The Vomit Arsonist - To What End.

The Vomit Arsonist – To What End – Cloister Recordings – CD/Download – CRUS-143 - 2025 

https://thevomitarsonist.bandcamp.com  

https://cloisterrecordingsus.bandcamp.com 

1. By Every Measure.

2. I Do Not Want to Be a Part of This.

3. The Onset of Calamity.

4. Made to Crawl.

5. Rendered Useless.

6. Blessed Emptiness.

7. It's Coming and You Can't Stop It.

8. Demoralization.

‘We are fucked as a species, and this is the soundtrack.’ – quote from Cloister recordings website.

I read in Special Interests that Andy Grant lyrics are taken from a notebook of thoughts and writings and applied to tracks. He also sound collages sounds recordings that he has made recently and over the years into his works. Reading about Grant's recording process seemed to lock me into his work, as I was unfamiliar with it before this review.

The thick texture of an ominous, abstract, landscape of sound greets me, distorted pulsations form pillars of rhythm. The album often uses huge bellowing drones, crunched up, slow rhythms, loops and some samples of metal being scraped, hit and dragged. Electronics, buzz and play out for long periods of time.  On some tracks, drones are left to operate for long periods of time while intricate details of roaring bass and samples are intricately woven around this – there is a clear eye for fine detail running through the album.

A distorted, infected vocal rains over this – the vocal is raspy, distortion that runs through it. It also functions like a mist of angry static that simultaneously shouts over the compositions of noise being made and becomes a part of the work, it blends into its' surroundings. The overall sound is infected, as if decomposing while flies party over it, that is the Death Industrial of the work. 

The use of noise rhythms through slow beats is sophisticated, as it is often distorted so it blends into whatever else is going off slightly, to quote the Facebook group Noise Now Playing, there is no ‘Beat Shit', it works well within every track. I highlight this, as beats are a yes or no in noise, it either works or it flat out fails, there is no maybe and here it works well. 

Overall this is a good album, this is further evidence that these are exciting times for Death Industrial and Vomit Arsonist is a key part of that. The album can be purchased from the Cloister link above.

Nothing and Nobody 2025.

 

Johnny Scarr - Etude in Black.

Johnny Scarr – Etude In Black – CDr – 2024 - Chocolate Monk – Choc.615.

https://chocolatemonk.co.uk/available.html

https://mantile.blogspot.com/

1.    Untitled.

2.    Untitled.

"Some significant personal events occurred and I made some inept "faulk" music in response (so emo). Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, the work fails to convey much of anything about those events. After making stuff which was intentionally devoid of emotional resonance for years, this way of working felt pretty revealing and somewhat pathetic. Which is probably why, by the time I was done with it, I think I ended up burying most, if not all sentiment that might have been there." - Mr J.Scarr

Quote taken from Chocolate Monk website.

Etude in Black comes three years after Johnny Scarr’s last release ‘NONNAH’ in 2021. NONNAH was excellent, so it will be a hard act to follow. I also have the opinion it was one of the best things that I had ever heard from Chocolate Monk. The title alludes to an episode from season two of the US Crime Series Columbo. I believe the cover is an image of Columbo (Peter Falk) with corpsepaint added. 

Etude in Black follows the use of solo synthesiser work that NONNAH also used, deep resonations, shifting melodies, two long improvised pieces of work that were heavily edited afterwards. The synths begin as haunted echoes that eventually begin to sparkle at times and achieving a dark beauty. It feels like the slow comedown of too much beer at Rammel Club and walking home down Woodborough Road in search of cheap pizza to eat in a shop doorway.

Like good Ambient work it shifts into different territories, at one point it begins to form glitchy drones that sound like bagpipes channelled through electronics, in another it sounds like basement bleakness, cellar creepiness playing out. In other parts the synths take me to the film A Chinese Ghost Story and makes me desperately want to watch it again. The second piece goes into murkier, choppier territory. The sound melts itself, bubbling and gargling in parts. Sections cut out and remerge in different sections, it is like a record skipping from one track to another. The second track emits more despair than the first creating a total contrast.

Etude in Black like NoNNAH is a challenging work of shimmering, shifting beauty. Well worthy of your purchase and listening.

Nothing and Nobody 2024.

Spiteful Womb - Traumacore

 

Spiteful Womb – Traumacore – Tape/Download – Vial Recordings – 2024

https://vialrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/traumacore

https://vialrecordings.bandcamp.com/

https://spitefulwomb.bandcamp.com/

        1.    Touching Bruises.

        2.    Sleeping Bag.

        3.    Cool and Creamy.

        4.    Teeny Tiny Tears.

        5.    Purge Memory.

This is a forthcoming release by Spiteful Womb, a limited cassette of 50 copies on Vial Recordings, a label based in New York. It is the first release since the vinyl release of Interior Castle in 2023 on Cipher Productions.

Touching Bruises feels like it is being wound up to work at the start, a pulsating, muffled rhythm kicks in as ambient sounds go off around it, the sound is nervous, dark and nightmarish. Different noises join in the sound before the rhythm sharpens up to be more prominent. The intensity of the track is constantly adjusted and played with throughout the track. Sleeping Bag demonstrates a word Gaya of ANTIchildLEAGUE used to describe Spiteful Womb’s sound to me ‘Dominant’, this is done through big resonating synthesisers that pulsate as a warped vocal sounds off in the background. Harsh noise starts to attack the drones, leading to a combative ending.

Low tonal, shifting frequencies form Cool and Creamy as drones hum in the background playing off the frequencies. This demonstrates good morbid atmosphere being allowed to lead a track whilst metal rattling tinkers into the sound to bring the track to a close. Infective synths hum and buzz on Teeny Tiny Tears, glitchy waves of noise shift alongside the synths, this is tweaked around to alter the frequency subtly. Nice, sick sounds. Vertigo like loops and field recordings of a baby crying and contact microphoned movements take over the sound, it feels like a glimpse into the artists real life. Loops of water splashing and further drones play out.

The finale sounds like something off Death Odors as Muffled, ambient rumblings start. This is backed by keyboard drones slowly moving around underneath all of this. Subtle distortion hisses through everything, more contact mic creaking shuffles around all of this. Deep, dominant drones begin to undulate amongst the busy atmospheres – all of this is Purge Memory.

Whenever anyone talks about Death Industrial and where it is at now, this artist is a good place to look. Traumacore hits the excellent standards that I expect from this artist.  See the Vial Bandcamp link above for purchase as it is well worthy of that.

Nothing and Nobody 2024.

Pale World - Regulate.

Pale Word - Regulate - Cassette - Ridge Tapes - Ridge02 - 2024.

www.ridgetapes.bigcartel.com

https://paleworld.bandcamp.com/music

           1. Regulate.

           2. Best.

Pale World has been creating a bunch of impressive releases in recent years. The project has been around since 2013 and is based in Birmingham. Creator Joe Parkes is a key gig organiser in Birmingham with many great noise gigs under his belt. Pale World's own live performances have been tense affairs. Releases have been more frequent since 2020 mostly on Outsider Art. Some releases are splits with other projects and some are just alone.

Regulate is released on Alina Church of Distraxi's new label called Ridge Tapes. 

This cassette shows of some thick, textured tracks of harsh noise, there is a clear attention to sound and detail present throughout the entire work. It begins sounding like a broken machine, dense bass heavy roaring distortion breaks out, tense scraping runs along with it and feedback sqeals out at intervals. Caustic, creaking, battered texture is forced out of the sound as it accelerates towards a cut out. Mournful, melodic drones play out as broken machine noises click away in the background.

Further drones and mechanics return for the second side 'Best.' I like that we are allowed to hear this for some time before shuddering noise starts causing havoc. This feels digital in comparison to 'Regulate' through how it shudders. The drones come through the chaos at times, adding glimmers of beauty to the textures created. We are left with shimmering melodies playing out to the end of the release.

This is an excellent tape, everything great about Pale World shines through. I have been greatly impressed by this project since hearing them on Outsider Art on the Death Garage release and seeing him live supporting Knifedoutofexistence and more recently with Fleshlicker and Insatiable Wound. There are links above to check out the project and label.

Nothing and Nobody 2024..