December 1 - 10 (#336 - 345)

#336) Sigh - In Somniphobia (2012) proggy avant-black metal

#337) Johnny Aloha - Lavapalooza (2010) Richard Cheese side project

#338) The Casket Girls - Sleepwalking (2012) 

 #339) Locrian & Christopher Heemann (2012)

#340) Nachtmystium - Silencing Machine (2012) psychedelic black metal from Chicago

#341)Vampillia - Rule the World (2011) this is some odd shit. very cool stuff.

#342) Vampillia + Nadja - Primitive World (2012) this collab is how i heard of Vampillia. this is probably my favorite of all the Nadja collabs i've listened to. a great blend of both band's styles.

#343) Sigur Ros - Valtari (2012)

#344) Soft Kill - An Open Door (2011) goth/post-punk from the dude from Blessure Grave

#345) Old Man Gloom - No (2012)  noisy post-doom/sludge

November 21 - 30 (#326 - 335)

#326) Locrian - The Clearing (2011)

#327) The Catalyst - Marianas Trench (2008) 

#328) Horseback & Locrian - New Dominions (2012) 

#329) Vektor - Outer Isolation (2011) 

#330) Circle - Panic (2007) 

#331) Anodyne - Salo (2003) chaotic, noisy hardcore

#332) Nadja/Ovo - The Life and Death of a Wasp  (2010) 

#333) Pygmy Lush -Mount Hope (2008) 

#334) White Wizzard - Over the Top (2009) 80s metal

 #335) Furze - Trident Autocrat (2000) weird experimental black metal

Locrian - Rain of Ashes

Ashes Sweeping Low With Breath Of Bane

#114) Locrian - Rain of Ashes (2009)

 1. Rain of Ashes
 2. Sehsa Fo Niar

Rain of Ashes was recorded live on WMUC's DNA in the DNA during Locrian's summer tour in July of '09. the title track is nearly 30 minutes of Locrian's experimental metal/noise/drone/guitar fuckery. there are a lot of different parts that keep the track flowing and interesting. track 2 is the same track reversed. 

Locrian - Rhetoric of Surfaces

Burying The Carnival

#112) Locrian - Rhetoric of Surfaces (2008)

 1. Drosscape
 2. Burying the Carnival
 3. Gruen Transfers
 4. Visible/Invisible
 5. Chladni
 6. Amps Into Instruments


Rhetoric of Surfaces is a compilation album.

tracks 1,2 & 4 were recorded on Something Else WLUW 88.7 (1,2 in 2008 and 4 in 2007)
1 is a previously unreleased track
2 was released on a split c30 with Continent
4 was released on a split c40 with Colossus

track 3 was recorded on Pure Hype WHPK in 2007 and was released on the No More Noise comp

tracks 5 & 6 were recorded by band member T. Hannum at 2 live gigs in 2006 and were released on II

the first 5 tracks are the more experimental noise/drone side of Locrian. while guitars are heavily prevalent in these tracks, they don't have the "metal" feel that's heard later on Drenched Lands, it's more experimental guitar noise than actual riffs. there are also no vocals. regardless, i'm not complaining, these are very cool tracks. the last track is more on the "metal" side of things. it's a great track and probably my favorite on the album. i hope these guys do more of these "rarities" type collections in the future considering how hard it can be to find their stuff (see my post on Drenched Lands to get an idea of what i'm talking about)

Locrian - Drenched Lands

Where Myth And Causeway Collide

#31) Locrian - Drenched Lands (2009)

 1. Obsolete Elegy in Effluvia and Dross
 2. Ghost Repeater
 3. Barren Temple Obscured by Contaminated Fogs
 4. Epicedium
 5. Obsolete Elegy in Lost Concrete
 6. Greyfield Shrines

so as adam_biedermann explained in his last post ((End of the Month Theme: Local Bands) 01/31/12: volcano! - Paperwork (2008) ) at the end of every month we're gonna do a theme thing. the theme can be anything and both our albums have to fit within it. i got first pick and i decided to start with something easy, local bands.

Locrian is a Chicago band made up of Andre Foisy and Terence Hannum, both teachers at Columbia College. they've been around since 05' and have over 20 albums, splits and EPs out. unfortunately these releases are all usually limited editions and are spread over various small labels. many of the releases also differ according to what format it's released in. this is the cd version of Drenched Lands, which is limited to 1000 copies and includes Greyfield Shrines as a bonus track (Shrines was originally released as a standalone LP in an edition of 300). the LP version doesn't have Shrines but came with a bonus cdr that had a 20 minute track called Sullage on it. Drenched Lands was also released on cassette and 8-track. that ought to give you some idea of the nightmare involved in tracking down releases by these guys.  this album also has the distinction of being their first studio album. Greyfield Shrines was recorded live on WHPK Chicago in '07.
musically these guys are a mix of electronics, drone, black metal and straight up noise. all the tracks were really cool, and even though it's 30 minutes long and from a live recording session, Greyfield Shrines fit the album well and provided a strong ending. sorry if my description isn't that great but i don't know how to describe this album in a manner that would do their sound justice. i really like this style of experimental metal, i just wish these bands made it a little easier to track down their discographies.