December 11 - 20 (#346 - 355)

#346) Winters in Osaka - Mutual Collapse (2010) harsh noise. sick. 

#347) Crowhurst - Nihil (2011) 1st record. ambient/noise

#348) Von Goat - Septic Illumination (2010) harsh lo-fi black metal.

#349) Slogun - Sacrifice Unto Me (1996) "True Crime Electronics"

#350) Love Sex Machine (2012) doom/sludge from France.

#351) Boss-de-Nage - II (2011) 

#352) Birds in a Row - Collected (2011)  hardcore.

#353) Hypomanie - A City in Mono (2011) "blackgaze" 

#354) Nadja - Dagdrøm + Spectrum Sessions (2012) 

#355) Hilkka - Escalation/Objective (2000) meh...mostly instrumental "indie rock"

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

November 11 - 20 (#316 - 325)

#316) Book of Sand - How Beautiful to Walk Free (2010) 

#317) Wolf Eyes - Black Wing Over the Sand (2007) sick stuff

#318) Fister - Bronsonic: Lethal Overdose Edition (2011) doom.


#319) Clinging to the Trees of a Forest Fire - Harmonies From Bleeding Mouths (2006)

#320) Psychofagist - Il Secondo Tragico (2009) 


#321) Atavist/Nadja - II: Points at Infinity (2008) drone doom

#322) Author & Punisher - The Painted Army (2005)  

#323) Author & Punisher - Warcry (2007) 

#324) Author & Punisher - Ursus Americanus (2012) 

#325) Bell Witch - Longing (2012)

September 21 - 30 (#265 - 274)

#265) This Heat - Repeat (1993) 

#266) Burmese - White (2003) 

#267) Nadja - Belles Bêtes (2009) 

#268) Anitgama/Psychofagist - 9 Psalms of an Antimusic to Come (2012)

#269) Behold! The Monolith - Behold! The Monolith (2009) 

#270) Oneida/Liars - Atheists, Reconsider (2002) .

#271) Behold! The Monolith - Defender, Redeemist (2012) 

#272) Book of Sand - The Face of the Waters (2011) 

#273) Horseback - The Gorgon Tongue (2011)

#274) 16-17 - Gyatso (1994) 

August 11 - 20 (#224 - 233)

#224) Brutal Truth - End Time (2011) 

#225) Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip - Angles (2008) 

#226) Nesseria - Nesseria (2010) blackened hardcore

#227) Nadja - When I See the Sun Always Shines on TV (2009) 

#228) Assault Squad Safety Scissors - The Children Are Our Future and So Are Flying Cars (2007)  

#229) Captain Ahab - After the Rain My Heart Still Dreams (2006) 

#230 - 232) Merzbow - Another Merzbow Records (2010) collects various tracks off splits and comps released between 1991 and 2001

#233) Great Falls - Fontanelle (2010) 

July 18 - 31 (201 - 213)

#201) Hammers of Misfortune - The Bastard (2001) 

#202) Emo Summer - Land of Emotional Plastic Furniture (1999) bad. not for me

#203) George Holdcroft - The FP Soundtrack (2011) 

#204) Disunicorps - Try (2011) 

#205) Disunicorps - Re:Try (2012) 

#206) Sutekh Hexen- Larvae (2012) 

#207) Panopticon - Social Disservices (2011) 

#208) The Paper Chase - Cntrl-Alt-Delete-U (2001) 

#209) Richard Cheese - Dick at Nite (2007) 

#210) Trust - Trst (2012) 

#211) Antigama/Drugs of Faith split (2007) 

#212) Nadja - The Bungled & the Botched (2008) 

#213) In Defence - Into the Sewer (2009) 

Nadja/Black Boned Angel

#190) Nadja/Black Boned Angel (2009)

 1. I
 2. II

another Nadja collaboration, this time with Black Boned Angel, whose album Verdun was the 3rd album i posted about here.
the violent noise/drone doom of Black Boned Angel combines perfectly with Nadja's dreamsludge to give us two 20+ minute tracks of brutally heavy noisy doom. these guys really play off each other well. i know they've worked together on at least one other album, i'll have to try and track it down. this was great stuff, i hope these guys continue to work together.

Nadja/Troum - Dominium Visurgis

#181) Nadja/Troum - Dominium Visurgis (2010)

 1. Part 1
 2. Part 2
 3. Part 3

this is a collaboration between Nadja and the German experimental/drone outfit Troum. i'm not super familiar with Troum but i've heard a couple tracks and dug what i've heard. anyway, the back of the record states that the album is the "result of a spontaneous improvisation" in a studio in Germany and that there were no overdubs or processing or anything made after. Parts 1 & 2 are drone-y experimental pieces while Part 2 is more of a Nadja track. overall it's a cool record, it's a shame there's no video of them in the studio though.

Kodiak/Nadja Split

#177) Kodiak/Nadja Split (2009)

 1. Kodiak - MCCCXLIX the rising end
 2. Nadja - KITSUNE fox drone

i had never heard Kodiak before i picked up this split. they're a drone/doom band out of Germany. it looks like they've only released 1 full length and a couple splits. their track here fucking destroys. 21 minutes of  pulverizing instrumental doom. 

according to the liner notes the Nadja track was recorded/composed/performed live in a studio in Berlin. i was kind of disappointed to find that it's a 20 minute drone piece (yes i know "drone" is in the title). it wasn't a bad track, i actually enjoyed it after my initial disappointment, it's just that when i see "Nadja" i expect Nadja.

a cool split but i have to give the edge to the Kodiak track.

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"..

Pyramids with Nadja

Into the Silent Waves

#152) Pyramids with Nadja (2009)
 1. Into the Silent Waves
 2. Another War
 3. Sound of Ice and Grass
 4. An Angel Was Heard to Cry Over the City of Rome

for May's End of Month Theme i'm going with "Collaborations"

i loved Pyramids' self titled debut so i don't know why it's taken me this long to get to this record. i've known about it since it came out, it's actually the first time i heard of Nadja, but for some reason i put off listening to it. it does not disappoint.

while there is definitely more of the Pyramids sound than Nadja's on the album there's also a lot that's unlike anything i've heard from either band. the sticker on the album (yeah, i'm still being lazy and using other people's quotes) says it's "Energized ambient, infused with an intelligent ear for avant-garde metal and an almost indiscernible adherence to a sort of pop sensibility" and sure. it's a very mellow, at times beautiful experimental metal album. definitely recommended.

Nadja - Thaumogenesis + 2009.02.06

 

#149) Nadja - Thaumogenesis (2007)
 1. Thaumogenesis

Nadja - 2009.02.06 (2010)

 1. Untitled
 2. Untitled

Thaumogenesis has been reissued 4 times since its original release. in 2007 it was released as a limited edition of 600 cds. then in 2008 it was re-released in a limited edition of 500 cds. both editions were released on aRCHIVE. the only differences between the 2 were slightly different color in the artwork. also in 2008 Daymare Recordings released a 2 disc set that contained Thaumogenesis on the first disc and disc 2 was the Thaumoradiance album, which was a live album also released by aRCHIVE. as a bonus they also included a remix of Thaumogenesis done by James Plotkin called Thaumoremix. in 2010 the album was released on double vinyl by Important Records in an edition of 1000. this release includes the Plotkin remix as the D side of the set and it also came with a bonus live cd.  just recently Thaumogenesis was released on cd by Aidan Baker's own Broken Spine in the original single track format.

anyway, Thaumogenesis is a single, instrumental  track that clocks in around 62 minutes. the first 6 minutes are calm and almost serene before kicking into the hazy, glacier of Nadja riffing. and it pretty much stays that way for the whole track. towards the end some more serene moments sneak in but they're soon once again overpowered by some crushing riffs. by the end of the track there are so many layers of sounds and riffs that it basically becomes noise before going out on a bass drone. this was a really rad album. no real surprises but if you dig Nadja you won't care. i know i didn't.

the live album contains 2 tracks that are untitled. it sounds like they might be chunks of Thaumogenesis that they chopped into tracks so they could play them live but i'm not sure. i probably should've listened to them back to back to see but i didn't. wherever they're from they're both rad tracks and the sound quality is pretty good.

Nadja - Numbness

God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman

#139) Nadja - Numbness (2009)

 1. Veil of Disillusion
 2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
 3. Long Dark Twenties (Slightly Extended 7" Version)
 4. Alien In My Own Skin
 5. Time Is Our Disease
 6. Numb

wow, we are really behind with the posts. been doin the listening but it's been hard to find time to do the write ups. to try and catch up the next batch of posts may be a bit brief. sorry. anyway...

Numbness is a Japanese rarities collection of tracks that were previously released, with the exception of Alien In My Own Skin, on various comps.

all the songs have that signature Nadja blissed out, narcotic haze but i think the highlight here is God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman, it's so strange hearing the song like that. i may have to track down the comp it's from.
i really dug this record. all the songs were great, it's definitely worth checking out if you can find a copy.

Nadja - Desire In Uneasiness

Deterritorialization

#56) Nadja - Desire In Uneasiness (2008)

 1.Disambiguation
 2. Sign-Expressions
 3. Affective Fields
 4. Uneasy Desire
 5. Deterritorialization

as i said in my previous Nadja post, these guys have a ridiculous amount of albums, especially considering they've only been around since 2003. i think this is their 9th full length.
the biggest change here is the addition of a drummer, Jakob Thiesen. the album is also entirely instrumental, with Aidan being credited on bass and effects and Leah on bass. to me this record was missing the heaviness and intensity of Skin Turns To Glass and the limited instrumentation seemed to strip away some of the layers of sound. i also missed the waves of distortion present on Skin. that being said, i really enjoyed this album. it had a very mellow, hypnotic feel to it that i think was enhanced by the lack of vocals and the inclusion of a live drummer. i wouldn't recommend it as your starting point to Nadja but it's definitely a rad album and worth checking out.

Nadja - Skin Turns to Glass

Skin Turns To Glass

#27) Nadja - Skin Turns to Glass (2008)

1. Sandskin
 2. Skin Turns to Glass
 3. Slow Loss
 4. Untitled

Nadja is a band i've been meaning to check out for a while now as i've heard the name mentioned a lot and they always seem to be highly spoken of. i've heard some of Aidan Baker's (founding member) solo stuff and various Nadja tracks here and there and dug what i heard but this is the first time i've listened to a proper Nadja album. The band is made up of Baker and his wife Leah Buckareff, with her providing bass and occasional vocals and Baker handling everything else (listed in the cd booklet as guitar, vocals, flute, piano and drum programming). this is the 2008 version of Nadja's 2nd full length, originally released in 2003. all the tracks have been remastered for this version and tracks 1 and 2 have been lengthened, while track 3 has been shortened. track 4 is a bonus track. 

the music is a kind of shoegazey noisy doom metal (Baker has said he likes the term "dreamsludge" and it's definitely a fitting term.) for only being 2 people these songs are fucking monstrous sounding and epic. each track draws you in and then washes over you with layers upon layers of sound. i feel like this is the type of album that will reward repeated listens since there seems to be so much going on at times. the last track is a 28 minute ambient drone piece that slowly gets noisier and noisier until about the last 3 minutes when a drum beat slowly builds up and then it becomes crazy chaotic noise and screaming. so basically it's like a 2 minute song with a 26 minute intro. overall it's a rad album and it really made me wish i would've gotten into these guys sooner.

with somewhere around 50 releases (including EPs and splits) this is definitely a band i'm going to be spending a lot of time with.