Around in circles

and back again...

Jul 02, 2023

To let you know Articles of Faith and Jones Very still very much rule. As vibrant and vital as ever. That’s all I have for nostalgia this extended July 4th holiday weekend. Make sure to visit Uneeda Medical Supply and book a night at the Overlook.

New Mynskh teaser… “from burnt shadows and the dust of aeons, ascends a new dawn of unlight....” First album for the uninitiated posted after the tease.

If you are a longtime or sometime follower of the starkweather facebook page you may recognize the name Stroda. Stroda is the maniacal force driving the engine of Decoherence. Since its inception he’s been assisted by noisesmith Prior of Infants of the Afterlife and vocalist Tahazu. Order is the third full length from Decoherence. “Closed Timelike Curves” is the premiere track that unfolds as an unholy merging of In Slaughter Natives with Godflesh that spills into Killing Joke urban waste and Dodecahedron blackened deathspheres. Mechanized death industrial grime, tribal pounding, hellmouth scorching vocals, hypnodrones and gibbering insectoid swarms of guitar to chew you up and spit you out.

Centipede Abyss attempts to counter the urban insanity of Sentient Ruin’s Decoherence release with chaotic cosmic insanity of Ar'lyxkq'wr. This is the third release from the interdimensional free form discordant metallic noise grind trio. Structure is collapsing, time is ambiguous, noise is of the utmost. Familiar elements of grind, death, and noise merge, slip in and out of favor for further hybridization only to be teleported via Brundle tech to cthonic realms whereupon reintigration further threatens the universe. 5 absolute spasms of sound and one brief, uneasy respite in limbo.

Lithuanian one man black metal act Zigota makes its spiteful return. Self loathing, drug addiction, near death experiences, urban despair, occultism are but a few subjects on the docket for Exaltation. View this as the black metal soundtrack to Requiem for a Dream - take your pick the Selby Jr novel or Aronofsky’s film adaptation. Sure, the Mansell/Kronos Quartet original soundtrack is tough to beat, but, face it, it has been beaten to death. While Zigota may not reach such lofty heights, Exaltation plumbs the depths of despair with grim authenticity. Whirling dervish cyclical riffing, jackhammer rhythms, wandering bass lines, old scratch intoning the evil that men do.

When you tag your release with “skronk,” you can almost rest assured it’ll be in my wheelhouse. With cover art fitting of a musique concrete, industrial release or urban nightmare we get Haifa, Israel’s A'SH // עש with debut album לא שם likening itself as the death metal wreckage equivalent of the Tetsuo II: Body Hammer tank. Utilizing dual guitarwork with offsetting dissonances and counterpoint to great effect in songs that aren’t fettered by traditional verse-chorus structure which allows the riffage and tempos to flow of their own accord as if channeling otherworldly sonic intelligence - Steeve, Denis, are you there? The beauty with this album is it sounds as if it were recorded as one huge piece and then divided into songs as there are moments of bleed from one track into the next. Monstrous, rhythmically forward driven discordant syncopated churn into urban dread and universal terror.

Multi-nation trio Oculus with its third release, second full length, Of Temples and Vultures. Dissonant black metal fortified with an undercurrent of death metal heft. Energetic drum performance from Honza Kapák propelling to light speeds and downshifting to thudding concussive detonations. This guy is the album’s center of attention for me. Sure, there are riffs here, a lot of them memorable; but, christ almighty, the drumming is maniacal and musical beyond compare.

Polish pagan black metal splendor courtesy of Varmia. Two songs at the moment to preview off nie nas widzę. Crazed vocals backed up by chanting choruses and throat singing. These two tracks have off kilter music made more seasick with an odd buzzing guitar tone that is quasi industrial metal in spots - not quite as artificial as WASP - KFD, but, close - and, in certain places, buoyed with brass and classical and folk strings. Looking forward to hearing where this all winds up as these doses prove intriguing.

Following the thread of folk instrumentation, melody and harmony to Ukraine for the latest offering from Morwan. Must thank Sleepwalker Lev for this recommendation that leans into a post punk sound. Conceived prior to the invasion and subsequently transformed due to prevailing conditions. Vocals have a similar timbre to Jaz Coleman. Hell, some of the music has a Killing Joke feel given an Eastern Slavic bent.

Athens, Greece’s Okwaho present a case where their own description best sets the table: “Stoned by music, covered in sludge, waiting for our doom.” Only thing that shocks me here is Rob Hammer’s youtube channel hasn’t presented this at the time I began composing this post.

Not my generation’s Lament (levitate LP and drowning room ep), but, Tarnow, Poland’s Lament. Bringing brave murder day Katatonia a Slavic spit shine and black metal smear. Commanding vocal presence not unlike what Gruzja and Odraza muster.

Simply be humored by the claim Solar Warden, a space war metal outfit, is located in Roswell. Are there even drums under the cosmic detritus hurtling around? Yes, there are beneath dive bombing and squiggly solos littering the sound palette where rough and tumble riffs churn and heavily processed vocals center the mix. As crazy as it seems this is very much in keeping with power electronics in terms of sonic assault. One thing separating Solar Warden from the industrial field would be the primitive beats that are all but drowned out by the cacophony.

From cosmic noise to stately, regal funeral doom as conducted by Sacramento duo Oromet. I’m always a mark for this sort of thing. Blame Black Sabbath. Blame Winter. Blame diSEMBOWELMENT. Both Oromet members, Dan Aguilar and Patrick Hills, are doomers in Occlith. Occlith having a more ugly disposition than what happens here. While not lacking heavy riffs there is a melodic vein running through this material which gives it a classic UK doom death feel closer to early My Dying Bride, Anathema and Paradise Lost than it does something like Winter or Evoken. Soaring harmonies and melodies, sour solos, old Nick bellows, textural synth work. You know what you’re getting into when classic UK death doom is bandied about and this duo do the sound and style proud and infuse character of their own.

Continuing the path of doom with Rise To The Sky - Two Years of Grief. Similar sorrowful aesthetic as Oromet given additional funereal adornment with lush string and piano accompaniment. Yet this isn’t entirely grounded in funeral doom as it does infuse more uptempo movements that push into death and black metal territory. Drums here have a lively pop across the kit. For me here and there this musically recalls Sergio González Catalán’s fellow Chilean countrymen Mar de Grises as it twists the traditional UK doom sound in different directions and pulls out different colors.

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If you enjoy previous Celeste releases and their commitment to visual aesthetics and songcraft this will not disappoint. Sure, nothing new to see/hear in terms of their attack and sound but it delivers exactly what they laid out in terms of their footprint back in 06 with Pessimiste(s).