Pengo - Alchemy and Bullshit

#171 & #172) Pengo - Alchemy and Bullshit (2005)

Disc 1
 1. Failure in 5 Easy Steps (the Phi Phenomena Tour recordings from 09-2001)
 2. Nominal Spore (recorded at Analog Shock 01-18-2002)
 3. Official Genius (recorded at Analog Shock 04-14-2002) with Ed Wilcox, Dave Cross and Charles Leport

 Disc 2
 1. 20 Years of Dust (recorded at the Bunker 11-30-2002)
 2. Hadaka (recorded at the Bunker 11-30-2002)
 3. T7 to Dispatch (recorded at the Bunker 11-30-2002)
 4. A Broken Chalice on the Empty Path (recprded at the Bunker 11-30-2002)
 5. Stainless Steel Rat (recorded at APR 11-16-2003)
 6. Nullified Existence (recorded at the Bug Jar 05-06-2004)

i never heard of this band before. i randomly bought this based on the album title. according to Carbon Records, who put out this set, this is a:

"double CDR document of Pengo's migration from a 3-piece out-spazz-noise group to 4-piece drone-psych-noise-rock group. recordings ranging from the 2001 Phi-Tour series, 2002 live and "studio" pieces (including a show with guests Dave Cross of Coffee, Ed Wilcox of Temple Bon Matin and Charles Leport of Hinkley/Finkbeiner/etc), thru pounding live 2003/2004 sets, much in the vein of current configuration"


having never heard anything from these guys i'm not really sure what their sound was/is but this was some pretty cool stuff. 

Korperschwache - Brotherhood of the Bowl

Dead Flowers on the Welcome Mat

#170) Korperschwache - Brotherhood of the Bowl (2008)
         
 1. Brotherhood of the Bowl
 2. Dead Flowers on the Welcome Mat
 3. "Drink the Gold Water, Woman!"
 4. Menace of the Feminizing Soybean
 5.Superanaleverything
 6. Slavery = Bacon = Freedom
 7. In the Kingdom of the Blind (Wise Men Carry Sharp Sticks)
 8. Fear of a Black Metal Mustache
 9. "Fire is the Answer To Everything"


noisy sludgy guitar drone and feedback. this stuff is dark and heavy as hell.

Sissy Spacek - California Ax

Smoke My Blood

#166 - #169) Sissy Spacek - California Ax (2008)

Disc 1 - Tinsel Dripping Ink

 1. Bootleg
 2. Spider Mama
 3. Casual Cassette
 4. Lunar Eclipse Was Boring
 5. Return to From
 6. Sepsis (Version)
 7. Suction Cup
 8. Pollex
 9. Tyburn
 10. East East STL
 11. Fortnight
 12. Shovel Up On Us
 13. Secretary
 14. Smoke My Blood
 15. Polled
 16. Index
 17. Gon
 18. Purple Trouble
 19. Acoustic Sepsis
 20. Look At My Hand
 21. TV Bra
 22. Test For Color D
 23. Senso Destructo Hat
 24. Gutter Bird
 25. Pulse Pounding Torment
 26. Live at The Smell

Disc 2 - Police

 1. SOJBX
 2. Grandmere
 3. Cake Solo
 4. Ottake
 5. Magma Earings Pt. 1
 6. Eaudoxia
 7. Rapid Fire
 8. What Else Can Be New
 9. Dneiper
 10. New Pillowcase
 11. Magma Earings Pt. 2

Disc 3 - Abreq Ad Habra

 1. Psychotechnics
 2. Bongo

Disc 4 - 13-Tet Los Angeles

 1. First Set
 2. Second Set

California Ax is a 4 disc set that contains mostly new tracks, a couple old tracks and a few live sets.

Tinsel Dripping Ink is a lot like the Gore Jet comp in that the tracks are all over the place genre-wise. grind, noise, experimental, whatever, it's all here. most of the tracks are new but a couple are pulled from live sessions, one all the way back from 1998, and Bootleg says it was recorded in 2001. the live tracks are:
10. East East STL from St. Louis in 2002
23. Senso Destructo Hat from St. Louis in 1998
24. Gutter Bird from St. Charles, MO in 2000
and 26. Live at The Smell from LA in 2007

all the other tracks are newly recorded. this shit is intense.


Police features all new studio material. it's more on the electroacoustic improv/concrete side of things. this type of music has never really been my thing. it just sounds like people fucking around with things and recording it. at least that's been my experience with the genre. it's not all bad, there are occasionally times when everything comes together to form something rad and that's the case with this disc, a few cool tracks but overall it didn't really do it for me.


according to a (very) brief internet search "Abreq Ad Habra" is Hebrew and means something like "hurl your lightning bolt even unto death". it's a fitting title. the 2 tracks on this album are live sets. "Psychotechnics" is was recorded on KXLU 88.9 in LA in 2007. it's 40 minutes of face ripping audio terror. any radio station that lets someone do this on air is ok in my book. this is seriously brutal stuff.
"Bongo" was recorded at Radio Cherokee in St. Louis in 2002. it's another 20 minutes of destruction. really rad stuff, this was a great disc.


13-Tet Los Angeles features 2 live sets recorded at the Smell in 2007. the big difference between these and other live cuts is the fact that for these performances the band featured 13 people. the cd booklet also states that these performances are based on a score written by Wiese. most of Spacek's sonic palette was represented. there are a lot of cool things going on here. while not as intense as discs 1 and 3 it's still a rad album. it would've been cool to see this live.

Dreamend - As If By Ghosts...

#165) Dreamend - As If By Ghosts... (2004)

 1. Of Ravens & Winds
 2. Ellipsis
 3. Four Days in May
 4. The Almighty
 5. Murmur
 6. Can't Take You
 7. Slide Song
 8. The Old House & Its Occupants
 9. 10 Guitars From Salem
 10. Passing

Dreamend the project of Ryan Graveface, owner/operator of Graveface Records which is one of my favorite labels. they play lo-fi post-rocky shoegazey radness. it's mellow but never boring. i've had this album for like a year and i'm an idiot for not listening to it sooner.

also worth noting is that each cd comes in a cardboard case that's hand assembled with a different photo as the cover. the pic above is not my cover.
go listen to this because my description is terrible and you need to hear it.

Sissy Spacek - Gore Jet

#164) Sissy Spacek - Gore Jet (2009)

 1. Gore Jet 1
 2. Gore Jet 2
 3. Gore Jet 3
 4. Gore Jet 4
 5. HHH13B
 6. Superm
 7. Reeve
 8. Mountain Amps
 9. Guitar Fluffs
 10. Hotel
 11. Ghost
 12. ------ ------ -------
 13. Bananas
 14. Cake
 15. Ott
 16. Phys Ed A1
 17. Phys Ed A2
 18. Phys Ed B
 19. Jason's Basement
 20. Live at No Fun


i went into this album not really knowing anything about the project other than that it was John Wiese's "grindcore" band. if you're into noise you've probably heard/heard of John Wiese as he's done splits and collaborations with tons of artists on top of his own releases.
this album is a rarities collection of  tracks off limited 7" and a couple unreleased tracks. (the cd booklet gives you all the release info which i'd normally list here but there's a lot of info and i'm far behind, sorry.)  i put grindcore in quotes because not every track is grind. some are grindy, some are noisy, some are a combination of the 2 and some are experimental improv tracks. i don't know if a rarities collection is really the best way to get an idea of what a band is about but i enjoyed it anyway. looking forward to hearing more from these guys.

Capharnaum - Fractured

Occultist Ritualistic Birth Of A New God

#163) Capharnaum - Fractured (2005)

 1. Ingrained
 2. Fractured
 3. Perpetuate Catatonia
 4. Machines
 5. Icon of Malice
 6. Reins of Humanity
 7. The Scourge Trial
 8. Refusal


Capharnaum is a tech death band that's probably most well known for having Matt Heafy of Trivium on vocals. i first heard about them through Crotchduster, which is Capharnaum guitarist (and also former Trivium producer) Jason Suecof's awesome joke metal side project. they've only released 2 albums and this is the 2nd.  definitely worth checking out.

Richard Cheese - The Sunny Side of the Moon

#162) Richard Cheese - The Sunny Side of the Moon (2006)

 1. Rape Me (Nirvana)
 2. People = Shit (Slipknot)
 3. Baby Got Back (Sir Mix-A-Lot)
 4. Girls, Girls, Girls (Motley Crue)
 5. Closer (NIN)
 6. Bust A Move (Young MC)
 7. Down With the Sickness (Disturbed)
 8. Sunday Bloody Sunday (U2)
 9. Freak On a Leash (Korn)
 10. Nookie (Limp Bizkit)
 11. Another Brick In the Wall (Pink Floyd)
 12. Rock the Casbah (The Clash)
 13. Fight For Your Right (The Beastie Boys)
 14. Hot For Teacher (Van Halen)
 15. Gin and Juice (Snoop Dogg)
 16. Come Out and Play (Offspring)
 17. Badd (Ying Yang Twins)
 18. Creep (Radiohead)

Richard Cheese, along with his band Lounge Against the Machine, takes songs from a wide variety of bands, some good, a lot bad, and turns them (or "swankifies" them as he says...somewhere i think) into amazing lounge jams
this album claims that it's a "best of" but that's kind of misleading. 4 of the tracks ("Bust a Move", "Freak on a Leash", "Another Brick In the Wall" and "Badd") are brand new and 7 tracks ("Rape Me", "Closer", "Nookie", "Fight For Your Right", "Gin and Juice", "Come Out and Play" and "Creep") are full band re-recordings of older tracks, so only 7 tracks on here are available on the previously released albums.
the re-recorded tracks are off the first album, Richard Cheese  Lounge Against the Machine, which featured all synthesized instruments. the full band makes a huge difference and the tracks sound great. 
this is one of the few times i'd recommend a "best of" for both new and old fans.

Korperschwache - Broken Blades Of Steel Scattered Across The Narrow Way

Blues For a Dead Doctor

#161) Korperschwache - Broken Blades Of Steel Scattered Across The Narrow Way (2008)

 1. Nice Girls (Just Want to Fuck)
 2. Red Wind
 3. It's Hard to Sleep at Night With a Back Full of Knives
 4. Who Moved the Floor
 5. Blues For a Dead Doctor
 6. Your Arms Are Too Short to Box With God

i'll let Crucial Blast (who released the record on their Crucial Bliss imprint) describe it:

the music emerges as a lumbering deformed cousin of classic alt-guitar noise, huge open chords unfolding over shimmering distorted strings and multiple layers of vibrating amplifiers, with some sweet sun-scorched melodies swimming around in these lengthy riff explorations. Of course, it wouldn't be Korperschwache without the jagged, pounding beats of Doktor Omega, and each of these mechanical jams uncoil over a battery of thumping machine beats, cymbal-soaked motorik rhythms and even the odd unexpected breakbeat that kind of sounds like some spastic jungle has suddenly ripped it's way through the swirling clouds of drone guitar.

so yeah, i dunno. i wasn't really in love with this album but it wasn't bad and it did grow on me after a couple listens. if you've never heard Korperschwache before i'd recommend starting somewhere else.

Geotic - Bless the Self

#160) Geotic - Bless the Self (2011)

 1. Isolated Speech
 2. Isolated Mind
 3. Illusory Body
 4. Clear Light
 5. Union

for this Crossover i decided to check out some Geotic.

/as adam noted in his post on this album, Geotic is a side project of Will Wiesenfeld, the man behind Baths. all the Geotic albums are available for free download here.
/the music is very minimal and chill and all the tracks here flow together seamlessly. this is definitely an album that is stronger if you listen to it as a whole and follow Will's recommendation (from the site linked above) of having no gaps between tracks..
i wish this was a full length instead of an ep but other than that minor business it was a very enjoyable album. i'll definitely be looking into more of this project.

Gnaw Their Tongues - All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity

Gazing At Me Through Tears Of Urine

#159) Gnaw Their Tongues - All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity (2009)

 1. My Orifices Await Ravaging
 2. Verbrannt Und Verflucht (Burned and Cursed)*
 3. Broken Fingers Point Upwards In Vain
 4. The Stench Of Dead Horses On My Breath And The Vile Of Existence In My Hands
 5. L’Ange Qui Annonce La Fin Du Temps (The Angel Who Announces the End of Time)*
 6. Gazing At Me Through Tears Of Urine
 7. Rife With Deep Teeth Marks
 8. All The Dread Magnificence Of Perversity
 9. The Gnostic Ritual Consumption Of Semen As Embodiment Of Wounds Teared In The Soul 

i've been listening to Gnaw their Tongues for a few years now and i still don't really know how to classify them. i guess "him" would be more appropriate since this is a 1 man project from the Netherlands. maybe experimental orchestral blackened noise doom? whatever you want to call it, the fact remains that  the music is DARK,  massive yet suffocating and it has an almost cinematic flair to it. occasionally quite beautiful in it's darkness, it's also incredibly atmospheric and i'm always amazed that just one dude is composing these huge sounding tracks.
unfortunately there isn't a lyric sheet but looking at the song titles and album artwork (which is also done by Mories) i'd guess they're pretty fucked up. 
highly recommended.

*i did the translations using google translate so if they're off, ooops i guess

Oikos - Econto

#158) Oikos - Econto (2011)

 1. Pulsar
 2. Econto
 3. Boreas
 4. Deriva
 5. Red Forest
 6. Threshold
 7. Jatavena


guitar drones, electronic drones and shimmery, echoey post-rock-like guitar parts rule the day here. alternately serene and heavy, but never overbearingly so, dark and light. a very cool, mellow album

Nekrasov - Extinction

Void Into Nonvoid

#157) Nekrasov - Extinction (2010)

 1. We Are Just an Indifferent Interpretation of the Black Plague
 2. Disillusion
 3. Matter is the Bastard
 4. Void Into Nonvoid
 5. Pre-Fetal Non-Mantra
 6. Chant the Name of God In a Thousand Languages Until All is Blood and Feces
 7. No Room For Liberation Found 'Here' or 'Now'
 8. Extinction


tracks alternate between noisy, raw black metal and dark ambient/noise soundscapes. if you like old school black metal and/or noise i would definitely recommend checking this out.

Hair Police - Drawn Dead

I Woke Up This Morning To Find Myself Drawn Dead

#156) Hair Police - Drawn Dead (2005)

 1. Untitled
 2. Untitled
 3. Untitled
 4. Untitled

this was a totally random purchase. i'd never heard of these guys before but i liked the band name and album artwork so i went for it. it turned out to be a pretty rad noise album. i don't really know what to say about noise albums. it's fucking noisy. there's some noises and some other noises, some static, some screaming, you get the idea. if you like noise check it out, if you don't like noise check it out anyway, it's rad.

Nadja - Corrasion

My Bones Are Like Knives

#155) Nadja - Corrasion (2007)

 1. Base Fluid
 2. You Are As Dust
 3. Corrasion
 4. Amniotic
 5. I Am As Earth
 6. Ash
 7. White Lies


Corrasion was originally released as a limited cd-r in 2003. i think it was their 3rd full length. for this 2007 cd version, Nadja re-recorded the original 4 tracks and added 3 bonus tracks. tracks 1 - 4 are the re-recorded tracks. 5 is taken off a split they did with Moss (who will be featured here at some point), 6 is off the Chariots Arrive Again 2 comp and 7 is off the Forsee the Shadows 1 comp. other than some minor time differences i'm not really sure how the re-recorded tracks compare to the originals but they're definitely Nadja tracks. slow and droning but never boring. 

and for those interested, the album was also re-released as a double vinyl and an mp3 download. the vinyl contains the 4 re-recorded tracks and the bonus track "Numb" which was originally released as the b-side to the Base Fluid net single and can also be found on Nadja's Numbness comp. the mp3 download also contains the 4 re-recorded tracks but the bonus track here is an extended version of "Corrasion"..