is really good in creating weirds and disturbing amospheres with some hypnotic grooves and a touch of dark psychedelia. if you like the darker regions of noise or the most avant-garde black metal I really advise you give it a listen (people liking Aluk todolo, Spektr or Blut aus nord would probably dig it).
high quality stuff of a unique kind. I recommend it highly. 

The BC page.

The Body - I shall die here (2014)

On this album, I shall die in here, The terrific drone doom duo called The Body is teaming with the guy releasing dark ambient music as The Haxan cloak. and it's a good move because I shall die in here is excellent. the additions from The Haxan cloak are subtle, it's close to previous The Body works (for ex read HERE my review of Christ reedeemers), but it still bring some few but "nice" changes to the music of the duo with some industrial / dubstep beats and sounds adding to the coldness and bleakness of the songs. it offers an interesting variation of their sound while keeping it as heavy, noisy and nihilistic as usual.

The Bandcamp page