Robbing and Stealing

art of the deal

Herein we shall have a number of things that crossover with No Clean Singing and Wolf’s Week.

Last week I managed to finally catch Dead Register in a live setting. Good lord. First half of the set bordered on The God Machine. Absolutely mesmerizing. Tribal drums, elastic bass runs (here played with keys/synth), guitar work that is at turns squalls of noise and hauntingly melodic. Second half was stellar in a different manner of pure brute force and aggro of double bass and forceful drive.

Similar, shorter set performed in Cambridge, MA at the long standing Middle East can be seen below. “Alive,” “Captive,” “Circle of Lies,” “Ender,” and “Fiber.” “Let Me In” is in the first half of the Philly, Milkboy set.

Ontario’s Cloven is a tough nut to crack. Constantly shapeshifting, metalmorphing. All iterations top notch. Recently dropped something cinematic, operatic and Floydian with Suffer the First Vision that Set Fire to the Stars via YouTube. Second movement, “Cage of the Orphan” is downright wrenching. A thing of savage beauty. If In the Nursery “went metal” this facet of Cloven would be it.

Coma Cluster Void’s Jeanne Artemis with Literatura Oscura for String Quartet performed by the inimitable JACK Quartet. This quartet is highly touted by Helmut Lachenmann, who in his own right is a formidable figure among contemporary classical composers. I’ve seen JACK perform Matthias Pintscher in the bowels of the Kimmel Center here in Philly. Keening Gloria Coates drones and glissandos with the attack of certain Crumb and Penderecki pieces. A logical extrapolation from Coma Cluster Void to this. Would love to hear both facets of Jeanne Artemis combined in the future. New CCV expected in May.

If you happen to be into the dissonant racket Gravenchalice make, Eremos should be in your wheelhouse. Marquis of Snakes differs from the Glass Mind of a Recluse of 2019 in that it seems infused with moodier atmosphere incorporating more doomed out sections and prominent synth textures. It could simply be the lapse of time between the two, but, I don’t think so. I believe the debut is a more aggressive dis-chordant entity whereas here the Latvians produce something akin to Desolate Shrine meets Erdve given uber wobbly, off-kilter Gravenchalice and Kriegsmaschine touch.

When I started mapping out this piece Gardenjia had only released the long form Sacrificio in March. Oh, but, silly me… along comes the rerelease of Invictvs which Raffaele Galasso first unleashed in 2022. If I were to pit one against the other, after initial listens I’d first recommend Sacrificio. Opening neo-classical, going atonal and full launch disso-tech with parts that unexpectedly lean into classic Theory in Practice, Scarve and Coroner territory this is a rip roaring ride through a myriad prog-tech-death styles and experimental forays into Wells Valley and Dodecahedron horror realms (minus the glitch nonsense of Kwintessens.) Invictvs strikes forth with Patrons of the Rotting Gate / Serpent Column / Theophonos / paracletus immediacy before delving into the murkier pits that bear kenose / mass grave aesthetics / chaining the katechon dna. For me Invictvs works best when it wallows in the hanging unchords and laid back, loose percussion of DsO and Dodecahedron. Both Gardenjia releases are of high caliber quality and worth purchase. Crazy how the project has developed over time from melodic Meshuggah / Proghma-C math metal to this atonal, dissonant beastly machine.

German black death horde Sum Lights return with a two song EP of epic cosmic bleakness. Similarities to Verberis in terms of song arrangements and choice of chords and drifting noise. The drumming isn’t as out there as Jamie Saint Merat but it is sturdy and forceful and, when need be during spacious open sections, expressive. Excellent release displaying further growth and depth.

As if new Dormant Ordeal wasn’t enough Polish aggro for you, along comes new Supreme Void to wield 8 strings of weight, gain, distortion and unhinged rhythm Towards Oblivion in league with Vitriol, Phobocosm, Intonate, Anachronism and Ignominy.

OK, ok, last one on the dissonant death front. Don’t scroll down. I could be lying. The best source to learn science from is no doubt Pillars of Cacophony. From Graz, Austria with riffs upon riffs. Tech death of the highest order. Elements of Floridian heavyweights (yeah, I went there) and prog titans from Europe and Canada. Songs ever mutating, never standing still for an extended period, and never becoming an exercise in fretboard gymnastics where scales become basis of riffs. This is Special Defects school of freewheeling mounting tension and cathartic release.

Latest collection of what the hell is that? from Gláss has arrived. Wolf must’ve burrowed into my brain for his brief review. He’s dead on. This 6th album is setting the bar high for art core damage in keeping with the unhinged Sprain / Shearling. No wave, post hardcore collision that would be perfect company on the Homestead Records roster. Picture a druggy, slowed down Antioch Arrow and Dazzling Killmen crossed with The Psychic Paramount and a resurrected or channeled theatrical John Lennon for vocalist.

Gonna remain on an art damage tangent. Spain’s 2020 hoping to out mysterious sleepwalker ( 夢遊病者 ) though they do mention a host of bands members are involved with. This project has a musical array of Einsturzende Neubauten, PiL, Test Dept as fronted by Jello Biafra and filtered through Trance Syndicate, Skin Graft, AmRep sensibilities.

Gotta drop this here, because, not only is A Desert something I’ve wanted to see since the initial festival reviews were coming out last year about a nihilistic horror neo-noir set in the desert. First, you have that set up. Secondly, Scratch Acid/Jesus Lizard frontman David Yow is involved as a detective. Oh, and some character has my name, albeit spelled differently.

Speaking of things I’ve recently seen New Religion… this has to be the best thing I’ve watched so far in 2025. Figures, it’s a 2022 release just getting on streamers and physical media. A balance of Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Shinya Tsukamoto with a dash of David Lynch and nods to the Cronenbergs. Methodically paced dealing in themes of urban isolation, grief, memory and identity. Waiting for my Third Window Films blu ray to arrive so I can see how the story continues in the Neu Mirror short. I unfortunately pre-ordered with a title that doesn’t drop until late April, so, I lose.

Something about this Erode cover image works wonders for me. Musically this works for me as well. Hints of Envy, Will Haven and brave murder day Katatonia throughout the trappings this Indonesian outfit weaves. Yes, there are some metallic shoegaze deftones threads here, too, but don’t hold it against them, Erode actually use more interesting clusters of sound in those melodic sections that sound more like the real deal UK progenitors of the style.

Speaking of which, there is a new Swervedriver EP. At turns brilliant and frustrating. Great ideas, killer tones. “Pack Yr Vision” could be a laid back drift off the first two albums. While it’s no “Son of Mustang Ford” or “Duel” “Volume Control” is the most up tempo of this quartet of songs. It has a break where piano and violins come into play that lends a different touch to what Swervedriver is known for: its miasma of guitar textures. This leads one to the title track and herein begins my frustration. While the song itself is interesting the piano is distracting from the dragging tempo and backwards pull of the song. Rhythmically this is one of the strangest things Swervedriver has ever cooked up and then there’s a blaring piano in the mix. Give me unadulterated guitar / drum interplay. EP closer “Time Attacks” is a brief, fleeting thing. An afterthought. That leads to the other complaint, the brevity kills approach to this EP. No song is even 4 minutes, there’s little in the way of payoff. All is over before you know it. Yet I’m left thinking about how this is mixed.

Yes, new Grey Aura and Teitanblood dropped this past week. Both are exceptional.

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