Inner Demons 24.
https://innerdemonsrecords.bandcamp.com/
Fail - Dated Eleven – 3”CDr/Download –
2024 – IND0182
01. 080919
02. 080830
Fail is a Dan Fox project that has been happily
reviewed on this blog many times. Eleven is made up of two tracks. The first work,
080919 is the longer of the two, it begins
as gives off bass pulses, like a slow, dying pulse. Slow, rumbling deep low
tones and a splattering sound thicken the sound up with more detail. Feedback
wails in for a short time, thicker, roaring, bass heavy distortion comes in and
creates a low wall for sounds to break out of. The wailing feedback sounds lost
within everything. The juggling of different sounds keeps the track textured as
the sound quickens. Rapid shifts, choppier sounds and deeper bass progress the
sound quickly. Things slow down to low rumble, drones and spluttering sounds as
it moves to an end. 080830 pulls things back into slow, heavy, deep Industrial
ambient territory, I like the density of this track, it is just right, achieving
an atmospheric sleepy, dream soundtrack. This is a beautiful ending to another gem
of a release by Fail. Fail is greatness.
Ennaytch – Negativity Positive Lullabies
For the Malignant, Vol 2. – 3” CDR/Download – 2024 – IND0181.
https://ennaytch.bandcamp.com/
01.
I Shall Diminish Until There Is Nothing Left.
02.
Pound of Meat, Rotten Flesh.
03.
Do Not Mourn Me When I Am Gone.
The familiar Ennaytch bleakness is immediately
apparent on I Shall Diminish Until There Is Nothing Left, a 3” CDR – the
familiar Inner Demons format. A beat goes off like fireworks in the distance as
a wall of rumbling ambient fog and hissing noises go off at the forefront of
all of this. Pound of Meat, Rotten Flesh doesn't have any beats, just layers
of ambient murky noise and I feel this works a lot better as a track without a
beat pin it down. Do Not Mourn Me When I am Gone continues radiating a
fog of despair, this is just the right shade of murkiness. This is a good
release, Ennaytch and Inner Demons has produced a good working relationship. I
want Ennaytch to get better and better, they have the capacity for great
things, I stand in their corner.
Moreine – Upon Thy Cattle –
5”CDR/Download – 2024 – [IND198F]
https://moreine.bandcamp.com/music
1.
Skull
Rack.
2.
Venom
Cult.
3.
A
Long Way Home.
4.
2
Spades, 1 Grave.
5.
The
13th Cabin.
6.
Dog
Teeth.
7.
The
Fifth Plague.
8.
Witch
Sector.
9.
Die
Like a Pig.
“Behold, the hand of the Lord is uponn
thy cattlewhich is in the field, upon thy horses, upon thy donkeys, upon thy
camels, upon thy oxen, and upon thy sheep: there shall be a very grievous
moreine.” Exodus 9:3 quote off Moreine bandcamp.
Upon Thy Cattle’s biblical themes run with
very present-day diseases. This focuses on cattle, the last album focussed on
horses and can be found on the project's BandCamp page. The album uses big
synthesiser drones, contact microphone sounds and some field recordings to
create the individual tracks. The playoff between the different sounds (drones
& contact mics in particular) is constant and the tension is manipulated to
create different pictures and disorientating shifts that pull the listener across
different directions, Venom Cult does this perfectly. There is a haunted theme
running across the album, a sense of foreboding doom is also created through
the tension between sounds. Some of the vocal sounds that are made can mess
with the balance, thankfully they are few. The album has that big, expansive
sound that acts like Control revel in. Haunted tension is demonstrated in Dog
Teeth which is the perfect balance of the album's signature sounds. The Fifth
Plague models an excellent ambient tension as the work slows down. This allows
for warped, screwy sounds to come in and intertwine with drones and pitches of
feedback mixing all three elements well.
Upon Thy Cattle gets better towards the
latter part of the album and show confidence in mixing sounds to adjust the textures
of noises created.
Polarlicht – Practice – Download –
[IND234G] – 2025.
https://polarlichthnw.bandcamp.com
1. Practice 1
2. Practice 2.
3. Practice 3.
4. Practice 4.
Polarlicht is a mystery project active
since 2023, they also operate as Alice When She Cries.
Practice 1 is a lighter density wall of crackle,
that is layered well with space between each element so that they can function
clearly. A static hum drones away at the core, swooshing wind like distortion
cuts across this with a crisp crackle
sprinkled around it. This dies off with a howling frequency that pierces off
into the distance. Practice 2 starts off as static electricity and
crackling sounds sounding off each other. It feels like an electric wasteland,
an exercise in prolonged, static tension. A bigger sound with a lot more energy
and explosiveness comes through on Practice 3. This track seems to fire
off a lot, with the rolling distortion underneath it, to keep things in a continual
motion, the crackle again is a sprinkling, allowing the deeper textures of
sound to lead the work. The mix allows the elements to change in prominence
later on in the work, this allows random clips of change into the sound. This
also gives off a desolate feeling that runs across the whole album. Practice
4 has a sound it will roar as a normal war and then the friction increases
to make jagged, stuttering splats of noise it dies off to a very Industrial hum
that fades slowly into nothing.
Overall this is good wall work.
Substak – Synaisthimatikos Thoryvos – Download
– [IND236G] – 2025
https://substak.bandcamp.com/music
1. Kathodos.
2.
Lethe.
3.
Tartaros.
4.
Dyshonia.
Substak is Kostak Staikos based in Greece
and active since 2014.
Drones build on Kathodos, they resonate and
pulsate as the communicate the opening of the ep. T times it feels as if there are
chants buried in the background. This is a simple, effective track that feels as
if it has depth. Lethe functions in a similar way, distorted keyboard drones swell
ominously giving off menacing vibes. Tartaros doesn't start off as strong as the
other sounds, it sounds like a slightly distorted didgeridoo. As the distortion
and backing noises increase it meets the high standards of previous tracks. The
final track Dyshonia is a lengthy 20-minute epic. An immediate mixture of elements
is shown here, big drones, distortions and
rapid shifts between how they operate and communicate are evident. This is all strong,
effective work, Substak is ace on this release, excellent work Kostak. (this needs
a physical release too, it's super.)
Nothing and Nobody 2025.
