Cold Cave- Love Comes Close (2009)

Cold Cave- Love Comes Close
2009
Synth-pop/Industrial/Darkwave

Where do I start with Cold Cave? I could start by introducing them as a synthy pop band with catchy hooks, industrial soundscapes, almost new-wavey-Tears-for-Fears-esque at times. I could mention they feature members of American Nightmare/Give Up the Ghost, Ash Pool/Prurient and Xiu Xiu! The former hardcore frontman, Wesley Eisold, teams up with noisy motherfucker Dom Fernow and a few others to make tracks of toe tapping synth catchiness. Heavy beats, distorted keys switching off between Ian Curtis-y male vocals and somber female vox.
You can't really say that Cold Cave is completely original, but then again the sound kinda fizzled out in the early 80s. They apparently rejuvenated the interest in synthpop among the hipsters.
I suck at writing reviews, just download


http://www.mediafire.com/?xmnmdqulmzw

Damnation - Rebel Souls (1996)

Most people into death metal nowadays have heard of Poland's Azarath, and if they haven't surely Inferno, Behemoth's drummer, rings a bell. Comparatively few know that, in 1996, when Azarath didn't even exist and Nergal&co were still firmly in the realm of (rather generic if you ask me) black metal, Inferno and Azarath's guitarist Bart were part of not-very-imaginatively-named Damnation. Under that ubiquitous moniker (metal-archives mentions 12 other Damnations) an album called Rebel Souls was released that year.

Of course, with a name like that, one can safely say that Morbid Angel would rank among the leading influences without even listening to the record. And they would be right, but a clone this is not. It doesn't take long to notice that the structure is dynamic, expansive, almost epic rather than thrashy, progressive or deconstructive. Spacey keys and solos with lots of reverb punctuate the dense riffage but what really holds the album together is Inferno's drumming. While there are some slower fills and patterns, "incessant pounding" wouldn't be a very innacurate description, as just a few seconds into the first proper track he's already blasting away as he is in the very last moments of the closer, Might Returns. That's not to say the guitars, bass or vocals come lacking - everything falls well into it's place and the blend of agression and melody (there's not a lot of it, don't worry) works.

Not just that, but Rebel Souls really feels like an album, not a bunch of songs (or worse, an agglomeration of ideas). I would be hard pressed to come up with tracks or parts of them as highlights. Sure, one tends to remember the catchy choruses more because, well, they're catchy but neither them nor the ultra-fast bit of Son of Fire, not even the almost-atmospheric part of the title track would hold any value without the lead-ins. And that brings me to the only possible defect of Rebel Souls - where I see its flowing, homogeneous nature others might see monotony but I guess that depends on what you're actually looking for.
All in all, if you're looking for some Polish death metal released before 90% of it started sounding the same or for a quality slab of the genre in general, this is a safe bet. And if you like it, get the other two full lengths by Damnation, they're both a bit different but well worth it. And get Azarath.

rapidshiz

Univers Zero - Heresie [1979]

Genre: Avant-prog/RIO/zeuhl

Format/bitrate: .mp3 v0

Some of you probably already have this, but those who don't need to be exposed to it.

"La Faulx" opens with a sinister, dissonant drone that establishes the gloomy, vaguely threatening mood that runs throughout the entirety of Heresie. Through Heresie's three, mostly instrumental extended pieces ("La Faulx" incorporates sinister chanting in an apparently unknown language), which run for over fifty minutes, the then-five-piece ensemble, using a mixture of classical and rock instrumentation, explores a substantial variety of different textures and techniques running from drone to technical mayhem, but the overall atmosphere never subsides. Many critics have called this the darkest album ever recorded in any genre; while I can think of a few others that would rival it, it certainly belongs on a list of music's most sinister moments. Fans of more experimental black metal acts such as Deathspell Omega, Blut aus Nord, The Axis of Perdition, and Gnaw Their Tongues may enjoy this, and for fans of avant-garde music and progressive rock this will be essential listening. Strongly recommended.

Posted on Behalf of Cassandra-Leo

Download (Sharebee)

Vediog Svaor - In The Distance (2001)

Vediog Svaor is this one-man psychedelic/progressive/avant-garde/whatever black metal project from France. The whole project surrounds themes such as space, coldness, abstract bullshit and eldritch horrors from the 11th dimension. Actually, I’m not sure about that latter part, but there’s like a multitude of metal bands out their with a hard-on for Cthulhu and the Old Ones, so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some sort of reference to Yog-Sothoth in Vediog Svaor’s “In the Distance”. I can’t really tell if there is, because I can’t understand French for the life of me, but man, I am just going to assume this album has something to do with Yog-Sothoth, the Old Ones…and like the coldness of space or something.

Even if it has nothing to do with Lovecraftian horror, it’s still probably my favourite discovery of last year. It’s considered progressive black metal but it has nothing in common with its kin. The album has this sort of retro-ish, melancholic vibe while still maintaining a very bleak yet almost mystical atmosphere. The best way I can describe it is imagine Les Legions Noire, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin all get into this wild free-for-all knife fight and kill each other in a frenzy of blood, guts and inverted crosses; then some insane Lithuanian scientist, with a degree in blowing the fuck out of everything, decides to harvest their corpses and creates some sort of gold-plated omniscient kvlt mecha-god out of their body parts; but of course it rebelled and escaped the insane scientist’s underground lair because it is a whiny bitch who doesn’t want to rule the world with a golden fist but would rather pursue his own ‘creative endeavours’. Yeah, whatever. Anyway, it meets up with Ved Buens Ende in their early days and asks if they want to jam out, but something went very wrong during the jam and it ended up consuming their souls instead.

So yeah, what I’m pretty much trying to say is Vediog Svaor is that gold-plated omniscient kvlt mecha-god…composed entirely out of musicians’ body parts, and it consumes souls and stuff.

Maybe it’s best if you just listened to the damn album.

Gorguts - ...And Then Comes Lividity (1990)

Considering how Gorguts is responsible for four of the greatest death metal records ever and how their debut, Considered Dead, is an OSDM masterpiece it shouldn't come as a surprise that their demo ...And Then Comes Lividity is outrageously awesome. What is surprising, however, is how it has been completely overlooked even by enthusiasts of the group.

While their debut had a very dense and heavy sound this demo is sharp and clear. For a late 80s/early 90s demo the sound quality is great, not perfect but it complements the tracks excellently. As for the songs themselves, holy SHIT. The early Death influence is a bit clearer (though it is still distinctively Gorguts), especially on the three tracks which weren't rerecorded for Considered Dead, but the songwriting is much more impressive. There isn't much else to say, its everything that makes pre-Obscura Gorguts one of the most noteworthy OSDM bands in its earliest and roughest stages, blowing much of what that movement produced out of the water.

herr

Internal Decay - A Forgotten Dream (1993)

Melodic death/doom somewhere between At the Gates (pre-Slaughter) and Phlebotomized, with a haunting atmosphere and some very tasty riffs. You'll catch glimpses of female vocals near the end of the record, and snippets of keyboards are interspersed throughout, but for the most part they manage to pull off the gloominess with traditional metal instrumentation. Songs make the transition from borderline thrash to full-out downtempo doom fairly smoothly, and come right back to hook you in further. Overall this is one hell of a record, and surprisingly under-appreciated.

Mediafire

The Angels of Light - How I Loved You (2001)

You should all be well familiar with SWANS by now, and if not I'd highly recommend perusing their material before venturing into lead man Michael Gira's extra-curricular works. This happens to be his best in that catagory; down-tempo folk-rock with plenty of other influences seeping in through the dusty cracks. Good music for the end of a long day, when you're tired and broken, but still know there's much more hardship to come.

Mediafire

Hongo - Demo (2004)

Artist: Hongo
Album: Demo 2004
Genre: Neocrust (Dark Hardcore/Screamo)
Country: Spain

Six tracks of superbly emotional bi-polar devastation.
When I started listening to Hongo a few years ago I had hit a dip in my life. Buncha shit happened but whatever. I listened to them and they were caustic; they made my stomach hurt and physical pain shot through me from their sound. Fucking brutal.
Their sound is chillingly tense and very minor. Slow melodic down tempo parts and furious cathartic explosions mixed in between eachother (Just listen to the first track). Good music for Bad Days.

Get it.

Bardo Pond - Bufo Alvarius, Amen 29:15 (1995)

I don't really know how to classify this album. Drone, shoegaze, noise rock, post rock, space rock, psychedelic rock, or is it some kind of Frankenstein monster made up of all of them? Fuzzy droning guitars build up layers of solid sound and then the band weaves melodies through the wailing wall of sound, whether they are some sort of cosmic blues, meditative chant, or some other remnant of whatever musical influences built this album.

The main portion of the album explores all of the possibilities contained within that collection of influences. The album ends on the collosal "Amen," and while I love the kind of sloppy noisy blues rock that makes up the rest of the album, Amen feels relaxing. It relieves the tension of the album. It is almost a peaceful song, despite the droning guitar. The bells and the female vocalist have a sort of beauty that is lacking in the rest of the album and is a fitting way to end it.

I figured this was the least likely album of my possible choices to have overlap with the group, so hopefully I will be giving some people a new listening experience. DemonCashew is pretty positive about it, so hopefully thats a good sign for the rest of your preferences. (Though he likes Lady Gaga and Animal Collective so I'm not sure if we can trust him.) He says I should mention the vocals, which I guess are kind of weird when they are actually trying to say something. I don't know what that guy is going on about.

the place of sending

post courtesy of Florpy.

Ardavan Kamkar - Darya (1985)

Ardavan Kamkar is an Iranian santur master, and a santur is a Persian dulcimer. This album is solely performed on this instrument, but the melodies are so entrancing and resonant, that it comes off quite full sounding.
His Middle-Eastern traditional stylings blend smoothly with Bach-like adroitness, and the end result is truly haunting.

right here folks


edit: apparently the second track is corrupt, so here's that.