tollund men - autoerotik.

Tollund Men - Autoerotik

46:44

90.47 MB

1. Born In Hell

2. Esoteric Criminal

3. Spell Of Deception

4. Adrastea

5. Autoerotik

6. Mausoleum Of Desire

7. The Inmost Self

8. An Insect

9. From Chaos

10. Kiste

11. Himeros

12. Poisoned Robe

13. Suffocating Heart

14. The Garden

don't judge me, I couldn't resist posting this.

first tollund men full-length, courtesy of bleak environment.

I'm glad these guys waited out the darkwave fad before releasing a full-length...they were always one of the best (along with body of light), and with a less-cluttered landscape today than, oh, say, two years ago, this album stands out even more.

that's not to say it couldn't stand out in that more crowded marketplace...but the moods, rhythms, and melodies here are so great that I'm glad it doesn't risk getting lost in the shuffle.

copies of this one are long gone...I think it took a matter of hours...and so is everything else, too...so, yeah, keep an eye on discogs.




(everything is obviously sold out.)


(for preview purposes only.)

various artists - eden in reeds.

Various Artists - Eden In Reeds: Collected Misanthropic Sounds

1:19:30

158.87 MB

1. American Group - The Exceptional Features Of This Mind We Call Savage

2. Disfigure - Screaming Wind

3. Flowering Blade - Untitled One

4. Flowering Blade - Untitled Two

5. Prison Glue - 01-09 / 02-02 / 03-03 / 04-10

bleak environment is back. what more needs to be said?

I've shared a couple of their releases in the past and was definitely disappointed when it was announced that they'd be shuttering operations for the foreseeable future.

but about three weeks ago, a slew of new releases went up, including this, bleak environment's first compilation.

and I'm proud to be able to share it with all of you.

spread across two cassettes packaged in a white clamshell case with the trademark black-and-white photocopied artwork, there couldn't be a better mission statement for the relaunch of this impeccable label than this exemplary compilation of new artists.

of course, the fifty copies sold out in a matter of hours.

tracks range from noisy techno to noisy black metal to just plain old noise and I highly recommend everything on here - do what you can to track down a copy. trust me, you won't regret it.

in addition to new releases from xothist, tollund men, and others, there's also a slew of records and tapes from all of the best labels across the underground. so if you weren't lucky enough to grab one of the 50 copies of eden in reeds, at least pick up a distro item to show your support for bleak environment's relaunch.

and one of the relaunch releases, "vessels of wrath" by leopard in a tree, is still available. buy it now.




(buy something from bleak environment.)


(for preview purposes only.)

stillborn fawn - abature.

Stillborn Fawn - Abature

15:05

28.69 MB

1. Nord

2. Nacht Shatten

3. Abscheulich

4. Atem Ende

why are digital versions of many bleak environment releases so difficult to track down? some are readily available while others are non-existant, and it's incredibly frustrating.

that being said, and as a kind of follow-up to my vocivus post, here's another impossible-to-find bleak environment release: stillborn fawn's "abature."

this one is straight-up, full-speed-ahead black metal. with no ambience and no filler (save for two very short dialogue samples at the beginning of tracks one and three), stillborn fawn tear through four tracks in a little more than sixteen minutes - just long enough to satisfy while still leaving you wanting more.

throat-shredding vocals and head-nodding riffs weave together to create a caustic tapestry of anger and aggression. needless to say, if you're a fan of xothist, vocivus, or anything else on bleak environment, this one is a no-brainer.

unfortunately, it's no longer available from the label, but there is one copy for sale on discogs, and you can download the band's first release for free on their bandcamp page. check them out, you won't be disappointed.


(for preview purposes only.)

vocivus - s/t.

Vocivus - S/T

16:57

34.34 MB

1. Side A

2. Side B

been waiting a long time for this one, finally bit the bullet and picked it up on discogs. this is a side project from the mastermind behind xothist, also on the bleak environment label.

side a is straight-up mid-tempo black metal while side b is ambient and completely instrumental. not as long as I had hoped for, nor is it quite as furiously epic as the xothist tape, but it's still satisfying nonetheless. with regard to track titles - there are no breaks anywhere on either side, so I've left them alone. metal archives lists ten tracks but that doesn't seem right...it's probably more like three or four. if anyone can shed any light on this, please do so in the comments.

unfortunately, bleak environment appears to have shut down for unknown reasons...but hopefully, like crepusculo negro, it will be resurrected in the coming months. regardless, like them on facebook, buy whatever's left in the store and do your best to support the artists themselves.

xothist will have a track on the upcoming svn okklt double cassette compilation from fallen empire due to be released within the next month or so, but if you're dying to hear more of that sound (as I was), this tape should scratch that itch.


(for preview purposes only.)

best of 2012.

here are four best-of-the-year lists for your reading pleasure - twenty widely released albums, ten cassettes, ten splits, and ten digital releases. each list is in no particular order.

it was an especially great year for cassettes, splits, and digital from small labels.

these albums are readily available all over the internet for free. but please buy something if you like it.

top twenty widely-released albums
menace ruine - alight in ashes

evoken - atra mors

elysian blaze - blood geometry

panopticon - kentucky

sutekh hexen - larvae

wrathprayer - the sun of moloch…

rage nucléaire - unrelenting fucking hatred

wildernessking - the writing of gods in the sand

baroness - yellow & green

mutilation rites - empyrean

worm ouroboros - come the thaw

mgla - with hearts toward none

mares of thrace - the pilgrimage

cryptopsy - s/t

bosse-de-nage - III

drudkh - eternal turn of the wheel

pseudogod - death womb catechesis

horseback - half blood

ash borer - cold of ages

pig destroyer - book burner

top ten cassettes

this station of life - plastic fire

rhinocervs - rh-12

rhinocervs - rh-14

ash pool - cremation is irreversible

dommedagssalme - to that which lies dormant

dressed in streams - s/t

voltur - obscuritas incantamentum

grinning death's head - golden dawn

hell - hell III

torture chain - time is but a doorway to the incinerator

top ten splits

absum/odz manouk

a pregnant light/obscure lupine quietus

wheels within wheels/merkaba

thou/hell

barghest/false

muknal/the haunting presence

trist/lonesummer

white medal/cäina

year of no light/altar of plagues

yellow eyes/monument

top ten digital/self-releases

ekadzati - s/t

thenn - threshing the golden fields

jute gyte - senescence

venowl - patterns of failure

cellgraft - s/t

acédia - l'exil

book of sand - mourning star

mare cognitum - an extraconscious lucidity

dephosphorus - night sky transform

botanist - III: doom in bloom

what did I miss?