Welcome to the latest edition of Noise Not Music on Stereoboard, the finest repository for all your extreme musical needs. From black metal, to drone, to grindcore, to power electronics, this column welcomes music usually forced to survive far out in the musical wilderness. Listeners of a more circumspect nature are advised read on with caution…
New Releases
Botanist - ‘VI: Flora’ (The Flenser)
The world of black metal is full of one man projects (in fact, a case could be made for them being responsible for many of the genre’s finest moments) but few are as esoteric as Botanist, a San Francisco-based “eco-terrorist” effort exclusively focused around vocals, drums and hammered dulcimer. Like all Botanist’s releases to date, ‘VI: Flora’ sounds more hopeful than certain misanthropic practitioners, perhaps due to the unusual instrumentation.
Unlike some of the damp squib “post-black metal” in circulation at the moment, though, Botanist has always retained the ferocity that is so integral to the genre’s spirit and that’s apparent throughout this record. If this is the sound of eco-terrorism, then the various multinational conglomerates that are destroying the planet have plenty to fear, and the rest of us can rest safe in the knowledge that a strange beauty will emerge when the battle is won.
Dead Neanderthals & Machinefabriek - ‘DNMF’ (Moving Furniture)
New wave of Dutch heavy jazz leaders Dead Neanderthals have been punishing eardrums for a few years now and this collaboration with Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) sees them continue to do so with aplomb. With Machinefabriek’s electronics allowing a subtler approach than baritone sax and drums left to their own devices, ‘DNMF’ is an album of tension rather than all out noisemaking. The two tracks here are both keenly staged and ruthlessly spontaneous, the sound of two artists finding imaginative and thrilling new ways to disturb the musical continuum in which they operate.
Earth - ‘Primitive and Deadly’ (Southern Lord)
When Earth invented what has since become known as drone metal in the early ‘90s, few would have predicted the genre’s longevity and cult popularity. Dylan Carlson’s legacy, then, is already secured by classic early records like ‘Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version’ and ‘Phase 3: Thrones and Dominions’. But that’s not to say that Earth have been anything less than essential since their 2005 comeback.
Admittedly, they haven’t been very metal since their return, opting instead for an approach more inspired by Carlson’s love of Americana than by anything heavier. ‘Primitive and Deadly’, despite all the pre-release chatter, isn’t really a return to out and out heaviness, but it does see Carlson and his cohorts attempt to merge the two distinct eras of Earth’s catalogue. The results are uniformly successful - although the two instrumental cuts are more appealing than those that feature the vocals of Mark Lanegan or RabiaShaheenQazi - and while this isn’t Earth’s strongest post-reformation album, it’s certainly proof that their hypnotic, trance-inducing ways still work equally well when applied to a more metallic context.
Krieg - ‘Transient’ (Candlelight)
Krieg are proper stalwarts of the true US black metal scene and their return, four years after 2010’s ‘The Isolationist’, is genuine cause for celebration. ‘Transient’ brings little that’s new to the table but it does see Neill Jameson’s outfit in particularly consistent mood. Aside from Home, a spoken word track that has admirable purpose but is ultimately a little long, everything here is perfectly worthy of praise, with Return Fire and Walk With Them Unnoticed being particularly notable cuts. If you’re looking for some top drawer black metal to see you through the next month then this should be near the top of your list.
Jim Mroz’s Lussuria project arguably reached its zenith with 2012’s exceptional ‘American Babylon’, which must go down as one of the finest releases to have been dispatched by Dominick Fernow’s reliable Hospital Productions. ‘Industriale Illuminato’ is a less immediately inspiring collection but, after a few listens, appears as a worthy follow-up to its noted predecessor. Largely ambient, Mroz has his own distinctive touch that allows ‘Industriale Illuminato’ to avoid sounding too much the product of its influences, which makes his work stand out from the crowd. A perfect fit for those looking for something both menacing and texturally intriguing, as well as a perfect soundtrack to the rampant decay of our post-industrial landscape.
YOB - ‘Clearing the Path to Ascend’ (Neurot)
YOB are colossal, and I mean that in the most dramatic, over the top way possible. Bands aren’t meant to sound this massive. It’s dangerous and unhealthy for the general population. Children should be sleeping in their beds and animals should be meandering peacefully about in their own environment, but YOB have other ideas. When In Our Blood kicks in - and by “kicks in” I mean “explodes into existence in a similar way to a newly formed planet” - the world shudders to the depths of its core. Birds fall from the sky and buildings collapse in on themselves as if their foundations have been torn away.
Hyperbole aside, ‘Clearing the Path to Ascend’ is an enormously powerful record, one that rivals even titanic classics by Sleep and Neurosis in its immovable might. Four tracks in just over an hour, one massive album that sees YOB take their dominance over the mere mortal members of the doom scene to a whole new level. Essential.
Live
Thurston Moore & Caspar Brötzmann @ Cafe OTO, London (August 7 2014)
Two guitar legends. One small venue in east London. That’s the equation on offer and, although Stoke Newington resident Moore is at the capital’s best programmed venue regularly, the opportunity to see him duel away with CasparBrötzmann is not one to be passed up. The pair attack their guitars mercilessly over the course of a two part set, one unfortunately ended slightly earlier than planned by amp failure. By the time of the conclusion, however, both have demonstrated the sonic wonders of sheer guitar abuse.
When I said YOB were colossal on record I meant it, and I mean it just as much when I say they sound huge on stage at the Brudenell Social Club, following up sets from BongCauldron and Pallbearer. The former, a local troupe, sound exactly like their name would suggest and the latter don’t exactly deviate from their moniker either. The difference between the two is that Pallbearer are astonishingly good. This isn’t noisy music. It’s huge, heavy, wonderfully melodic doom. Tracks from their new record, ‘Foundations of Burden’, especially astonishing opener Worlds Apart, are set to become true doom classics. Yes it’s retro, but it easily matches as any of the genre’s legends.
Like Pallbearer, YOB are completely unassuming as they take to the stage. “We don’t really need loads of smoke,” frontman Mike Scheidt says, and then they start. At some moments in the set, it feels like Leeds is about to fall through the earth’s crust, but at others the sounds the trio provide are of transcendental beauty and the momentum is carrying the audience up instead of down.
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