body of light - limits of reason.

Body Of Light - Limits Of Reason

46.94 MB

25:08

1. Is It Lost

2. Limits Of Reason

3. Silhouettes (Beautiful Trees)

4. Modern Sympathy

5. To Destroy Sin

body of light never cease to amaze with their brand of catchy, poppy, synth-y darkwave...or whatever you'd prefer to call it. either way, they excel at crafting dark music that's filled to the brim with hooks, great vocals, and strong production.

and guess what, there's even a straight-up noise track on here to close things out with a (harsh) bang.

overall, an excellent tape. and although this might be sacrilege, I think I prefer body of light to tollund men. obviously their styles do have some distinct differences, but if pressed, I'd pick the former...I guess I'm just a sucker for a catchy hook.

since this tape was part of ascetic house's january program, it's no longer available...but keep an eye on chondritic sound's webstore, vacation vinyl, and maybe mount analog...if there's any retail outlets might receive copies, I'd bet on those three.




(for preview purposes only.)

tollund men - donar's oak.

Tollund Men - Donar's Oak

20:21

37.16 MB

1. Donar's Oak

2. Roots

3. The Night

4. Body Problems

this is the new tollund men tape courtesy of ascetic house's january program.

every day throughout all of january, ascetic house posted one tape that was available for only twenty-four hours. when those twenty-four hours were up, that tape was taken down and a new one was put up for order.

donar's oak was the fourth such release and there isn't much to say about it - if you're a tollund men fan (and who isn't), you'll definitely enjoy this tape. and if you're not, well, give it a shot anyway - they haven't disappointed yet.

obviously no longer available from the source, keep an eye on discogs. and maybe a couple distros will get some copies soon...so be on the lookout.




(for preview purposes only.)

climax denial / the rita - preparing for pointe.

Climx Denial / The Rita - Preparing For Pointe

39:27

74.53 MB

1. Climax Denial - Arch Suggests Commitment To Perfection (Ballet Is Woman)

2. Climax Denial - Floor Pointe Stretch For Webcam Post Double-Ankle Surgery

3. Climax Denial - Tips For A Beginner (Requested Toe-Bend Video) Leave A Comment

4. The Rita - Oksana Shorik, Preparing For Pointe

here's the newest release from lake shark harsh noise, and their first in a while if discogs is to be believed.

juxtaposing two prolific artists, this is an early contender for best split of the year. the climax denial tracks are full-on wild power electronics while the rita's side is something of a departure from his usual material - in addition to the usual wall noise, there's a lot of classical music and dialogue samples, and the interplay between all three is really fascinating.

the packaging is standard LSHN - oversized booklet with inserts and tape, all sealed inside of a clear plastic bag.

as for purchasing options, I think a few were available via total black, but all seem to be gone now. your other option is to email sam mckinlay himself at lakesharkhn [at] gmail [dot] com and request a copy. he accepts paypal and should have no trouble shipping it to wherever you might be located.

but I'm sure this one will be gone soon, so don't pass it up - you'll definitely be seeing it on one my year-end lists.




(for preview purposes only.)

ba. ku. / bt. hn. - ritual totemic stone.

Ba. Ku. / BT. HN. - Ritual Totemic Stone

40:19

74.6 MB

1. Blackened Goating Woman

2. Desecration Of The Scraped Stone

what could possibly be better than satanic harsh noise?

nothing, that's what.

courtesy of sam mckinlay by way of urashima, this is the vinyl reissue of an extremely limited cassette from 2005. it's very reminiscent of mckinlay's work as the rita, but with more varied sonic textures and a healthy dose of brutal, distorted vocals.

it all begins with a satanic chant and quickly devolves into chaotic waves of noise.

and I absolutely love everything about it - the atmosphere, the brutality, the whole record is just amazing. and it definitely has a distinct black metal influence that any frequent reader of this blog should be able to detect.

yet the whole work is all unmistakably mckinlay.

the packaging is standard urashima - black cardboard sleeve with silver screen-printing, unlabeled black vinyl, and a single minimal insert. it's very simple but very classy - timeless, even.

copies are still available directly from the label and on discogs, so you have no excuse not to pick one up. any fans of the rita or mckinlay's myriad other projects would be remiss not to grab this stellar piece of vinyl.

ritual totemic stone is the best harsh noise recording I've heard in a long time and the fact that it was originally released almost ten years ago is staggering. seriously, buy a copy of this right now.

I can't recommend it highly enough.





(for preview purposes only.)

ivory prince - s/t.

Ivory Prince - S/T

14:22

27.23 MB

1. I

2. Vision

3. Code

4. Orifice

5. Guilt

definitely one of the more unusual tapes in the recent total black batch, the debut from ivory prince is another recording that manages to elude most genre labels while still producing a sound that's familiar and enticing.

it tends to lean more toward the ambient side of the spectrum, but there's enough noise and distorted vocals to please any and all fans of both this blog and total black's discography.

interestingly, this is a co-release between total black and angoisse, a label based out of barcelona that's released a handful of material over the last three years, including works from order of nine angels, kakerlak, and alleypisser. the packaging is also a high-point - the j-card is printed on a nice paper stock and housed inside of a poly-case, all tucked inside a sealed envelope.

overall, a excellent presentation of some excellent music.

copies are long gone, but a few have shown up on discogs, so add it to your wantlist and keep your eyes peeled.




(for preview purposes only.)

florida man - horrible nights in paradise.

Florida Man - Horrible Nights In Paradise

13:35

26.05 MB

1. Forgive

2. Meth Ripper

3. Horrible Nights In Paradise

4. Let Me In

while I eagerly await the arrival of a large package from total black, here's a tape from the last fallow field batch - horrible nights in paradise, the debut recording from florida man, limited to seventy-seven copies.

the music on this release falls somewhere along the post-punk spectrum, but it's difficult to really say where...there are certainly recognizable elements here, but everything's bathed in so much feedback that any genre specifics are really hard to put a finger on. it actually reminds me of have a nice life, but it's tough to say if that's because of the actual music or just a vibe that I'm picking up on.

but isn't this a site where artists are safe from genre labels? I certainly think so...I know we all love to obsessively categorize every recording we come across, but some of the best frequently resist that urge and this is definitely one of them.

this should appeal to noise fans and post-whatever fans alike and further cements fallow field's place among the upper echelons of cassette labels. best of all, this is somehow still available, so grab one from the link below.



(buy a copy from fallow field.)


(for preview purposes only.)

street sects - the morning after the night we raped death.

Street Sects - The Morning After The Night We Raped Death

7:19

1. Bliss

2. Fate On Her Knees

3. We Live

I haven't written up a band submission in a long time, and that's actually not due to a lack of material - there are quite a few I've been meaning to get to, I just haven't had the time.

so, in an effort to dive into that backlog, I figured I'd start off the with short-but-sweet debut seven inch from street sects. sonically, this reminds me a lot of youth code, and I mean that in a good way - it's noisy and harsh but strangely danceable at times and doesn't really conform to any single genre's prevailing paradigms. but who really cares about labels when the music is this enjoyable?

based out of austin, tx, street sects recently made their live debut just before sxsw this year. the next seven inch, the second in what will ultimately be a series of five installments of a series titled, "gentrification," is already in the works. 

as for this one, two hundred copies of black vinyl are for sale now, and when all is said and done, there will eventually be three hundred copies of the five-part box set on colored vinyl for sale.

the black vinyl version is currently for sale on street sects' bandcamp page and the digital version is available as a name-your-price download. I for one can't wait to hear what these guys come out with next. I wish them all the best and look forward to sharing their next release with all of you.



(buy the vinyl or digital version on bandcamp.)

forza albino - black dog.

Forza Albino - Black Dog

28:29

53.6 MB

1. Bareback Violence/HIV Provider

2. Two Shades Of Grey

new tape from forza albino, a noise trio whose previous work has been released by posh isolation. this one's on freak animal, a stellar label based out of finland.

two lengthy tracks, one per side, that feature wild electronics, brutal vocals, and plenty of dialogue samples. to the uninitiated, it sounds a lot like that deathpile record that was released by hospital productions last year.

freak animal has also released material from bizarre uproar, nicole 12, black leather jesus, and many more, so supporting their efforts should go without saying.

copies of this one are sold out from analog worship and lust vessel, but keep an eye on unseen force - their item page lists it as "coming soon."



(coming soon to unseen force.)


(for preview purposes only.)