Orion's Personal Sale List

This is stuff I'm selling personally. Once, again nothing to do with Contaminated Tones. If you have questions on pressings or dates... let me know and I'll be happy to provide pictures and info to you.

MISCELLANEOUS
Magic The Gathering Cards: $200
I have about 200 Rares, 350 Uncommons and 2000+ Commons. Selling it only as a lot.
Skull Shot Glass: $2.00

BOOKS - PAPERBACK
$1 Einhard - The Life Of Charlemagne
$7 Garyn G. Roberts - The Prentice Hall Anthology Of Sci-Fi and Fantasy

$4 Glen Cook - The Black Company


$4 J.R.R Tolkein - The Return Of The King
$5 James Joyce - Dubliners
$5 John Connolly - The Book Of Lost Things
$9 John Storey - Cultural Theory and Popular Culture
$9 Paula S. Rothenberg - Race, Class and Gender In The United States
$2 Primo Levi - Survival In Auschwitz
$3 R.A Salvatore - Insurrection: War Of The Spider Queen (Book 2)
$3 Richard Lee Byers - War of the Spider Queen Book I: Dissolution
$5 Robert Jordan - Crossroads of Twilight
$5 Robert Jordan - The Fires Of Heaven
$5 Robert Jordan - The Shadow Rising
$5 Robert Jordan - The Dragon Reborn
$8 Stephen King - The Bachman Books: Four Early Novels By Stephen King
$8 Stephen King - The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower Book I
$3 Terry Goodkind - Stone Of Tears
$3 Terry Goodkind - Temple Of The Winds
$3 Terry Goodkind - Faith Of The Fallen
$1 Terry Goodkind - Debt Of Bones
$3 Terry Goodkind - Blood of the Fold
$5 The Art Of The Andes 2nd Edition
$5 The Art Of Mesoamerica 4th Edition

$5 Vera Brittain - Testament of Youth
$9 Wiesner, Ruff, Wheeler - Discovering The Western Past 5th Edition

BOOKS - HARDCOVER
$5   Alan Baker - The Knight
$15 Cistercian Abbeys - History and Architecture
$5   Dan Brown - The Da Vinci Code
$5   E. Randall Floyd - The Good, The Bad, The Mad: Weird People In American History
$10 Frey, Botan, Kreps - Investigating Communication
$5   Jennifer Fallon - Medalon
$5   Joe Hill - Heart Shaped Box
$5   Kenneth R. Timmerman - Countdown To Crisis: The Coming Nuclear Showdown With Iran
$5   Harry G. Frankfurt - On Bullshit
$5   Pat Brown - Killing For Sport: Inside The Minds of Serial Killers
$5   Peter Haining - Cannibal Killers: Real Life Flesh Eaters and Blood Drinkers
$20 R.A Salvatore  - War Of The Spider Queen (Books 1, 3, 4 and 5)
$10 R.A Salvatore - The Legacy 
$8   R.A Salvatore - The Highwayman
$10 Robert Jordan - Lord of Chaos
$15 Robert Jordan - New Spring
$10 Robert Jordan - Winter's Heart
$10 Robert Jordan - The Path Of Daggers
$10 Robert Jordan - A Crown of Swords
$20 Stephen King - The Dark Tower VII
$10 Terry Brooks - Morgawr
$10 Terry Brooks - High Druid of Shannara: Jarka Ruus  
$10 Terry Goodkind - Naked Empire
$10 Terry Goodkind - Soul of the Fire
$10 Terry Goodkind - Pilars Of Creation
$10 Terry Goodkind - Chainfire
$20 Treasures of the HardRock Cafe (Official Catalog of  HardRock Cafe Memorabilia)

MUSIC / METAL RELATED

Predatory Light - MMXIV

Most band names are just empty bravado, but that’s not the case with Predatory Light. The band’s debut demo “MMXIV” is fantastically transfixing black/doom metal that you will want to consume you as you sit quietly, frozen in place like a frightened animal. This music is so addicting that I always listen to it multiple times. Always. Granted, the two songs total less than 18 minutes, but this release still has a gripping and iron-clad sense of completeness that refuses interruptions. Blending black and doom metal, Predatory Light isn’t doing much new, but they are doing everything much better and more dynamically than the vast majority of their peers. A fair benchmark for comparison is Negative Plane - take the same top-tier quality and similar lush cascading reverb, but drop the hints of surf rock in favor of a more ponderous mood that is elegantly feathered with touches of dissonance.

An excellent drummer can make an enormous difference in almost any type of band, and Predatory Light is thankfully no exception. The percussion’s expressive intensity accents the guitar’s moods while simultaneously breathing life into repetition, making the riffs insist on being heard over and over again. This concussive variation gives Predatory Light free reign to marinate in mood and atmosphere without sacrificing even a scintilla of excitement, which is an incredibly rare and special combination. Even the exemplary plodding riff in the second song “Spiritual Flesh,” which goes on for over three minutes, is fantastic due in large part to the varied percussion. When that mesmerizing riff switches over to clean guitars, the drums keep adding flavor, making the return to distortion feel absolutely necessary. Small changes like these are clear signs of the band’s excellent overall songwriting intelligence.

Having a the ability to write an absolutely crushing riff like the one in “Spiritual Flesh” is a pretty great trick for a demo, and even for a full-length. But “MMXIV” is so much more than that. Despite what you may expect from doom metal influences, this striking demo still is peppered with vibrant energy and is even up-tempo at times. Take for example how the massive speed jump at about 1:50 into “Changing Skins” builds on the slow sinuous melodies it follows. Bold tempo changes throughout the demo make for an experience more like a hazy fever than the typical walk into a murky cave. Single notes blur into one another, yet each riff is distinct and dynamically segues into the next. Helping to tie these riffs together is the warm and round bass. Much clearer than the shimmering guitars, the bass also soaks into the mix as a superb mediator between the distant melodies and the immediate punch of the percussion. This is in contrast to the vocals, which play a minimal but apt role; the low growls and muted screams are almost background accents.

By excelling simultaneously in both atmosphere and energy, Predatory Light’s masterful debut demo is immensely satisfying and will leave you eager for more.

Fides Inferno - Correspondence

Fides Inferno’s “Correspondece” oozes with a sense of heat and vastness to that point that it’s like a sun-scorched trek into a desert - a desert that also happens to have a stadium seating view of the universe. This drone-doom-experimental album is unlike anything else out there, and is surely one of the finest example of whatever sub-genre it may fit into. Simultaneously heavy and desolate, vast but penetrating, “Correspondence” births a new musical world. Downtuned echoing acoustic guitars give off a vaguely Western feeling, but with a profoundly apocalyptic mood. If Ennio Morricone had died in a desert and then had every last molecule of his body scattered across space, this is the music those molecules would make.

While best thought of in terms of blended textures, this album is not without riffing moments or a sense of melody. That said, depth and enormity are the most prominent features, and these are achieved through a slathering of reverb, echo, and thoughtful dynamics. As echoes and quietness both reflect distances in the real world, their varied uses here imbue the music with a sense of representing a physical location - and also a sense that that place is otherworldly. Loud sounds can seem far away, and quiet ones can be close enough to be crystal clear whispers. Even the sample of running water in the intro to “Immortal Response” is paradoxical, as it does nothing to quench the sense of heat; a musical mirage.

Depth, especially on a cosmic scale, is difficult to convey - but Fides Inferno carves a musical landscape with dynamics that continually pull the listener deeper in. This isn’t just a mix between acoustic and electric guitars; the volume weaves sounds together by contracting and dilating across instruments. Few musical acts utilize even half as much dynamic variation. As an example, “Vacant,” the opening track, begins with a low drone note swelling into existence. Next, a single twangy acoustic chord rings out into strummed notes that make the album’s characteristically low and quiet growled vocals seem to arise out of nothingness. This clothes the highly minimalistic composition in a shroud of lush intertwined textures. Aside from some of the guitar work, all of the sounds here are textures rather than instruments. Vocals are rumbles, notes tumble over their own echoes, and nearly indiscernible rattles permeate the mix. Is that a cymbal, didgeridoo, a gust of wind, fret buzz, or a rattle snake? If you focus on it, the answer is clear, but unimportant to the experience.

Flaws on “Correspondence” are few and mostly minute with the exception of the song “Why Are Your Eyes So Cold.” That song, in a complete reversal of the usual course of events, is the most metal and also the weakest. It isn’t a per se problem that the song deviates from the vacant, soundtrack style. It falters by being overly repetitive and flat. Abandoning the dynamic strengths would have been forgettable enough, were it not also for the excessively long stretches of the same fast three note runs. While the album’s overall tendency to overindulge in repetition is nearly unnoticeable in light of the overflowing atmosphere, some may view it as problematic, particularly on this song.

“Why Are Your Eyes So Cold” also reveals another weakness - the dull and flat drum samples marring an otherwise vast soundscape. The percussion ends up not being a real issue because it is so sparse and nearly subsumed by other instruments. For the more minute flaws, the only one worth mentioning is how a small portion of “Immortal Response” is vaguely reminiscent of “The Streets of Cairo,” a well known song that is an irritating Eastern music cliche, but this part ends quickly. Despite these minor issues, “Correspondence” is still a powerhouse of an album.

Clocking in at around 35 minutes, this album is absolutely necessary for anyone looking to spice up their drone, doom, or ambient music with something enjoyably engaging yet comprised almost entirely of atmosphere. Fides Inferno is one of the few bands that can successfully balance the two in such a minimalistic setting. With a foreboding vastness contrasted against reflective quiet that persists long enough to delve into bleakness, “Correspondence” also deftly dances with varying volumes to manifest sounds into a physical, alien, world. The central question is, do you enjoy echoes that cascade across the entire universe before hitting your ears? Well in the case of “Correspondence,” you really should.

Kaarmekristus - Saturnaalinen Siunaus

I respect artists' desire for privacy. In the black metal world, that goes a long way sometimes. A couple years back, I had the pleasure of reviewing Ajan Lopun Alku, the debut demo from Ophiuchus' project Kaarmekristus. It had ups, it had downs, but it was personal and pure black metal through and through. Ajan... was finer than most of the ephemeral promos that get emailed to me and forgotten about. I had forgotten about the tape for almost a year or two when two more Kaarmekristus demos landed on my doorstep. The first was Cosmic Satan. Also included was a second tape, Saturnaalinen Siunaus, an unreleased demo which was sent out to a few people Ophiuchus apparently likes. 

The album translates to "Saturn Blessing" or "Blessing of Saturn" - I'm not an expert in Finnish in any way but I can admit to be well versed in the language of black metal. This release is dedicated to fellow countrymen IC Rex and is similarly frigid and cold in vibe. Kaarmekristus has improved in some areas on this release even if it isn't meant for mass consumption. The songwriting is a bit more convoluted and intricate and less static compared to Ajan Lopun Alku. Stylistically then, the similarities to the release it claims to be a tribute to are keen.

The production is rough for a normal / average listener. Lo-Fi fans would have a feast with this if they could get their hands on it  as it is all the perfection we seek - rough hewn guitars, miserable vocals and general sloppiness in sound at times. It feels as natural as if one were actually in a rehearsal where perfection is forfeited for emotion. Ophiuchus is still influenced by others and the initial Darkthrone and Beherit respect is shown in the two unnamed tracks. Opening with an ambient intro before the track takes off, the first salvo is the longer of the two but the second quicker track is where Kaarmekristus shines. More unique, with a spoken lyrical style that carried through the composition which sports an apocalyptic and sullen atmosphere over the scraping guitars. Unfortunately, at only a eight minutes long, this tape is over too quick.

News - September

A quick news update because of a bunch of stuff going on. First, the Crypter tapes are out so be sure to grab one for some kick-ass Celtic Frost / Hellhammer inspired thrashin' madness! The tapes came out great (as was to be expected) and the band will have a bunch of copies before the month is out.

The next live release is under construction but may not be out until October. I have a bit of work to do with it before I want to announce it. It's going to be excellent though.

The main reason for the delay is that I really want to focus on getting all the other stuff laying around added to the distro list. I had several packages come in this week that I'm working into the distro and I'm announcing what is being added on the facebook page so that's really the best way to stay on top of what is getting thrown in with the rest of the items for sale. This is also the reason why I haven't posted many new reviews. My time has really been focused with beefing up the store with new product. Once that's all added in, you'll see a flurry of new reviews from me - I have about five or six written that need to be typed up and posted. Hopefully, Apteronotus and Steve will be able to hold you over with reviews while I finish adding all the new stuff to the store.

I also may be doing a "sale" of some sort later in the month to coincide with a week I will be unavailable but more info on this later. For the last week, however, I will not be around so please don't get antsy / upset  / impatient if you email me and do not receive a response. I will respond to all emails the first week of October.

 Additionally, please buy stuff! Money is getting tight and I have some excellent planned releases for late this year / early next year that I won't be able to do without stuff being sold. Spread the word about the label / releases / distro so I can keep putting stuff out. Support the underground, support the hardworking bands that kill themselves each night. I can only do so much without support from all of you!

Kognitiv Tod - Mysteries

Like an abandoned house in the middle of the woods, Kognitiv Tod is a quaint, even rustic black metal solo project whose debut release “Mysteries” is oddly addictive. On the surface level there is plenty not to like. Each and every one of the tones is frumpy, dry, and almost shoddy. This escapes even the usual charms of raw black metal because of the surgically clean and dry approach. Beyond that, the music is very straightforward and minimalistic, taking cues from Burzum with the riffing and overall song structure. Despite not quite being amateur, “Mysteries” tonal quality also gives the release an abrasive atmosphere to the extent that Kognitive Tod doesn’t superficially feel similar to the hypnotic atmosphere of Burzum (amazing how minimal reverb can majorly change very familiar black metal paths.) Given the overall sound quality and minimal heaviness, “Mysteries” comes almost half way to being similar to “Dauði Baldrs,” certainly poor company, but it is still weird enough to be an obvious musical outlier.

What makes these simple melodies so addictive however is the clever and dynamic use of counterpoint. Even transposing a melody to a different voicing, whether it be guitar or synth, and layering it in unanticipated ways allows a few songs to worm their way into the listener’s memory. Contrasting these powerful glimpses of songwriting is the bone-dry flavor that makes it seem like the drums aren’t the only programmed instrument. Still, it works. Instruments jumping in and out to double up on melodies or diverging to accent the harmony help to overshadow what would otherwise be irritatingly dry aspects like the sound the guitar pick hitting the strings. Sadly, the top-notch counterpoint that lends the album a lasting richness also makes up the vast bulk of its charm. This is a problem because only a paltry three of the nine tracks on “Mysteries” heavily rely on that technique: the excellent “Inviolate…” “Dysphoric…” and “Indomitable…”

Apart from these highlight tracks, the album is plainly flat and a rather tepid experience. While these songs make the others stronger in the context of an album format, they aren’t enough to make the entire release particularly strong. To be specific, these three songs all have killer guitar counterpoint riffs. While there is guitar counterpoint elsewhere, it is less frequent and weaker because one melody is typically just a flat background progression. Even in the overall dry vibe the vocals and drums both can be especially tough to swallow and are each used very narrowly. The programmed drums are stripped down to little more than sinew and the vocals are heavily processed and compressed to the point where they have no range in volume or attack. Moreover, there is minimal vocal variation with speed, rhythm, or pitch. Synths however work as a countervailing factor by lightly gluing the mix together while also subtly enriching it.

As the album is so counterpoint dependent, it would be nice to see the project delve deeper into that avenue. Pursuing richer and fuller tones, especially with the drums and vocals, would also help to propel the project onto a very strong path, but the true strength is within the addictively off kilter layers of melodies. Jangling without necessarily being dissonant or angular, these strong moments make “Mysteries” well worth listening to. Given that the project has three similarly situated 2014 full-length releases, Kognitiv Tod is clearly in need of a paring knife; “Mysteries” could have been a strong demo. As a closing side note, it is also surprising that the music is weirder than the cover art, which says a lot because the cover art is a progeria-stricken gentleman, circumscribed with golden hoops, giving a depressed black-robed wizardly man an enema. Weird indeed.

Nocturnal Abyss - From the Depths of Mörkvod

Nocturnal Abyss is a band steeped in the morbid glory of old black metal. The influence of Darkthrone, Les Legions Noires, and more recent Finnish black metal couldn't be more apparent. This strives for those harsh aesthetics, the ugly picture those sounds painted. It's more than apparent, it's overt. It's a pretty rough line to tread, and it falls firmly on one side.

Noctir's vocals lead the music - they're on top of the treble part of the mix, like a less drawling Meynach, or like later Darkthrone but less froggy. The vocals find a certain voice, not a unique one, but a convincing and sufficient throaty tone that works well for him. Noctir hardly has any competition for nice things to say about this album though. One guy plays all of the instruments, and it seems like the moderate success of the vocals is overwhelmed by the complete failure of all of the instrumentation and songwriting. This basically boils down to the guitars, which strive to be but fail to be much more than the frail backbone that is the rhythm section.

The guitars bask in a mildly abrasive harshness, an unabashedly blank texture for black metal. The riffing wanders between a few different emulations of styles with little direction, no transitions within a structure, and basically no driving structure behind it. One part doesn't build up to the next part, it doesn't flow, there are no directional dynamics to the song structure. It sounds like a series of riffs inspired by other bands linked together with no preconceived intent, no greater structure, and no purpose whatsoever. There is no sense of nuance, no accentuation nor structural variation to give the music movement.

There are stylistic cues that the band hints at, but fails to grasp. Much of the album is slow-to-mid-paced, which sets up the potential for aggressive and jarring riffs like early Gorgoroth. Tonal variations of the traditional wide-interval black metal tremolo riff could build and release tension. Off-kilter tremolo riffs could conjure the weepy Mutiilation sound. Slow could be contrasted to fast, consonant to dissonant, vocals trade the lead with guitar. To be fair, I think Noctir tries that last one and the guitar just sounds so shitty that it doesn't work. The guitarist's phrasing is so sloppy that every riff here sounds like a kid trying to play along with riffs while hitting the notes but having absolutely no phrasing, no sense of nuance, and absolutely no sense of the emotion that was expressed through the original. It's a Mutiilation aesthetic with the emotional depth of pizza thrash.

This is a Soulseek safari through black metal; bred in captivity, presented as wild.

Countress - Ov Sin

Countress is a dark, occult-inspired band reminiscent of Integrity and Doomriders. The dark and straightforward nature of the heavy music screams holy terror, while the simple and groovy riffs are reminiscent of the faster doom-inspired stuff like later High on Fire. The aesthetic is surely inspired by A389-style hardcore, a heavy dose of doom metal, and the extreme side of rock and roll, as Tom G. Warrior described Celtic Frost. Though I name a plethora of apparent influences, the band's style is quite coherent, just hard to pinpoint. That's a good thing.

The songs and album are well structured, they feel natural and jammy, very heavy and groovy. The band knows how to find a groove and work into it - they're so good at this that the dark aspect to the music gets lost pretty easily. Heavy grooves, reminiscent of NOLA sludge, strong enough to make Kvelertak look like wusses. One songwriting quirk does stand out - their tendency to make some abrupt transitions from the more aggressive hardcore style to the groovy dark stoner stuff. While they blend those two pretty well, they haven't quite found a perfect synergy. The middle five tracks find that doom-n-roll style pretty well, which is where the Doomriders comparison comes from. The vocalist even lightens up a bit while maintaining his similarity to Dwid Hellion of Integrity. The first and last tracks, however, are where the band finds their darker side, very reminiscent of Integrity, Ringworm, and Pulling Teeth. These songs are much more intense, harder driving, and perfectly representative of the band's dark aesthetic. The bookending leaves me feeling that the band could have had a much more focused sinister intent here, and perhaps that's something they should explore.

Bottom line, Countress are a good band and this is a good album. It speaks to its notability that it's a bit hard to categorize and compare to other bands. If you like anything I've mentioned in this review, give it a listen, it's worth your time.

Pallbearer - Foundations and Burden

Pallbearer is a post-rock band from Arkansas that relies heavily on a textural, atmospheric feeling that instantly sets the tone of their music. They take a similar textural approach to Baroness - not so much defined by what they're playing, but that it's played through fuzz pedals into Orange amps - but rather than catchy rock and roll songwriting, they drag through ten minute songs at Electric Wizard levels of boringness. Overlong and tone-basking, a pleasant background aura for directionless music. Similar to Deafheaven, they're a post-rock band who borrow aesthetics of metal  but fail to fully incorporate them, which is more of a nuisance than of benefit to their horrendously overlong songs. The rhythm guitar rarely riffs, it drones throughout with a rumbling tone. The lead guitar and vocals are similarly used - neither catchy nor leading, but as post-rock-style textural elements. Tactless harmonies are piled on like fries at Five Guys, interspersed with weepy late 90s gothic/doom metal melodies. It's like atmospheric metalcore when bands "evolved" past the scream/sing novelty and replaced it with low-end rumble/high-end atmosphere. It's basically the same thing as djent with different tones - showcase the low tone with a pointless rhythm, use the high-end for atmosphere, but with focus on atmosphere instead of rhythm. It's an interesting concept and it gives it a healthy shimmer, but it's more like a party-store prop covered in glitter than a sequined item from a mid-level department store. Now that I mention it, Lord and Taylor would be an ironic/cult name for a hipster black/doom band. It'd probably have the same appeal as listening to Mogwai and My Bloody Valentine at the same time on Beats by Dr. Dre. Gotta have that bass. See how I trailed off there? No real purpose, no real structure, but it'll push the right buttons in your mind if you like to hear about atmosphere, a lot of genres, a couple indie-favorites, and an attempt at humor. If you get a buzz playing atmospheric metal from YouTube in the background, give this a listen.

CTP - 020 - L: Crypter - Cutthroats From Hell (Live MDF / Sidebar)

 

Maryland Deathfest XII - A bunch of shit bands are playing the main Edison lots and a block away, at a local watering hole, an associated free show at Sidebar was going on. Crypter were the second band on. They delivered a brand of fierce and raw first wave black metal in the vein of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost laced with that special brand of underground vitriol that emanates with unadulterated energy. It's captured here.

$3 preorder until 8/31. $5 afterwards.

Atavisma - Where Wolves Once Dwelled

Dirtier than a crusty herpes covered pair of shit smeared lips wrapped around a dusty dildo, Where Wolves Once Dwelled, Atavisma's debut demo, will appeal to death metal die-hards that just can't find enough pleasure in the sounds of gurgling vocals and guitars as thick as quicksand. As if there wasn't enough unholy death metal demo tapes out there to pick up, add this to the list and luckily, this one is easily available and ready to be sucked dry. The trio, based in France (as is label Nihilistic Holocaust) get a lot of noise from the lack of numbers but they also capture more discerning ears when they incorporate disgusting lead melodies into their brand of sewage. In many ways, this reminds me of Mandatory's Where They Bleed with the super swampy guitar tones and powerful riffing. Still, an adept attention to songwriting is at play and should live up to the scrutiny of fans. With bands like Horrendous getting a ton of attention with their recent releases, the primordial ooze is bubbling here with the possibilities of a similar - though hopefully less polished - trajectory.

Where Wolves Once Dwelled opens with the boiling "The Savage One," slowly pummeling and writhing along. Vocalist - unnamed on the insert as are the other two members - is capable of some excellent guttural vocals and uses the talent all across this demo. They are perfect when paired with the ugliness of the material here. The remind of Undergang, Timeghoul or Iniquity on Serenadium. Atavisma's love of Swedish death metal is shown in "Forsaken" and "Nature's Warfare," the shorter of the four tracks. Grave and Entombed - to no one's surprise - are present in many riffs without being pure rip-offs. The title track is the highlight for me, opening it's length with some clean yet sinister guitar plucking before launching into a twisting doom tinted riff. The song is the ugliest, but also most complex with an extended instrumental section where once again clean guitars mimic the intro but are accompanied by tense drumming to create a dense malevolent mist.

This longer track would have been a better opening track for Where Wolves Once Dwelled but the fact it exists here is enough to give me some dirty and ugly thoughts. Even the usage of  'dwelled' instead of the proper 'dwelt' gives just that additional personality which I enjoy, even if it would make an English teacher tear at their eye sockets. As usual with Nihilistic Holocaust's releases, the tape labels are a little skimpy, and not a lot of material is present on the insert which is a little of a bummer but with my only musical gripe being how set back the percussion is in the mix, this is one of those pleasurable items that ends up in my collection and one I would recommend to others interest in quality death metal demos.

Trenchrot - Dragged Down To Hell

Philadelphia's Trench Rot, featuring Infiltrator's Steve Jansson as well as his fellow Crypt Sermon friend Brooks Wilson, set out to leave a dent on a scene which, for New Jersey and Philadelphia is small and lazy. Death Metal at this caliber is difficult to track down in the area and with the exception of some heavyweights like Funebrarum and Evoken and some more obscure, but no less impressive - and no less old school - bands like Sapremia the area is somewhat underwhelming in the category. It seems there are more black metal bands in the immediate vicinity than there are pennies in a dollar. Dragged Down To Hell is the 2013 demo that preceded this year's Necronomic Warfare. Essentially, we are given a memorable three-track blitz of Asphyx, Entombed and Grave. The overall creation sounds a whole lot like Hail Of Bullets and certainly elements of Bolt Thrower appear, especially the intro riff of second track "Trapped Under Treads." In fact, there's a lot of general death metal deja-vu here, whether intended or not.

The intro to opener "Gallery of the Dead" fondly invokes memories of Deathevokation's Chalice of Ages before running rampant in a more generic but enjoyably vicious manner. "Gallery..." is a smoothly moving track and my only gripe is the use of samples at the end which aside from being a pet-peeve of mine, are unnecessary as the song slowly drifts out of earshot. "Trapped Under Treads" continues in a similar manner but some additional make this a less generic experience. The breakdown section is excellent as it displays the killer static tinged bass tone of Steve Geptik as he slides in and out of some pummeling half-beat groove. The verses also mimic Diatribes era Napalm Death - a period of their career which goes unnoticed by the metal community at large it seems. The last track, the title track, "Dragged Down To Hell," doesn't hit me as hard, even with a tasteful middle eastern flavored solo. It's still good material but I prefer the other options here. This is a powerful and well paced Death Metal demo displaying balance and refinement - something I expect in projects involving Steve and which is displayed in both Infiltrator and Crypt Sermon. Worth attention for Death Metal gurus, as it will probably incite a need to check out the debut.

Lysura - II

I couldn't think of a single thing I could give a shit about in Indianapolis. I don't like racing, I don't like football and I don't expect there to be a hockey team there any time soon. I even looked up every band in the city just to make sure I wasn't forgetting anyone. I wasn't. Other than Gates of Slumber - who to me are a bottle of Corona in a vast beer paradise of infinite other options - I didn't even recognize any other bands (a lapse in knowledge which I will be sure to close in the coming days) and so, Lysura, now promoting this second demo simply titled II with shows this summer and past spring - including one at St. Vitus in May which I think I went to but I don't remember - seem to be doing a good job at making The Circle City notable in the metal world. Their brand of black metal, doom and death metal cooked to a light crustiness rides the wave of bands combining the slow elements and sludgy overtones with black metal riffs but joins the parade near the rear of the pack, with the local cowboy club, senior citizen checkers group and police chase car.

Slower moments, especially the end of first track "Seasons In Exile" do well to contrast the different influences without sounding like a mish-mash. Tremolo picked melodies over churning plunky bass licks and screamed vocals are on display in "Tome of Surreption" as well. The second track, with brief clean guitar sections strewn about the composition, is still what I would call a faster track, and chugged accents find niches to crawl into during these areas. The two songs are equal lengths, but focus on different aspects of the band. "Seasons In Exile" provides a more temporal experience through the usage of slower riffs, melodic movement and texture whereas "Tome of Surreption" is more immediate and aggressive. Guitarist Max Otworth doubles as vocalist and in scratchy yelps akin to Carcass' Jeff Walker and Arsis' James Malone is really the harshest aspect of Lysura. Production wise, the guitars and bass are somewhat thin and gentle and drums of Eric Barnes, though well played like the rest of the instrumentation is just somewhat underwhelming in largeness.

The sixteen minute demo packs a lot of memorable moments but more material provided would give a better hint of whether the band can produce a full record capable of holding interest. It's a big problem in this style for me - songs that are too long by virtue of expectation, while extraneous sections and untimely pitter-patter arrive like a maligned coworker at your desk on what was a good day. While I like the idea here, of two songs of the same length, both different in pacing and focus, offering the band a ready-to-go 7" option should a label want to do something of the sort I don't think this is the best of what this band has. It's a little dry, lacking much atmosphere other than the feeling of being live and natural - which it definitely is. It's not particularly evil, or dark, or melancholy and it doesn't seem relaxed or sublime; II really seems to lack any real discernable emotions at all and so, unfortunately, this doesn't match up with some of my favorites in this style of the last couple years, like Velnias' majestic RuneEater or Hivelords' chilling Cavern Apothecary.

Sadness - Close

I’m not making this up, but there is a depressive black metal band called “Sadness” and the project’s apish debut release, “Close,” really reminds me of that gorilla that could allegedly use sign language. (Koko is the gorilla’s name.) Here’s why the two are similar: first, let’s compare Koko’s purported reaction to learning her pet kitten had died with the titles from the tracklist on “Close.” Koko, using sign language: Bad, sad, bad, frown, cry, frown, sad. Sadness: Lonely, Useless, Sad, Life would be so beautiful…, suicide.

The most striking similarity is that Sadness and Koko both redundantly use the word sad to say that they are sad. This is revealing because in other words, the artistic complexity here is on par with the direct and awkward simplicity of interspecies communication. Here’s the problem though, Koko the gorilla never actually displayed verifiable marks of understanding language. The signs were prompted by her handler and rewarded with bananas without Koko understanding their meaning. Here, Sadness shares Koko’s shortcomings and is unable to actually articulate emotion and simply provides track titles and music prompted by the depressive suicidal black metal subgenre in a Pavlovian response to the promise of bananas, i.e. modest album sales/praise or even just the sense of completion of an album.

As you can imagine, the music is just as boring, Pavlovian, and unsophisticated as the track titles are. Strum a minor chord 12 or 16 times, then another one, all the while doing some excessively woeful and saccharine minor chord tremolo picking or arpeggio melody on top and you are off to a good start as to how this album goes. In terms of music-geography, Sadness might be palatable for people who felt that Amesoeurs were too heavy and intricate, that Hypomanie were too subtle, or that Xasthur was too ugly. It all sounds very familiar even without being able to point to which particular band’s style is being melodramatically aped.

Beyond being boring, the album is actively irritating in two major areas. First and most importantly are the very very high-pitched vocals in the all too familiar style of ghostly wails lacking any sense of melody or even hints of representing words. These vocals are really the major tie that Sadness has to black metal and they couldn’t be more out of place with the music, as their random spurts loudly distract from rather than adding to the bland chord progressions. The second major issue is how blunt and melodramatic the mood is. This gives off a terribly cliched vibe. Each of the numerous times we hear a soft, sad, acoustic guitar section, it is more like a gorilla grasping at hand motions until it gets a banana rather than a human being communicating emotion through music. Most of the riffs are immature guitar experiments with the minor scale, and poorly played as well.

As a solo project (surprise surprise), the rest of the instrumentation outside of the guitars and vocals are perfunctory. This leaves little to comment positively on. Sure the post-rock riffing and clean guitar sections aren’t abrasively awful (aside from their silverback emotional level) but the triteness so overwhelming that “Close” isn’t even close to being mediocre. All that prevents this from being completely excruciating is that the hackneyed transitions from soft or acoustic sections to generic post-depressive-whatever at least provide for some variation to break up the monotony. “Close” is still quite a grueling chore to get through, much of it is nakedly stark and bland fumbling - just as engaging as trying to listen to a gorilla communicate without the fun of having a gorilla around.

CTP - 013 - L: Midnite Hellion - Bitchin' At Champs!

New Jersey's Midnite Hellion are a staple of the New Jersey heavy metal scene, playing shows for the past few years all over the place. This is a recording of, in my opinion, their best show. Vocalist PJ Berlinghof is outstanding on vocals and in my estimation, has been the best singer the band has had. When I heard that Midnite Hellion had parted ways with PJ, Dan Sclavi, Bill Dripps and Nick G, I was incredibly surprised.

Essentially, this recording captures Midnite Hellion pre-rebuilding.

Altars / Heaving Earth - Engulfed

Underground fanatics should be familiar with Nihilistic Holocaust. The French label specializing in all things steaming and nasty runs the gamut in extremity but owner Gabriel has a really good nose for Death Metal and Grind excellence. This slime colored four song split between Australians, Altars and Czech Republic's Heaving Earth is an enjoyable and memorable release that more than makes up for it's lack of originality with four well written songs. It represents both bands particularly well. Both are different enough to create distinction and separation but not so far off that the grouping is odd. Both are fast slightly grinding Death Metal with some abrasive atonality thrown in for kicks and screams. Altars is the more "underground" sounding of the two. Heaving Earth's more polished sound is appropriate for their slightly more technical mish-mash.

I find myself enjoying the Altars tracks more. They remind me of early 90's Death Metal stalwarts such as Immolation as well as more modern projects like Beyond and Mithras. Opening their pair of tracks, "Husk," initiates the cluttered sounding morass that is Altars' tracks. Murky and swampy guitar tones drift across the pummeling rhythm sections with occasional tremolo accents and nuances. Their second track, "Descent (Paramnesia, part I)" is an imbroglio of riffs and drum fills. The Heaving Earth side is, as foretold, cleaner but that by no means should discourage those searching for new Death Metal. The two tracks are quite good, especially "I Am Nothing," where even through tons of percussive ordinance, guitar riffs shine and verses echo the songs memorable intro and it's machine-like emphasis. The groovier parts of the track aren't good and second song "Into the Depths of Abomination" is generic. Though still twisting and wielding enough riffs to continue my interest the overall feeling isn't as strong here as we get hints of Necrophagistesque technicality. The Altars side of the split doesn't have more personality than the Heaving Earth duet but it has a personality which impresses me more.

CTP-018-L: Drugs Of Faith - Back To 2012

Drugs of Faith's "Back to 2012" live tape will be out on 7/29... that's two Tuesdays from now. Preorder starts now for this awesome grinding live assault. $3 + shipping until 7/29. Preorders will ship on 7/29. After 7/29, the price will be the normal $5 or, for those that want more for their money, pick and choose 5 live tapes for the wholesale price of $18 ppd.

As usual, email for orders. 

Breath of Sorrows - Suicide Is A Form Of Art... Not Destruction

Suicide Is A Form Of Art, Not Destruction is a short two song tape from Nevada-based Breath of Sorrows out on Singularity Publishing. Why drummer Sulphur didn't decide to release it on his own label, Wraith Productions, which released the debut album Through Darkness To Battle I Ride,  is beyond me. It's rather generic depressive Black Metal, however strong melodic sensibilities and a spirited vocal performance pull it up and over the designation of redundant. Released early March 2013, the quick run time of thirteen minutes is still enough for the band - this happens to not be a one-man project - to build and present a couple good songs. Both bassist J. Eirikr and jack of all trades Belial contribute vocals. Breath of Sorrows is completed by guitarist Txivo with Sulphur offering a rather laid-back drum performance.

Between an opening track which shares a title with the release and the next (and last) track "My Distant Dreams Buries In Battle" is a section of samples and synths which is done well, even if the samples sound somewhat silly in context with the rest of the music. The demo-quality of the sample sets the section into the track enough to not force the samples to stand out in a negative way. Suicide Is A Form Of Art, Not Destruction's strengths remain in the meat of the two songs though. Both are mid-paced and moody depressive black metal similar to projects such as Benighted In Sodom or Xasthur. A somber lead highlights the title track while the second song is notable for absolutely nothing in specific but carries a (un)pleasant melody and some inspired vocal wails and screams. Breath of Sorrows is not necessary your collection of depressive metal but it's something which for a few dollars I would chastise someone for grabbing either.

Torchure - Beyond the Veil

 

First, let’s take a moment to stop laughing at the intro track’s classic shitty-spooky synth nonsense with bonus harpsichord silliness for that old haunted castle feeling. Once the muscles in your sides stop aching from laughter, it’s pretty clear right away that Torchure’s 1992 album is actually a decent death/doom metal album in the vein of Asphyx, with maybe slight touches of Samael’s contemporary releases in terms of the guitar tone and riffing. Torchure’s distinctive sound here comes from the thin but sharp-edged guitar tones that rely on the bass to fill the low-end, and everything has the mid-paced even tempo that is a hallmark of this particular vein of metal. While Asphyx’s flavor of death/doom wasn’t the most crowded branch of metal, the less prolific Torchure never rose to anywhere near to the same level of renown or popularity. There’s a good reason for this, “Beyond the Veil” is a passable album, but far from a forgotten gem. Overall, “Beyond the Veil” is a release to check out for people dedicated to this particular style, but otherwise not essential.

“Beyond the Veil” is one of those albums that you listen to and think “cool” but a week later you couldn’t praise a single specific thing about it. Mid-range vocals, mid-paced tempo, even pacing, all end up being more than just sub-genre markers, they are ingredients for forgetability. In this sense, Torchure can’t support the heaviness of their doom inclinations. The tempos are slow for death metal, and here this is too slow because the songs tend to languish on rather than strongly conveying any feeling. So, while overall mood and feel could be called tortured, the primary flavor is simply standard doom/death. Since death and doom metal are both pretty damn cool, and Asphyx is cool, Torchure manages to get through the unremarkable album with only a few hiccups. Even the oh so trite nod to Chopin’s Funeral March on the outro to “Resort to Mortality” is something that you can let slide with only a modest sigh or eye roll, because hey it’s not great but it’s not bad either.

Outside of the intro, two other parts of the album are not excusable. On this particular version, “Mortal at Last” and “Vortex of Thoughts” are “bonus” tracks that take a very liberal view of the word “bonus.” Both are unnecessary reprisals of the intro’s silly synth stuff in what is an obvious attempt at cheap variation and album length padding. It’s like calling a hat an “interlude vertebrae” and claiming that it makes you taller - but nothing real is beyond the veil. Just because a band member owns a keyboard it doesn’t mean that the laundry and paperwork covering it need to be removed so it can be used on the album. “Mortal at Last” at least has a clear display of how powerful vocals don’t necessarily mean screaming your lungs out of your body, but these vocals are really more enjoyable in the context of actual songs.

Despite the intro and these diversions, “Beyond the Veil” still has an overbearing sense of evenness. Although the tempo doesn’t strictly stay the same on the album, it may as well have in many places. Musical changes here are muted and fall into familiar patterns because even when things like tempo or vocals or rhythm change a tad, the overall sound never really varies. Many of the chord progressions stay well into the low range and have little variation between the kinds of chords used. The brooding atmosphere and slower tempos are fine and work in small doses, but become a drain when listening to the album as a whole because of this sameness. As a result, the album is overly long, even without the filler material that absolutely should have been cut.

Problems aside, there is plenty to like here and the moderate flavor also makes for moderate quality. The vocals in particular have really smooth transitions from the main style down to deep gutturals, even changing style within single syllables without any struggle. Some of the longer vocal notes resolve with lower growls, less distorted than the initial attack, creating a sense of power, even as the vocals are releasing the notes. This is a sign of the strength and confidence of someone well acquainted with their own voice, also made clear by the tastefully sparse amount of reverb. The drums similarly show a stripped down confidence and strength, using doublebass as an accent rather than a wall, which is entirely appropriate for the style.

The overall homogeneity leaves little reason to point out parts of the album that are high points (or low points aside from the synth nonsense), but generally the better parts are more varied structurally and rhythmically, which allows the band to let their heavier inclinations shine by using lighter contrasts. To reiterate, this album might be of interest for those into the style, or as a historical note, but Torchure’s music is the kind of stuff that would be more enjoyable as part of a playlist including several bands rather than as an album experience. “Beyond the Veil” is not bad, but it’s nothing special either.

Drugs of Faith and Crypter Live Tapes!

Contaminated Tones is proud to announce two new live tapes that will be available quite soon! 

The first will be a recording of Drugs of Faith's 2012 show at Tobacco Road in NYC. Killer Grind band who recently released "Architectural Failures" EP as well as a flexi with a cover of Sacrifice's Re-Animation. This should be out before the end of July...

The second live tape will be from Massachusetts' own Crypter, a recording of their Sidebar performance from Maryland Deathfest. Crypter released their debut full length on June 24th titled "Suffer The Hands Of Filth." Basically, a modern day Hellhammer...