night falls haunting - these days b/w expectations.

 

Night Falls Haunting - These Days b/w Expectations

7:05

13.77 MB

1. These Days

2. Expectations

two new dark acoustic tracks from night falls haunting, part of the most recent overuse batch.

(for haunting purposes only.)

sanguine relic - divine stygianism: the bliss in torment

 

Sanguine Relic - Divine Stygianism: The Bliss in Torment

35:18

66.35 MB

1. Prologue

2. Part I: The Idolatress of the Dark Plane

3. Part II: The Cruel Irony of Eternity (The Carnal Bonds are Fading)

4. Part III: Imprisonment of My Soul (The Dark Impulse)

5. Part IV: The Bliss in Torment

6. Part V: Blood for the Moon (Her Majesty Yearns)

7. Part VI: The Moment of All Balance

long time, no see.

limited to seventy-five copies, sold out from the label.

stay safe and keep wearing a mask.

for divine purposes only.

carved cross - severance of disparity in absolute acrimony

Carved Cross - Severance of Disparity in Absolute Acrimony

39:09

81.02 MB

1. Symbolic Attrition In Woeful Abandon

2. Refuge For The Powerless

3. Nocturnal Trepidation For Internal Destruction

4. Failed Consummation Is The Fatuity Of Completion

new carved cross full-length, released by death shadow records.

four lengthy, blackened dirges with some really great atmosphere...perfect for dark and icy winter days.

maybe I'll post my best of 2019/decade round up soon...




(for acrimonious purposes only.)

saatkrähe - les mémoires d'un corbeau mort.

Saatkrähe - Les Mémoires d'un Corbeau Mort I

1:29:05

169.36 MB

1. Ravens Fly Over The Lands

2. Sleeping With Ravens

3. Vlad's Tomb

4. The Light Of A Crow

5. In The Graveyard Mist

6. Open Portal

7. Quintessence

8. Funérailles

9. Aux Alentours

10. Le Culte Du Passé

apologies for the absence...I've been busy.

the film is done as of ten days ago and between that, work, and everything else in my life, I haven't had the mental bandwidth for the blog.

oh well.

anyway, I picked this up through analog worship recently. super raw, super lo-fi, and all wrapped up in that classic skjold packaging. I was totally unfamiliar with this one-man project until now, and he's currently releasing new music as sale freux.

recommended.




(for preview purposes only.)

s.t.a.b. electronics - enemy of pigs.

S.T.A.B. Electronics - Enemy Of Pigs

39:13

77.21 MB

1. High Infant Mortality

2. Slug

3. Her Dead Eyes

4. Of Misandry

5. Sic Semper Tyranis

6. Violent Reprise

7. I Am Going To Die (And So Are You)

new collection of virulent power electronics from s.t.a.b. electronics courtesy of unrest productions.

copies are currently available from analog worship in both cassette and LP formats.


sorry for the lack of posts lately, I've been...busy.

more on that soon.




(for stabbing purposes only.)

magazine - the remix tapes.

Magazine - The Remix Tapes

49:00

102.86 MB

1. Treriksröset - Untitled

2. Werewolf Jerusalem - Untitled

3. Werewolf Jerusalem - Untitled

double cassette included with all special edition box sets of new forces' recent reissue of the rita's "magazine" featuring remixes from treriksröset and werewolf jerusalem.

the box set is easily one of the best packages I've picked up in a while and comes packed with a ton of great extras...although I wish I had sprung for one of those longsleeves.

anyway, copies of the standard double LP edition are still available from the label, plus there's a digital version on bandcamp.




(for remix purposes only.)

lingua ignota / the rita.

Lingua Ignota / The Rita ‎– Commissioned

29:25

54.67 MB

1. Lingua Ignota - The Girl From The Streets

2. Lingua Ignota - Jolene

3. The Rita - Black Eye Makeup Headband

4. The Rita - Makeup Circles On The Cheeks

new release from total black.

really interesting juxtaposition between these two sides...the lingua ignota tracks eschew noise entirely for a mournful, somber atmosphere while the rita tracks are...well...they're the rita.

copies are still available from the label, so buy one and support the artists and label.




(for commission purposes only.)

unholy vampyric slaughter sect - bizarre binding ritual.

Unholy Vampyric Slaughter Sect - Bizarre Binding Ritual

8:31

15.74 MB

1. Bizarre Binding Ritual

other new UVSS tape, one long track blending all of their styles together.

enjoy.




(for bizarre purposes only.)

unholy vampyric slaughter sect - order of the rose cross.

Unholy Vampyric Slaughter Sect - Order Of The Rose Cross

12:19

23.58 MB

1. I

2. II

3. III

4. IV

super limited self-released cassette from UVSS.

there were pretty distinct breaks between each section, so I split it into separate tracks.

ambient, melodic intro followed by two scathingly furious tracks, then a rather intriguing, almost jazzy outro.

really great stuff on this one, highly recommended.

will post bizarre binding ritual soon enough...




(for unholy purposes only.)

2018: the year in review.

2018 is over.

wow.

it was a busy year, filled with lots of cool stuff...definitely my most productive yet, and I appreciate the continued support.

digitally ascendant was nominated for DELETE TV's best of the year...didn't win, though.

run until you're out debuted at new noise and screened as part of the coney island film festival.

I curated the first solo show by beeple and got a mention in vice.

I took over as director of where in the hell is the lavender house, a feature documentary about longmont potion castle.

...and the lavender house soundtrack made it onto billboard's top comedy albums chart for a week.

my latest art video, (memories of) degraded realms, debuted at autumn electronix II.

I made a video for street sects that's online...but it's technically "unofficial." maybe I'll post an explanation of my process here in the coming days...

lastly, I successfully crowdfunded my next narrative film, which will be shooting in the spring.


so, yeah...super busy...more news about my own creative work can be found here.

as busy and stressful as all of this has been, it's also been the most creatively fulfilling year of my life. 2019 is already looking to be even more action-packed...besides the narrative short, I'm gonna be cranking out a new video art piece in the next month and a half, filming a legendary band at irving plaza, figuring out distribution plans for the LPC doc, and hopefully curating a show by a ground-breaking visual artist that I can't yet discuss...fingers crossed that there'll be more on that soon.

as I continue to refine my literary and visual practices, I know that my best work is still ahead of me and that, more than anything else, is what makes me excited for the future...and in this day and age, we have to draw excitement and satisfaction from whatever we can despite the world looking more and more hopeless and dysfunctional every day.

a few of my favorite albums are below. they're probably not as underground as you all might like, but it is what it is.


___

best of the year, in no particular order

rebel wizard - voluptuous worship of rapture and response
by far the album that I listened to the most this year...riffs that bury themselves in your brain and never let go.


imperial triumphant - vile luxury
jazzy, progressive, and super weird...plus, I love the art deco new york city imagery.


portrayal of guilt - let pain be your guide
reminds me of pg.99...violent, urgent, and vital.


a perfect circle - eat the elephant
arguably the worst cover art of the year (although that's a tight race), but maynard's performance is fucking great, as usual.


xavlegbmaofffassssitimiwoamndutroabcwapwaeiippohfffx - gore 2.0
I can't decide if this is hilariously amazing or amazingly hilarious, but it's dumb, fun, and surprisingly well-crafted...and sometimes we all need music like that.


thou - magus
those EPs were just appetizers for this, the main course...and it delivers in a more immediate, memorable way than heathen.


bašmu - infernal circles of the sabbat
murky and dark with just the right vocal timbre.


esoctrilihum - inhüma
this band put out not one but two stellar releases this year, and both are worthy of your time and money...but where are the vinyl versions?


street sects - the kicking mule
great people making great music who are building the following that they deserve...music video is viewable, so do me a favor and check it out.


tsunxmi - pictures of you
bludhoney is a great label with consistent, quality material and great packaging.


the rita - sharks and the female form
one of the most inventive packages in my collection, I'll never hesitate to pick up anything sam puts out.


marsh dweller - wanderer
completely different from the last record, which threw me for a loop at first...but this scratches an itch that I haven't felt since isis called it quits.


cult leader - a patient man
perfect blend of hardcore insanity with more mellow, reflective moments.


bonedust - fruit of the ash
this was released digitally in 2017 but came out in physical form in 2018 via lee's excellent label...absolutely stellar in every way.


portal - ion
it's portal...what more can I say?


unholy vampyric slaughter sect - the power of unordained light
originally I had GVAU on here...but this one blows it away.


chapel of disease - ...and as we have seen the storm, we have embraced the eye
another unexpected, last-minute addition...amazing guitar work that lingers in my head for days at a time.


___


that's it for now.

if you've got a sound project and are interested in a visual element, shoot me an email.

don't forget to remember.

Don't Forget To Remember

an experimental short film by Thomas D. Rotenberg

these last three months has been one of the most mentally taxing creative periods I've ever experienced.

confronting the inner workings of my mind and bringing them to life via abstracted visuals is a process that I've become increasingly comfortable with, but putting myself out into the world has never been an easy task.

over the last three months, we've been preparing to launch a crowdfunding campaign, which went live yesterday. 

this short film, which you can read more about over at our seed & spark page, is just the first thread in a larger storyline that will eventually encompass an episodic series, a feature film, and an immersive experience. 

let's face it, the world in which we currently find ourselves feels hopeless much of the time. society feels like it's inching closer and closer to a breaking point - political, economic, and social instability is all around, no matter what side of the political spectrum any one individual might align with. 

but we have to hope for something better, and we can all play a part in that if we so choose. 

that's what this film is really about. 

the storyline follows subject zero, a young woman who takes it upon herself to make a last-ditch effort to do whatever she can to cure the world of a fatal form of insomnia that's afflicted every living creature on earth ever since a visitation by an otherworldly force.

mysterious communications guide her every move, helping her navigate an ever-branching path fraught with potential destruction at every turn.

she is us, and we are her. desperate to escape the predicament we've found ourselves mired in, she doesn't know why she's important - just that she is, and she forces this knowledge to galvanize her so that she can walk a path that's hers alone.

I've dealt with depression for about two-thirds of my life, and I know how hard it can be to forge ahead and fight against every ounce of your being telling you that you're not capable and not wanted. but with the right help and the right people by your side, anything is possible, and it's that sense of hope that I want this film to inspire in others.

it's been close to ten years since I last made a traditional narrative film, but I've never stopped honing my skills, and I'm so excited for the opportunity to bring this world and this story to life. part of what excited me about this adventure is the chance to infuse a (relatively) traditional narrative with the abstract visual methodology I've established over the last few years with my video art.

we're just starting to build our team, and one of the cornerstones is josh graham, who will be composing the music.

josh should be familiar to all of you...that could be via his time doing visuals for neurosis, or his primary band a storm of light, or via his side projects battle of mice and red sparowes. his solo exhibition, standard model catastrophes, was the first show I ever curated and we've since stayed in touch, occasionally running into each other at events, and sometimes contributing solo work to different exhibitions.

he's been making ambient electronic music as IIVII for a few years now and I knew that the sounds being created under the moniker would be a perfect fit for the world I'm attempting to conjure.

I couldn't possibly be more excited about having him on board. be sure to check out our incentives...josh has generously agreed to lend his time to consult with a few select backers, so jump on that incentive before it's gone.

but even if you can't afford a fancy incentive, anything that you're able to contribute would mean the world to me. and if you can't contribute anything, please share the project with your friends and help get the word out...that's the most important part.

please help us out and be a part of the world we're bringing to life.




(for contribution purposes only.)

imperial conditioning II.

Various Artists - Imperial Conditioning II

18:11

33.98 MB

1. Death Kneel - Disposal Methodology

2. Ciarra Black - Mediate Reality

3. V. Sinclair - Another Life

4. Opiate Bath - Golden Triangle

new super-limited compilation from total black, created for a live showcase back in october.

harsh drones from opiate bath, melodic ambience from v. sinclair, lo-fi techno from ciarra black, and some power electronics from death kneel...basically, something for everybody.

sold out from the label, so keep an eye on discogs.




(for imperial purposes only.)

sangine relic - the essence of eternity's despair.

Sanguine Relic - The Essence Of Eternity's Despair

34:45

68.31 MB

1. Part I

2. Part II

3. Part III

4. Part IV

5. Part V

6. Part VI

brand new sanguine relic release courtesy of perverse homage.

reliably great stuff here, and there are still a couple items left in the perverse homage store to purchase.

really impressed with this release and the latest batch as a whole, so grab whatever you can...but don't pay outrageous discogs prices.

(for eternal despair purposes only.)

(memories of) degraded realms.

"(Memories of) Degraded Realms"

on display as part of "Worlds Within Shadows," curated by Gretchen Heinel

10/20-10/28 - Garner Arts Center

about a year ago, I was contacted to shoot some some footage for what was supposed to be a video for a well-known australian death metal band.

unfortunately, the video didn't get approved and the footage sat around for a while before I began to retool and repurpose it, but I had no direction. this was going to be my first video in a while that wasn't a commission, wasn't going to have a budget, and wasn't going to have a concrete theme around which to center my mind.

"digitally ascendant" had moments of harshness, but I wanted to push everything further. the visuals and the audio needed to be more harsh, anxiety-inducing, and destructive than ever before.

I reached out to the owner and operator of contradiction tapes who, as GRVD, is a purveyor of some of the most enthralling noise I had heard in a long time. he agreed to let me use whatever tracks I wanted off of revenge, so I had my sound.

and although I played around with the visual aspect for months, I still felt lost.

when being creative, I love to have rules and restrictions. they serve as guidelines, inviting me to play along at times and transgress at others, and they help me know where to focus my energy in order to tell a relevant story.

but without a curator and pre-established theme or concept to work from, I hadn't yet devised a story to tell.

I was wandering, grasping, desperate for something hold on to. and then I looked at the ghostly image on the screen and thought of her wandering through worlds of visual brutality and inexplicable forms, desperately pleading with others to join together and see what they might be able to find on the other side.

that was a start.

but the story needed structure, a narrative arc to hold it together.

I thought back to high school. I took a philosophy class called "death and dying," and as my final project, I did my first bit of screen writing that would actually get turned into a film. not a good film, not a film anyone will ever see anywhere ever, but one that fit the assignment: to explore the five stages of grief.

these characters inhabiting this new world, maybe they're mourning their own deaths. maybe they need to travel through that grief in order to find a place, mental or otherwise, where they can exist without fear.

this is that journey.

to visualize this world, I manipulated the original footage using trapcode mir to create expansive wireframe models, and then keyframed particular animations by controlling the various parameters of the plugin. those were then loaded into premiere, colored, mirrored, and blended with additional clips to create something that's (in my opinion) at once ominous and oddly comforting.

I'm honored and excited to be debuting this new video as part of "worlds within shadows" at the garner arts center, curated by gretchen heinel. the opening night coincides with autumn electronix II, curated by lee bartow.

featuring performances from seven sound artists plus merch from cloister recordings and a bunch of others, I can't wait to show off my work alongside so many other talented creators.

getting there from nyc is going to be difficult, but it'll be a trek worth taking.




(autumn electronix II tickets.)

the rita - letestu.

The Rita - Letestu

10:19

19.22 MB

1. La Courtisane

2. Paquita

new seven-inch release from the rita dedicated to agnès letestu, a french ballet dancer.

read sam's description of his latest release here, it's much more thorough than I could ever be and I don't feel like paraphrasing.

send him an email to grab a copy and support the artist.




(for ballet purposes only.)

lay waste / future of pulse.

Mania / Deterge - Lay Waste / Future Of Pulse

38:17

85.6 MB

1. Deterge - Gun Free Zone (49 And 58)

2. Deterge - See The Screen

3. Deterge - Three Hours, Twelve Minutes

4. Deterge - Stuffed, Soft

5. Mania - Lay Waste

new split from these two legends courtesy of fusty cunt.

copies of the standard edition are still available from the label.

what more can I really say...an intense and cathartic listen, highly recommended.




(buy a copy.)

(for preview purposes only.)

cross rot.

Cross Rot - Collection

1:01:51

118.76 MB

1 - 7: Demo II

8 - 11: Demo MMXIII

12 - 21: Ixuvik Reh.

22 - 24: Split with Floridian Winter 

25 - 28: First Light Reh. MMXIII

some of this is already floating around on metal area, but here's the entire cross rot discography courtesy of fallow field.

this newly compiled double-cassette looks and sound great, and comes highly recommended.

it's (gasp) still available from the label via the link below...grab one ASAP.




(buy a copy from fallow field.)


(for preview purposes only.)

beyond a single breeding cycle.

Scant / Pleasure Island / Shredded Nerve - Beyond A Single Breeding Cycle

53:42

112.33 MB

1. Scant - Segregation

2. Scant - Distancing

3. Pleasure Island - Hall Of Columns

4. Pleasure Island - Preserved In Paraffin

5. Pleasure Island - Laying In State

6. Pleasure Island - Surrounded By Flowers

7. Shredded Nerve - Severe Deficiency

8. Shredded Nerve - Extensive Research Yields No Result

new three-way split courtesy of thousands of dead gods featuring some mainstays of the power electronics scene - scant, pleasure island, and shredded nerve.

the dead gods big cartel seems to be down at the moment, but maybe when it comes back up they'll still have a few copies.

lots of variety here and it all comes together very nicely.

definitely a label to dig into, if you haven't already.




(for breeding cycle purposes only.)

the rita - sharks and the female form.

The Rita - Sharks And The Female Form

29:12

65.47 MB

1. Untitled

2. Untitled

this new release from the rita comes in some stellar packaging...inserts featuring shark attack photographs and abstract art are paired with torn and blood-spattered women's bathing suit fragments to form a startling and immersive whole.

each side opens with audio of a woman describing a shark attack, followed by very textured yet brittle walls.

I haven't been listening to a ton of HNW lately but sam's work always manages to pull me back in. this one is out of stock from the label but reach out to sam via his blog, he might have a few copies left.

highly recommended.




(bakurita.)


(for shark knifing purposes only.)

various artists - häretischer kreis.

Various Artists - Häretischer Kreis

32:39

59.4 MB

1. Swine Soul - Violent Self-Spiraling Forever Towards Utter Oblivion

2. Immatura Morte - Exclamavit Autem Mortis...

3. Xzælthu - Untitled

4. Gormanudr - Ages Of Blood

5. Funerary Temple - Chanting Woes Through The Chambers Of Flesh

co-released by perverse homage and hatework, this compilation brings together a host of stellar artists for a sonically and aesthetically cohesive side of furious black metal.

a few of these artists were new to me, but everything here is great and this easily stands up as one of the finest compilations I've heard all year.

somehow, copies are still available from perverse homage...so grab one quickly and don't miss out.

(pick up a copy here.)

(for compilation purposes only.)