Various Artists – Beside You in Strength

 

Various Artists – Beside You in Strength – Chthonic Streams – Digital Download – 2021

https://chthonicstreams.bandcamp.com/album/beside-you-in-strength

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-thomas-garrison-battle-prostate-cancer

http://www.chthonicstreams.com/

         1.    Purgist – There’s Been an Accident.

         2.    Lkerr – Hollowed.

         3.    Like Weeds – Operative.

         4.    Wilt – The Place of Dead Roads.

         5.    T.E.F – Subsurface Survival Refiner.

         6.    Subklinik – Deadend.

         7.    Hollow Earth – A Bleeding, Eyeless Socket.

         8.    En Nihil – Untitled.

         9.    Auditor – This Hex Upon Our Heads.

        10.  Envenomist – Phantasmagoria.

        11.  Theologian – The Uninvited.

        12.  Sistrenatus – Greyness Clinging.

        13.  The Vomit Arsonist – Why Have You Come For Me?

        14.  Filth – The Mind’s Eye.

        15.  Vitriol Gauge – Collapsing New Creature.

        16.  Xiphoid Dementia – Corridor Fatigue.

        17.  Murderous Vision – Strike the Body Electric.

        18.  Compactor – Rage Restrained.

        19.  Gruntsplatter – On a Tuesday.

        20.  Swollen Organs – Amygdala Throbbing.

        21.  Gnawed – Volution.

        22.  The [Law – Rah] Collective – Bound and Rebound.

        23.  Sickness – I’m Not Waving, I’m Drowning.

        24.  Hive Mind – Cold Smoke.

        25.  Iszoloscope – What Occurs at the Boundaries of Two Aeons.

        26.  Thoabath – Honeycomb.

        27.  Cock E.S.P. -Facepalm Death.

        28.  Straight Panic – Dog Ear’d (For TG).

 

 

In the field of Power Electronics and related genres, Thomas Garrison's CONTROL project exemplifies the upper echelon in terms of sound, quality of output, and respect. In August 2021, Thomas was diagnosed with Stage 2 Prostate Cancer. Anyone familiar with the state of the US healthcare system knows that any serious illness is massively expensive. Although a charity drive was launched immediately by our mutual friend Marcus LaBonté (Cloister Recordings), donations have predictably waned. Thankfully, due to the aforementioned respect, many of Thomas' peers were ready to show their support, not just monetarily, but also by creating exclusive tracks for this compilation.

This is not music full of sweetness and light. The artists here have not shied away from expressing negative feelings related to Thomas' situation or echoing their own experiences with other loved ones who have had to bear similar burdens. But this makes perfect sense while showing support, admiration, and love for a peer who unflinchingly exorcises his own demons on record and stage.

Label Statement 2021.

I’d first heard the work of Control on The California 10 LP Box Set 15 years ago in 2006. I was impressed, years later a friend sold me a bundle of Control albums and I reviewed a few recent releases here as I have been hooked on his work ever since. Control has been releasing albums since 1999 with a strong series of live and studio albums. From emails between myself and Thomas Garrison, I got to know a lot more about the project and I like his outlook on life on a strong personal level. This massive compilation is 28 tracks by different artists - for Mathematical reasons, I will review 7 tracks per paragraph.

Beside You in Strength opens with lush transient synthesizer drones of Purgist, before all hell breaks loose and a chaotic Harsh assault explodes everywhere, running in fast paced shifts of electronic sound that screams and shouts at me. The synth drones return to break through the chaos like rays of sunlight through a sudden storm – There’s Been an Accident is a beautiful, powerful track. Deep, powerful, rumbling drones that flex their depth form Hollowed by Lkerr. This track has the feel of sounding like it came off an old Death Odors compilation (I just had to check in case it did) and it’s that good. Changing the direction, Like Weeds uses hostile beats and noise as a sound assault. I like how this feels like someone conducting a Science Experiment; it is cold, precise, clinical and I can see why they would relate to Control. Operative has a slow sound that continually mutates around its own axis. Those Death Odor vibes return with powerful ambient rumblings through Wilt’s Place of Dead Roads, I am keen to check out more work by Wilt in the future. The album continually changes style yet tracks frequently tie into each other as demonstrated by T.E.F.’s contribution which does a similar thing to the Purgist, truly battering the eardrums with a loaded high-speed attack of noise and evocative, percussive instrumentation. Subklinik’s sickened, hostile ambient really resonates nausea, impressive work bolstered even more so by looking at Chad Davies’ Bandcamp – he looks as bleak as his work sounds, so I give a big thumbs up for that. Subklink makes me realise how I am very aware of the quality of Death Ambient bleakness on this compilation as does the project’s impressive release history. This feeling continues when I hear Hollow Earth’s Bleeding, Eyeless Socket. The sound here is layered and massive, noises play out alongside the deep pulsating bass whilst a rich beauty runs alongside the darkness.

EN Nihil delivers a powerful performance of throbbing electronics – the sound on this one is huge. Their Untitled track is a dominant Synth riff, repeated over explosive electronics. This bold track echoes the amazing production that Control frequently delivers. Auditor gives a strong delivery of spite via This Hex Upon Our Heads, the whistling electronics are ugly, whilst the back drones are rich, with a classical feel. The spoken vocal rises to a shout at times, this truly controls the track’s tension through a precarious balance of elements. Ominous ambient drones induce anxiety on Envenomist’s Phantasmagoria. This gem is typical of the bleak ambient qualities continually demonstrated on this album; the atmosphere is made up of rich instrumental, abstract sounds that play off each other as the echo away. I like the initial early weirdo Industrial vibes of Theologian, the repetitive loops and keyboards build an amazing, luscious sound. In the past I have been dismissive of Theologian’s work – today The Uninvited leaves me seriously revising that opinion the more it intensifies and builds up. This is one of several amazing demonstrations of ‘use a big sound to its full extent’ on this album. Sistrenatus truly pulls things to raw on Greyness Clinging, they do a raw harsh noise thing that is bolstered by explosive PE drones and shards of Metal abuse. Greyness Clinging juggles elements well to make a strong whole. Thick, rumbling drones with a feedback sidekick build until clanging and roaring distorted vocals form The Vomit Arsonist’s contribution - Why Have You Come For Me. This is further dense atmospherics that seem to compete against each other for greatness a stand-off of sound buried within the album. It almost serves as a long intro for Filth’s The Mind’s Eye which is urgent and explosive. I like how they rip the sound down to allow the vocal to burst through. The up tempo beat that suddenly appears throws the noise in other directions which is ace. The Minds Eye seems to evolve several times from noise to dance and into a hybrid of the two.

Vitriol Gauge manage to truly demonstrate a commitment to slow, dragging sound on their track Collapsing New Creature. I admire the concentration of filling the sound with a variety of sonic details, this is really good work that open Death Industrial vibes that continue on Xiphoid Dementia’s Corridor Fatigue – this is an accomplished modern day Death Industrial that is pushed to a futuristic sound that lies elsewhere – amazing work. Corridor Fatigue is a dramatic soundtrack that forces itself into overdrive, never melting down, just going to new limits. The screwy bleakness of Murderous Vision becomes apparent on Strike the Body Electric, the creeped-out tinkering’s are effective and nightmarish. The croaking, voice like sounds odd adding other worldly presence to the work. Things feel digitally intense on Compactor’s Rage Restrained, a cut up vocal plays over the top of the repetitive loops, this is effective and nauseous. Echoing noise cuts into the work, shifting it considerably. I know of Gruntsplatter, but this is my first time really listening to the project. I have talked about massive sounds a lot on this review and Gruntsplatter seems expert at that. On a Tuesday is a mournful, pulsating track that subtly increases in sound as it progresses – there is something very expert about this track, I like it. Swollen Organs is busy Power Electronics that moves at a fast pace whilst crashing drones provide a back rhythm that keeps the track grounded whilst the electronics shoot off. The vocals enter as the track enters a high speed; they have a strong shriek that cuts through the noise. Hellish Nightmares in Surround Sound return with Gnawed; Volution is like a hallucinogenic soundtrack to a long descent to hell. The sound forms and moves slowly, operating on its’ own timescale. Strings, drones and slow, crunching distortion combine to form the sound.

A clinical Death Industrial bleakness radiates from the [Law – Rah] Collective’s Bound and Rebound. Subtle details enter the sound and move it along without affecting the slow pace. Sickness accelerates the pace with rapid shifts of noise, the crunch is thick and the sharp sounds are ear splitting. I got an album by this project off the back of the Noisextra podcast, the work is impressive due to the clarity of sound and attention to detail. Ambient sounds go off and sound like they are happening in a tunnel on Hive Mind’s Cold Smoke, the Synth throb is intense as it pulsates in the background, gradually shifting to the foreground. Asif in competition for Death Industrial clarity Izoloscope really build tension on What Occurs at the Boundaries of Two Aeons. I like how the project holds onto the tension in the track and really plays with it, manipulating and increasing its force. Nastiness returns a plenty as Thoabath kicks off, unsettling, raw loops and blasts of vocal really go off, this is a well delivered explosion that becomes a massive sound. Full on greatness. Cock E.S.P. is having none of it and kicks off with choppy chaos that restrains certain elements whilst others seem to have free rain. Facepalm Death is short and sweet. Last but not least, the great Straight Panic makes an entrance, like a diamond diva ending the show. Straight Panics allows vocals to be delivered through samples, there may be actual vocals in there too, this plays off from the drones and crackle that form the body of Dog Ear’d. As you’d expect from this modern-day master it is an excellent, finale – I couldn’t ask for better.

Works tie into each other through some similarities of approach. I have loads to go of new names to check out. This is an amazing compilation in its’ own right – a brilliant show of support for a great artist. Well worthy of purchase, I hope this sees a physical release due to how amazing it really is. Great work.

Coventry Soul 2021.

Inner Demons #14 – New July 2021 Batch.

 

Inner Demons #14 – New July 2021 Batch.

https://innerdemonsrecords.bandcamp.com/

THIS NOISE KILLS FASCISTS.

Inner Demons.

Following on from my recent interview with Dan Fox who runs Inner Demons Records, I have received the latest batch of releases by the label. In this one, there are 11 recordings, all are housed in the familiar Inner Demons 3” CDr format with Dan’s Black and White artwork – the obsessive eye to detail of the formats the label demonstrates impress me a lot. I believe that this may be their biggest batch of releases so far.

Over the last 15 years, Inner Demons has stayed true to its own ethics and done close to a hundred releases of different artists from around the world. The label has established itself as a leading light in the present-day noise scene. Inner Demons #14 is an overview of their latest batch of 11 new releases.

 

Yasuyuki Uesugi – Untitled - 3” Cdr/Download – [IND091] – 2021.

https://yasuyuki-uesugi.bandcamp.com/

      1.    Untitled – 20.17

Yasuyki Uesugi is a new Japanese Noise artist who has been active since 2019, his single Untitled track begins as a sudden explosion of distortion that creates a wall of Harsh Noise. The texture of the sound is thick with a sharper blast that undulates around the main body of distortion. A fluid medium roar creates a subtle shift in sound as it becomes a part of the texture later on in the track by altering the layers that create the whole sound. The energy of the track splutters erupting menace and danger. The ripping blasts of distortion alter throughout the Untitled track.

There is a feeling of the past in the sound as if on an old rail journey many centuries ago, the creaking of the noise does this, yet the roar contrasts it as if on a high-speed, modern-day journey. Solid contrasting HNW delivered, good work.

 

Platonoff – The Grapes of Wrath - 3” Cdr/Download – [IND093] – 2021

https://platonoff.bandcamp.com/releases

      1.    Communism Great Construction Projects.

      2.    Railway Gulag.

      3.    The Grapes of Wrath.

      4.    Wunderwaffle.

‘To hell with politics, Gestapo will die by itself )) There is no other way here.’

Platonoff 2021.

Platonoff appears to be a new project based in Russia. I get the impression members may be linked into other projects.

Having checked this and their Uno Lump album from 2020 on their own Bandcamp, this really differs from anything I have heard on IDS before. Their work is rhythmic, heavy industrial, noises collide for a time until a slow rhythm kicks in and guides the sounds into order. The noise seems to either stay as disciplined as the rhythms or suddenly go off and flood the proceedings with mayhem. Tracks seem to find a solid rhythm and then go off on screwy tangents, warping themselves so that they become something else entirely - this can be drawn out slow moving ambient landscapes for which the distanced beat becomes a faint pulse. At other times complete noise mayhem goes off over the pulsations so everything is reduced to a distant broadcast from wherever the chaos takes the sound.

The hypnotic gem of a release that is Grapes of Wrath is spread across 2 Cdrs, creating a long, shifting journey worthy of further listening.

 

Dragon and Jettenbach – Roche Limit – 3” Cdr/Download – [IND094] – 2021

https://meektapes.bandcamp.com/album/constraints   

https://edgewood112.bandcamp.com   

https://jettenbach.bandcamp.com  

https://lessthanone.bandcamp.com/music

    1. <●>°•    

    2. ○)°)•

    3. ○)) ●))

The Roche Limit: The point at which one celestial body can no longer maintain its own gravitational self-attraction and disintegrates due to the gravitation and tidal forces of a second celestial body.

This album is a collaboration between two UK based artists DJ Peter Adjobia (Dragon, Edgewood) and Paul Jetten (Jettenbach) working together for the first time.

I like this release from the outset, it has the feel of a soundtrack casting pleasant ambient landscapes as drones play out. The three tracks flow into each other beautifully and the sound is like a gorgeous dreamscape, Roche Limit is slightly sinister, rich ambient music, at times I think of Nite Fights era Walker Brothers. It is impossible for me to be critical about this album, I think it is amongst the best that the label has produced.

 

Gen 26 – Recessive Gene Mutation – 3” Cdr/Download – [IND088] – 2021

http://matjaz.jezakon.com/

      1.    Recessive Gene Mutation I.

      2.    Recessive Gene Mutation II.

      3.    Recessive Gene Mutation III.

I am a fan of the explosively consistent Gen 26 and it is great to see a release on Inner Demons by this Slovenian heavyweight. Gen 26 has produced a body of impressive Harsh Noise over its’ two decades. Here we are presented with 3 passages of Recessive Gene Mutation. Each Mutation is a blast of distortion in wall form with subtle differences spreading across the tracks in the examination of tone and texture. The Inner Demons Records format of 3”Cdr works well for Gen 26 as his sound explorations tend to be short maintain interest and allow comparison between different takes. The first two are crisp in their sound, the third has a muffled restraint creating strong contrast against the other works. Great work as you’d always expect from Gen 26.   

 

eR_Ka – NoisegrinDrtitch – 3” Cdr/Download – [IND092] – 2021

http://napalmed.cz/

      1.    Gojko Mrvitch.

      2.    Laco MrtWitch.

A fear comes over me as soon as I hit the link provided in my presearch I know what I will be reviewing! A side project of Czech noise terrorists Ein Stunde Merzbauten of whom I have reviewed quite a bit of stuff. Like other Czech noise projects, it (visually) appears funny, like a comedy project but the delivery will always be very thought out and serious - the name throws you off balance.

Goiko Mrvitch rains distortion on the listener, the sound is fast and shifts around a lot within its own parameters to keep attention focussed on the work. The sound is also slightly restrained to contrast the adrenalin fuelled delivery and this creates a real tension throughout the track. Laco MrtWitch uses similar methods to the opener but seems to function at a sharper level playing with choppier noise and hitting highs of screech and feedback a lot more. NoisegrinDrtitch is top tier Harsh Noise delivery like a fast ride in a speeding car.

 

This Is What I Hear When You Talk - TUCKFRUMP IV – 2 x 3” Cdr/Download – [IND086D] – 2021.

      1.    Nope.

      2.    Also Nope.

This is What I Hear When You Talk, the name implies personal and political connotations depending on the release, the TuckFrump series really leans the name to the political. This is one of Dan Fox’s projects, many of the releases can be found on the Inner Demons website. This is the fourth TRUCKFRUMP release.

Wow, ‘Nope’ has an impressive use of loud bass within its roar, there is an immediate tension between this and the distortion that drags across it. The depth of the sound feels as if I am in the middle of surround sound – I feel contained within this. Nope is energetic, loud and unchanging.  Also Nope uses a restrained bass that seems to be cut into, it also has a bounciness as a crackling distortion plays over it. This track is like broken techno masked by the crackle: the first track also has this, but it isn’t as easily recognisable whereas Also Nope sees to revel in it. Both tracks are strong and differ from each other - this is another impressive album by This Is What I Hear When You Talk.

 

The [Law-rah] Collective – Live 2018 – 2 x 3” Cdr/Download – [IND069D] – 2021.

https://www.facebook.com/darkambient

      1.    Den Haag, September 28^th.

      2.    Den Bosch, September 15^th.

I like the idea that there is noise collectives out there,keeping a sense of community and collective creativity - it gives a sense of organised assault to the genre, The [Law-Rah] Collective  goes back to 2000.

This double live album was a surprise that shows how Inner Demons keeps variety in the mix of its output. I am very impressed by this collection of live performances. It is the kind of work that you can play and drift away with. The sound evolves and resonates in each set, it has a hallucinogenic, dreamlike quality. The second disc is a lot more ominous than the first. Things break up a lot and it becomes a distorted pulsating conversation of fractured sounds. It is difficult to write a lot about this beauty of a release as I kept getting lost in it, I am converted - this is gorgeous work.

 

This Is What I Hear When You Talk – Half of A Whole – 2 x 3” Cdr/Download – [IND084D] – 2021.

      1.    I.

      2.    II.

The second release in the batch by This Is What I Hear When You Talk has an ambiguous title, are we referring to the release or something personal? Who knows, Dan Fox’s work has many sides and dimensions to it.

‘I’ creaks into action, this piece has elements of Wall that juxtapose with Industrial and Ambient leanings. It has the dark qualities of Dan Fox’s Loss work whilst keeping hold of aspects of the wall elements of This is What I Hear When You Talk. Distortion continually seems to splash across the entire track. Along with the genre juxtapositions, there is simultaneously repetition and subtle change happening across the track.

The second disc II is immediately busy with an Industrial and Noise Wall feel, throwing a very busy, creaky, full sound at the listener. It juggles approaches again, but this time Dan seems to get it all in his hands and really pat it together into one mass. II also never seems to stop getting thicker in texture.

I like that someone is doing that, throwing big ugly masses of noise out as an abstract piece of sound, questioning and challenging their own genre continuously. I have done a lot of reviews of this project and can’t praise the work enough.

 

Noise Hangover – Event Horizon – 3” Cdr/Download – [IND089] – 2021.

https://noisehangover.bandcamp.com/     

     1.    Event Horizon.

     2.    Gravitational Collapse.

Event Horizon appears to be the third release by Russian act Noise Hangover who have been active since 2019. Apart from the two releases on their Bandcamp, Noise Hangover remains a mystery project.

Event Horizon is a dark release, breathing synthesiser heavy drones that are like a ritual nightmare. So far, I’d say this is the darkest release of the batch. The sounds seem part vocal, part synthesised as they intertwine. Gravitational collapse has a similar mood but shows a change of sound palette. This hisses with higher frequencies overlapping punctuated by restrained distortion. The sound frequently thins out to let sounds work alone or in small groups and does it well.

This is a great release that is a credit to the label and the project.

 

RaK – ElecTrick – 3” Cdr/Download – [IND090] – 2021

http://napalmed.cz/

      1.    210314_02

      2.    210314_03

On this release, I realise it is more mayhem linked to those Czech purveyors of crafted noise insanity - Ein Stunde Merzbauten. The first track on Elec Trick is a collage of electrical glitches, it has a humorous, chatty density to it. The track drops to warping drones and smaller glitches going off around it, this shift seems to clear the table and let things be rearranged again. A pulsating beat tries to bring a sense of order the process, succeeding slightly.

I talk about conversations of noise and this really does that, it isn’t like a lot of Harsh Noise where a texture is built up, this is lots of glitches, beeps and buzzes having a party. If you can imagine lots of little robots going off at each other, this is like that. In relation to the rest of the IDR batch where there is some dark, threatening landscapes or clinical experiments with sound, the playfulness of this is a contrast that makes Elec Trick stand out. As the recording moves into the second track the sound is very fractured, as if we are being continually moved to different interactions for brief periods of time, it differs greatly to the first track.

In my reviewing I have to dart around the scene a lot, checking in here and there, so I only get glimpses of artists at times. My take on Ein Stunde Merzbauten is that like Entre Vifs, Gen26 this is a focussed project experimenting in isolation with a playful, sheer focus on what it does. This one gets a thumbs up and an A* for good work.

 

Andreas Davids – Digitale Asche – 3” Cdr/Download – [IND087] – 2021

http://andreasdavids.blogspot.com/

      1.    Part 01.

      2.    Part 02.

This is Andreas Davids third Inner Demons release. Davids in an experimental musician and DJ based in Germany.

I notice the stripped back sounds immediately, this kind of noise comes on my radar occasionally, Julien Scrobek’s Tetsuo being a great example of this. This has an oscillating timer ticking whilst the drones radiate together around it. Part 01 Simmers away like this, small interactions that seem to relish space and quieter volumes. It intensifies gently through distorted hiss or pulsating electronics. There is a Science Fiction feel to some of the sounds, but in a 70s film, so I like the nostalgic futurism within each track. This album is noise that functions by playing off the space left by low volumes, it works well. I like this release.

 

Inner Demons Records never ceases to amaze me, this is a strong batch of releases that throws up plenty of surprises. This label is worth keeping on top of and I am proud to add this lot to my Inner Demons Collection. 

Coventry Soul 2021.