Sweet selection .2

Some calm...

SUNHOUSE - Crazy on the Weekend - 1998
www.myspace.com/sunhouse1


Download

Born in early 1997 in the UK. Dead late 1998.
This is their only album, which is quite hard to find.
Lead by the wonderful voice of Gavin Clarke.
Much recommended!

"This is a stunning record. Gavin Clarke's voice sounds almost unnatural, almost the product of an angelic natural sound beaten into shape with whiskey and cigarettes. The sound the band achieve is incredible too - with a minimum of orchestration on opener 'Crazy On The Weekend', Clarke's voice drifts over a sparse acoustic backdrop like cigarette smoke over a bar table. Lyrically the album is dark, depressing and lonely, but that's what Sunhouse are about. Sunhouse draw you into a world of solitude and urban desolation."
Rob McMillan



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FEVER RAY - Sefl-titled - 2009
www.myspace.com/feverray


Download

Swedish electronic artist Karin Dreijer Andersson solo project.
She's one half of the Swedish electro act The Knife (the other half is her brother Olof Dreijer). She was also the singer and guitarist of the defunct indie pop group Honey is Cool. She had retired for about one year and just got back in 2008 with her solo project.
Highly recommended!

"Long time electronic explorer, Karin Dreijer Andersson gets all her resources together to create a minimalistic obscure electronic pop master piece. The delicate beats, the cold atmospheric sequences, the melancholic and narrative lyrics, the vocal diversity and the minimal inclusions of guitar chords makes a perfect combination capable of reaching our deepest feelings."
http://staringapocalypse.blogspot.com

"One thing’s sure - in a country with a wealth of leftfield pop artists, Karin Dreijer Andersson sounds like no one but herself. Constantly inventive, restlessly emotive, Fever Ray swaggers, broods, intrigues and dazzles without ever making concessions to the soap opera demands of modern media. “I think the music should be able to stand for itself without interfering, like what the artist looks like. That’s something you find out during the process, it’s a steady ongoing process about how you survive. When you work with music, you have the possibility to create magic.” Opportunity taken, Fever Ray works its magic. Here’s your chance to fall under its spell."
http://feverray.com

When I Grow Up from Fever Ray on Vimeo.

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VETIVER - To find me gone - 2006
www.myspace.com/vetiverse


Download

American folk band formed in 2004.
Lead by the great voice of Andy Cabic.
This is their second album.
Absolute classic!

"Second full length from Andy Cabic’s solo project is an example of delicate, focused folk music that rewards the stamina. To Find Me Gone finds Vetiver reaching a perfect, unique stride after a promising debut, avoiding awkward vocal strains for a relaxed beauty that you can’t help but soak up like a rag. It is the antidote to stress and the soundtrack for hammocks. It is road trip music or music for floating lasily down a river. It's one of those necessary albums for the times when nothing else on your Ipod will seem to do."
http://forestgospel.blogspot.com

Prog selection .2

BLACK MATH HORSEMAN - Wyllt - 2009
www.myspace.com/blackmathhorseman


Download

Four-piece band from Los Angeles, USA.
Combination of progressive, doom and stoner with a great female voice. Produced by Scott Reeder of Kyuss.
Much recommended!

"Black Math Horseman live somewhere between the psychedelic world of 70’s stoner and contemporary shoegazers which they adorn with touches of goth and post rock to create their mind altering sound."
www.roadburn.com



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WOBURN HOUSE - Monstrous Manoeuvres in the Mushroom Maze - 2009
www.myspace.com/woburnhouse


Download

Formed in Germany in 2005.
This is their second album.
I can not describe it so much, so...
Simply try it.

"Music for adventurers who drink lava, bathe in fire and travel on clouds."

"Whether you need a small, intimate melody with complete privacy or a large riff with numerous break-down areas, whatever your needs may be, Woburn House has attractive options to accommodate you."
http://theworriedwell.blogspot.com

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HELMS ALEE - Night Terror - 2008
www.myspace.com/helmsaleemusic


Download

American three-piece formed in 2007.
Featuring members of These Arms are Snakes and Harkonen.
With male and female vocals. Epic.
Check this one.

"Whether they are unleashing torrents of churning riffs, hypnotic waves of distortion or gruff or lilting calls into vast spaces, Helms Alee do so in limpid, atmospheric and unique fashion. No doubt, the crisp and cavernous production from Matt Bayles serves them well as tremolo-picked guitars gush like waterfalls, drums rattle timbers and the Pixies-esque male-female vocals sound like they’ve traversed continents."
www.popmatters.com

Video selection .10

An experimental video selection.

BETWEEN
A short-film by Tim Bollinger (of Via Grafik)
www.vgrfk.com + www.between-film.com

Between from Via Grafik on Vimeo.

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SKINLINES
An experimental animation by Monkeymen
www.monkeymen.tv

skinlines from monkeymen on Vimeo.

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VANISHING POINT
An animation by Takuya Hosogane (of Bonsajo)
www.hsgn.tk + www.bonsajo.org

Vanishing Point from Bonsajo on Vimeo.

Doom selection .8

One more.

MOSS - Sub Templum - 2008
www.myspace.com/cthonicrites


Download
Thanks to Kick to kill

English doom three-piece formed in 2000.
4 tracks, more than 70 minutes.
Extreme. Slow. Hypnotic.
Absolute classic.

"Listening to this album during the day is a futile endeavour, Sub Templum is all about context. Sitting down at night with the detailed sleeves in your hands and turning the volume up is the only way to do it."
http://brainwashed.com



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RAMESSES - Baptism of the Walking Dead - 2009
www.myspace.com/ramesses666


Download

Formed by people from Electric Wizard in 2003.
This is a very limited 3 inch mini CD released by these English dudes to promote their upcoming album, "Take the curse".
This is highly recommended!

"Bristling with malevolence, Ramesses’ crushing grooves induce a hypnotick lethargy : weighed down, beleaguered and enveloped by doom. While the percussion/guitar/bass/vokills set to work on your viscera, your head is forcibly plunged down the rabbit hole and drenched in heavy psychedelia. Mournful harmonies are the nihilistic backdrop to the ever-increasing influence of The Occult on Ramesses’ twisted menagerie of animalistic odes. Although a riff tsunami remains the centrepiece, the sound is refracted through even more circles of hell - of dirgesludge, of rhythm, of Lucifer himself. Huge and disturbing arrangements backed with sickening beats and haunting tones mark the new Ramesses sound. Stunning grim melodies, and blistering spaced out guitar solos, together with multiple vokill styles add massive depth and dynamics to the opening flower of death that is Take The Curse. Displaying now more of their eclectic traits and 70's influences, using more atmospheric samples whilst persisting with an unsettling soundtrack to your inevitable fate..."



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EAGLE TWIN - The Unkindness of Crows - 2009
www.myspace.com/eagletwin


Download

Well... I just discover this yesterday.
Debut album from this American guitar/drums duo.
Heavy. Loud. Drony. Featuring good psychedelic, bluesy, stoner impressions.
You have to check this out!

"Although Eagle Twin is a very new entity, its helmsman Gentry Densley is no stranger to innovative, heavy music. Densley was the musical visionary and leader of the legendary Jazz, Prog, Rock, Metal, Hardcore group Iceburn from 1991-2001. In order to disseminate his majestic and mountainous riffs in the present day he enlisted massively behemoth skinsman Tyler Smith. The drums are not only a driving force that efficiently steam rolls over you, they conjure a repetitious mantra that is eerily infectious. Although Iceburn was primarily a instrumental force, with Eagle Twin Gentry is much more vocal and the depth of his lyrics is endless. His voice is used much like an instrument and often times creates a unique drone of its own. The riffs and music definitely have familiar reference points (Caspar Brotzmann Massaker, Earth, Sunn O))), Melvins etc.) but are crafted in a way that stands miles beyond the others."
www.southernlord.com

Black metal selection .3

The necessary weekly dose of Black metal.

NACHTMYSTIUM - Assassins : Black Meddle, Part 1 - 2008
www.myspace.com/nachtmystium


Download

Formed in 2000 in the USA
Their debuts were categorized in the Raw Black Metal genre.
But they started introducing some Psychedelic touches into it.
This one can be filed under Psychedelic Black Metal.
Much recommended!

"The guitars buzz as much as they reach for psychedelic heights. The foundation is forged in black metal, but Assassins is more about breaking molds than casting them. Assassins contains big, almost stadium-sized anthems, monumental drinking songs, gorgeous instrumental excursions, prog-metal, and solos that make you catch your breath. It's metal at its best, regardless of the genre tag stuck to it."
http://pitchfork.com

Nachtmystium from REALMS OF METAL on Vimeo.

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ORANSSI PAZUZU - Muukalainen Puhuu - 2009
www.myspace.com/oranssipazuzu


Download

Formed in 2007 in Finland.
This is their first and only release until today.
Translated from Finnish, title means "Alien Speaks".
Ambient Black Metal psychedelia.
This is highly recommended!

"Oranssi Pazuzu’s music has a taste of Norwegian black metal and Finnish kraut-psychedelia. The sound is highly visual and atmospheric, embracing the dark corners of space and mind."

"The basis in their music is raw and simple black metal in the vein of latter day Darkthrone, but with an experimental and psychedelic twist. The early seventies Krautrock scene and especially Can is a big influence. While the vocals certainly are extreme and might scare off a few psych/krautrock fans who might otherwise have enjoyed the album, the music is not your ordinary harsh black metal. The tempo is mostly mid-paced and there are only very few faster sections on the album. The atmosphere is tripped out and spacy and the use of vintage keyboards really give the music an organic feel."
www.progarchives.com



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MOONSORROW - Viides Luku : Hävitetty - 2007
www.myspace.com/moonsorrowofficial


Download

Finnish band formed in 1995.
This is their fifth album.
Translated from Finnish, title means "Chapter 5 : Ravaged".
Only two songs for about 60 minutes.
Epic. Symphonic. Melancholic. Progressive. Crushing.
Highly recommended!

"The two tracks are marked by extremely long (semi-)acoustic introductions building up to a grand entrance of drums, bass and harsh distorted riffing. From then on, the songs develop into a Viking black metal beast with repetitive guitar themes, a touch of Finnish folk music and epic choir work. Dark, dramatic and devastatingly heavy, "Jäästä Syntynyt" and "Tuleen Ajettu Maa" form a nearly perfect union of lyrical concept and musical vision."
www.chroniclesofchaos.com

Video-clip of the first song (4 parts)

Video selection .9

COAL FIRED HORROR
A compilation of timelapse videos of the MidAmerican Energy power plant of Council Bluffs Iowa by Jeff Grewe
www.arboraesthetics.com

Coal Fired Horror from Jeff Grewe on Vimeo.

Note of the autor:
"I did not make this video to make a political statement. My intentions were purely artistic. The imagery is intense: I found audio to compliment it. That I made a compelling global warming propaganda piece was purely an accident. This is political because it is coal: I photographed it because it was beautiful, monstrous, terrifically enormous. I don't care that it is coal, but it is ok if you do."

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RAMONA FALLS - I SAY FEVER
Animation video-clip by Stefan Nadelman + for the band Ramona Falls
www.touristpictures.com + www.myspace.com/ramonafalls

Ramona Falls "I Say Fever" from Barsuk Records on Vimeo.

Doom selection .7 ?!???

This is the soundtrack to the end of the world.

KOREISCH - This decaying schizophrenic Christ complex - 1999
http://www.last.fm/music/Koreisch


Download

Formed in the late-nineties in Sheffield, UK.
They just split-up after releasing this legendary record. They got back together in 2004 and re-released it remixed by Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer). People were expecting some new material in 2005. But they just desappeared and nobody got any news from them.

This is the most brutal thing I ever heard.
Imagine a collapse between Doom/Black metal and Grindcore.
Mix it with a taste of Drone and strange movie samples.
Add some fuckin' harsh vocals and there you are.

I can not explain.
Just try it.
Sincerely.

"Imagine a mixture of sludge, hardcore, grind and noise, that copies no one and combines the unholy feeling of black metal with the soul-corrupting agony of bands like Sunn O))) and Khanate. Nightmarish samples that make you sweat and remind me of David Lynch movies : you’re unable to decode what you see (hear) but you’re so goddamn sure that there’s evil crawling underneath. Black metal riffs and rotten drum sound form the ideal environment, in which the singer chooses to tear his soul apart in a way that Alan Dubin of Khanate does today. The track titles make you wonder and the song strucures (???) are confusing, with you not knowing what’s gonna hit you next. The heretic artwork meets the extreme attitude of Koreisch and finally, the whole pile of blasphemy is remastered by Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer). Try it, if you dare... But I have to inform you that I’m still hearing this creepy female voice inside my head singing: “In heaven, everything is fine”..."
http://www.metal-invader.com

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PIZ URLAUN & 5/5/2000 - Split - 2003
www.myspace.com/pizurlaun + www.myspace.com/552000


Download

Split cd between Piz Urlaun chaos-grinders (Germany) and 5/5/2000, two American noise-makers (members of Creation is Crucifixion and Cattle Decapitation). Piz Urlaun died in 2003 but 5/5/2000 is still active today.
This is chaotic as fuck.
Highly recommended!

"Two bands who have very little in common sonically, but who both completely destroy! The first track is 5/5/2000 which is AQ pal Nathan, formerly of grind metallers Creation Is Crucifixion, and Travis who is currently in Cattle Decapitation. That pedigree doesn't really prepare you for the epic 20 minute droning soundscape this duo whipped up live a few years back. Dreamy but sinister, creepy and hypnotic, with rumbling tones, short wave broadcasts, buried melodies, and throbbing pulses, all of which occasionally erupt into swirling sheets of noise. None of this prepares you for the utter chaotic brutality of Pizurlaun. A hyper-distorted avant-grind juggernaut. Buzzing guitars careen from speaker to speaker, while various noises and rhythms, cut out, or stutter like a skipping cd and all sorts of really affected and bizarre production turns what would have been an amzing grind metal record anyway, into a splattery, grinding metallic masterpiece. And apparently the drums tracks were made by recording real live drums, and then having a non-drummer assemble them on a computer. Which only adds to the freaked out weirdness, and utter mayhem. Like a Locust tape, that you left in your back pocket for 6 months, accidentally washed, and then taped Suffocation over. Then played it back on a malfunctioning tape player. It's that fucked sounding. And that great."
http://aquariusrecords.org

Sweet selection .1

Sad music is fine.

CODEINE - Frigid Stars - 1990
www.pry.com/codeine


Download

Born in New York in 1989. Sadly dead in 1994.
I just discovered this great CD which really makes me think of early Sophia works. Well, I must confess I don't have a large indie-rock music culture so... Just check it if you like Sophia, Low and some other depressive indie-rock bands.
Much recommended.

"The cover of Frigid Stars sets the mood well - a negative black and white shot of some stars, looking even more haunting as a result. As for the album, the tone isn't simply being cold or unemotional, but simply gripped by a deep black mood, where everything seems on the verge of suddenly going wrong or collapsing."
http://allmusic.com



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SOPHIA - Fixed Water - 1996
www.myspace.com/thesophiacollective

Download

Born in the early nineties and still active American collective.
Lead by the great voice of Robin Proper-Sheppard.
This one is their first one. My personal favourite.
The story tells it was written after Robin's best friend suicide... I think it definitelly explains the mood behind this wonderfully sad record. Check it and you will understand it at first listen.
Depressing. Tortured. Melancholic. Suicidal?
Absolute must-have.

Doom selection .6

Down-tempo.

S:T ERIK - From under the tarn - 2009
www.myspace.com/sterik


Download

Credit goes to Stonerobixxx, one more time!
(password : robixxx)

Swedish band formed in 2006.
This is their first effort.
Psychedelic Doom at his best.
They use to call it Space Doom.
You have to check this out, for sure!

"Brilliant first step towards the top of the genre. Music is mainly inspired by bands like Ufomammut, Sleep, Om, Electric Wizard and High On Fire. Extensive use of spacey synthesizers and something as rare as a talented vocalist, result in an interesting sound, quite unique to the genre. Psychedelic doom metal filled with dense riffs performed by S:T Erik is an outstanding discovery for adepts of the genre."

"This is music to take a trip to, go visit some far out galaxies, see stars exploding before your eyes and resting near a pyramid among the dry channels of Mars. Heavy, drug-induced and brooding..."
www.doom-metal.com



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LAUDANUM - The Coronation - 2009
www.myspace.com/laudanum18


Download

American band formed in 2003.
This is their last album.
Evil, Slow, Dark, Drone, Atmospheric, Malevolent.
They call it Corrosive Doom Noise.
Definitely something you should check!

"This isn't an album you listen to for enjoyment ; it is an album you listen to for the experience. Coronation combines heavy industrial effects, doomful atmospheric synthesised creations, low, reverberating to feedback screaming strings, powerful percussion that is skilfully applied, and unearthly vocals only lightly interspersed throughout the music. This group is aptly named : this is not the slothful drone of stoner meta l; it is the metal of an all-captivating opium haze."
www.metalasfuck.net



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THE WOUNDED KINGS - The Shadow over Atlantis - 2010
www.myspace.com/thewoundedkings2


Download

Formed in 2005 in the UK.
This one is their second and last album.
I think it's going to become a great classic!
Somewhere between Black Sabbath, Candlemass and St Vitus.
Highly recommended!

"One look at the album cover and you are automatically ready for a doom experience and within seconds of the opening track "The Swirling Mist" you are transported into another world that leaves you inspired, mesmerized and focused on the glorious sounds you are hearing. Slow, Sabbath inspired doom."
http://brutalism.com

Instrumental selection .3

Kings of the desert.

KARMA TO BURN - Live in London and Chasing the Dragon - 2009
www.myspace.com/karmatoburn


Download
Disc 1(live in London) + Disc 2(studio "best-of")

Thank Stonerobixxx again for this great post!
(password : robixxx)

Formed in 1997 in the US, then splitted in 2002.
Just got back together in 2009! Hell'Yeah.
Consider this CD like their absolute best-of.
Instrumental Desert Stoner at his best.
Enjoy the Art of the Riff.
Hang on to your mustache! Let's ride.

Everyone who loves Stoner/Rock music should know this great band.

Doom selection .5

Another Doom n' Stoner post.

BONGRIPPER - Hate Ashbury - 2008
www.myspace.com/bongripper


Download

Thank Stonerobixxx for this ok!?!
(password : robixxx)

This is instrumental doom from Chicago, USA.
I didn't especially like what I heard from them before, but this last release definitelly kicks ass.
Doom with great Drone/Ambient/Psychedelic parts.
Why wouldn't you try it?

"Hate Ashbury is a truly impressive brew of just about all experimental heavy sounds you can imagine. There are a couple straight up post-doom tracks, which generally feature separate parts of either extreme heaviness or spacey rock sessions similar to 35007. That type of song has been Bongripper's forte to this point, but with other Hate Ashbury tracks either being straight up noise or drone, or making a mixture of all of these types of music, it seems that Bongripper may have outgrown their original style."
www.scenepointblank.com



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GRAVEYARD - Self-titled - 2008
www.myspace.com/graveyardsongs


Download

Swedish rockers. Formed in 2006.
This is their first album and I loved it at first listen!
Bluesy/Stoner/Rock psychedelia.
Much recommended, dude!

"One listen to the self-titled debut from Sweden's Graveyard and you swear that this thing was recorded in 1971. Psychedelic, often times bluesy yet heavy guitar riffs, enchanting atmosphere, swirling drum patterns, and hazy vocals, all permeate this wildly seductive hard rock album. Graveyard just drips with psychedelic menace from start to finish, and everything from the guitar riffs to the vocals is so retro 70's that you gotta love it."

Hardcore selection .1

Geneva, Switzerland. Hardcore dreamland.

KNUT - Bastardiser - 1998
www.myspace.com/unknut


Download

Formed in 1994 and still active.
This is their second album.
An absolute Chaotic Hardcore classic.

"Bleak, overwhelming, tortured and torturous in equal measure, Knut is the death bellow of bull elephants, the jazz of the crazies, free-form improv performed by death-prog metalheads fueled by bad chemistry and mad science."
www.sleazegrinder.com



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NOSTROMO - Argue - 1998
www.last.fm/music/Nostromo


Download

Formed in 1996, dead in 2005.
First album from this great band. One of my favourites.
Really fast, uncompromising Grind/Hardcore.
Some of them are playing now with Mumakil and Nebra.
Straight in your face, dude!

"Brutality, devastation and precision are Nostromo’s 3 leitmotivs. Clever mix of metal/ hardcore sprinkled with thrash and grindcore influences. Argue is made of 9 ultra-furious-as regular-as-clockwork songs, killer double-drum kick and pure brutality riffs led by a strong hardcore ‘on-the-verge-of-rupture’ singing."



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FRAGMENT - Flux - 1998
http://fragment.pbrocca.com/fragment.html


Download

Born in 1995. Dead in 200?.
Crushing Hardcore in the vein of Meshuggah, if you really wan't to compare it with something. But much more agressive.
Tortured grooves, unconventional rythmics and dissonances.
Lyrics in French. Unique.
Highly recommended!

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SHORA - Shaping the random - 2000
www.myspace.com/shoraband


Download

Formed in 1998 and still active.
Early years were fucking Hardcore...
...before turning to Prog rock recently.
This is their first album. Chaotic Hardcore at his best.
Compare it with Botch if you want.
But imagine it much more Agressive and harsh.
A must-have!

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LOST SPHERE PROJECT - Verse XXIV - 2009
www.myspace.com/lspchaos


Download

Formed about ten years ago.
This is their last album.
Makes me think of Knut or Shora early years.
Savage mix of Grind/Hardcore and Chaos.
Tortured structures. Agressive. Fast. Evil. Chaotic.
A future classic?

Instrumental selection .Sax

What happens when saxophones meet Hardcore music

LILIUM SOVA - Tripartite Chaos - 2008
www.myspace.com/liliumsova


Download

Young band from Geneva, Switzerland.
This one seems to be their first and only album to date.
Chaotic-hardcore Sax/Drums/Bass trio.
Featuring some great vocal guests by people from Lost Sphere Project and Impure Wilhelmina.
Try it!



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ZU - Carboniferous - 2009
www.myspace.com/zuband


Download

Italian Sax/Drums/Bass trio formed in 1999.
Hold on to your chair : this one is their 14th album!
Featuring Mike Patton vocals on one song.
Heavy, loud and chaotic!
Highly recommended.

"Entirely instrumental except for Patton's guest vocals on Soulympics, Carboniferous veers alternately from free jazz and punk, to sheer metal, math, and hair-raising noise. By the time the album reaches the finish line, there aren't many stones left unturned. It sounds as though Zu have wrung out every last drop from their musical cloth, yet one doubts whether their imagination can possibly run dry. Arguably the most aggressive album the band has ever recorded, Carboniferous is relentless in its volatile ferocity."
http://pitchfork.com

Video selection .8

CL!CK
A Lego short-film by Leigh Marling for Blue Source
www.legoclick.com



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"VIDEOGIOCO"-LOOP EXPERIMENT
Animation by Donato Sansone (Milkyeyes)
www.myspace.com/milkyeyes

videogioco-loop experiment from donato sansone on Vimeo.

Instrumental selection .2

RIDING PÂNICO - Lady Cobra - 2008
www.myspace.com/ridingpanico


Download

Instrumental kind of Post rock from Portugal.
This is their first album.
First song especially kills!



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HAND OF FATIMA - Obake - 2009
www.myspace.com/handoffatimaband


Download

Thanks to Post-Engineering
(password: post-engineering.blogspot.com)


Formed in 2007 in Spain.
Kind of Post rock with a great psychedelic touch.
Much recommended!

Prog selection .1

People call it Post rock but I prefere say Progressive.

LINDA MARTINI - Olhos de Mongol - 2006
http://myspace.com/lindamartini


Download

They come from Portugal.
They sing in Portuguese and make great melodies.
Much recommended!

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MONO - Hymn to the Immortal Wind - 2009
www.myspace.com/monojp


Download

From Japan. Fifth album.
Instrumental. Epic.

"Just in time for their 10-year anniversary, MONO return with their fifth studio album, the absolutely massive Hymn To The Immortal Wind. Written and arranged with a hopeful, romantic narrative in mind, the songs string together like chapters in an epic love story. The music is naturally majestic, with MONO’s trademark wall of noise crashing beautifully against the largest chamber orchestra the band has ever enlisted. The instrumentation is vast, incorporating strings, flutes, organ, piano, glockenspiel and tympani into their standard face-melting set-up."



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EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY - The Earth is not a Cold Dead Place - 2003
www.myspace.com/explosionsinthesky


Download

Classic Instrumental Post rock from the USA.
Formed in 1999. Third album.

Black metal selection .2

War.

URGEHAL - Goatcraft Torment - 2006
www.myspace.com/urgehal666


Download

This is satanic black metal hailing from Norway.
Formed in 1992. This one seems to be their fifth album.
My personal favourite.
Raw. Crushing. Malevolent.
An absolute must-have!

"Spewing forth heinous ungodly Black Metal for since 1992. Here we have a raging Satanic metal machine, well oiled and completely at ease with their iniquitous art. The buzzsaw guitars rip along at a frenzied pace, projecting a deathly pale image of ashen grimness that bleeds from the gnarled vocals and wretched nature of the production. Its all driven at you with a remorseless frozen guile, resolute in darkly morose and Nordic hauteur. The tracks follow a well carved path through the fast, slow formula, with some great melodic riffs littered across the 10 tracks, and clocking in at over 51 minutes, there’s a lot of fetid regurgitated Black Metal to demolish the senses."
www.norsksvartmetall.com



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CRAFT - Fuck the Universe - 2005
www.myspace.com/craftblackmetal


Download

Thanks to The Course of Darkness
(password: http://thecourseofdarkness.blogspot.com/)

A classic from this Swedish band formed in 1994.
They were first know as Nocta until 1998.
This one is their third album.
Raw, Heavy, Old-school Black Metal.
I first thought they were dead but they seem to be back and writing some new material. That's great news.
Get this one into your collection!

"Damn, this is some evil shit here. From the very first, to the very last, riff it's nothing but a pure joy of blasphemic chants. Chilling riffs, pounding drums, vicious vocals and hateful lyrics. The title should tell you the latter one. Every note is filled with such despise it's unbelievable, you can actually see the hatred crawl out of your speakers, and feel them infecting your mind. Bloody marvellous old school black metal, where it feels like this is the album all others are inspired by, but failing to live up to. It's just that great! The artwork, lyrics, music, vocals - It all works together in perfect chaotic harmony (harmony feels like the wrong word to use here, but you know what I mean). If you want your music chilling, raw, vicious and evil then this is for you. As far as old school goes it doesn't get any better than this. Pure and simple: a masterpiece! Craft is the razor in your wrists, the noose around your neck, the shotgun in your throat, a plague to be unleashed on mankind, a fucking A-bomb of pure hate."
www.mylastchapter.net



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CELESTE - Nihiliste(s) - 2008
www.myspace.com/unhiverdeplus


Download it for free from Denovali

2nd album from this great French guys formed in 2005.
This is not Black metal but I think it perfectly fits that selection.
Situate it somewhere between Hardcore, Doom and BM.
Makes me think of early Shora works at some moments.
Really agressive and harsh. Straight in your face.
Monolithic and Chaotic at the same time.
Highly recommended!

"In virtually every movie about zombies, monsters, or the apocalypse, at some point the surrounding environment is reduced to a complete wasteland. Buildings are laid to waste, the streets are ripped up, gnarled steel girders litter the streets, and black smoke chokes out any source of light. Those scenes are the visual equivalent of Celeste’s first full-length effort, Nihiliste(s). Ten tracks of unrelenting heaviness, Nihiliste(s) bludgeons the listener with wave after wave of pummeling guitar, unrelenting drumming, and vocal-chord shredding screams. Celeste may not be blazing new ground with Nihiliste(s), but the album establishes a strong foundation for them to build upon and I cannot wait to hear what they put out next."
www.absolutepunk.net

Video selection .7

N.A.S.A. - SPACIOUS THOUGHTS
Animation video-clip by Fluorescent Hill + for the band N.A.S.A.
www.fluorescenthill.com + www.myspace.com/nasa

Spacious Thoughts from Anti Records on Vimeo.

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CIVILISATION
Video-installation by Marco Brambilla
Created for the elevators of the Standard Hotel in New York
http://marcobrambilla.com

Civilization by Marco Brambilla from CRUSH on Vimeo.

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SHEPPARD FAIREY
Video by Felipe Lima
http://obeygiant.com + http://felipelima.com

Shepard Fairey from Arkitip, Inc. on Vimeo.

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WIZARD SMOKE
Skateboard video by Salazar
www.salazarfilm.com

Wizard Smoke from Salazar on Vimeo.

Hip-hop selection .2

THEMSELVES - Crowns Down - 2009
www.myspace.com/themselves


Download

Third album from this great abstract hip-hop American duo.
Published by the great dudes from Anticon.
A strange mix between electronics/pop and hip-hop.
Get it!

Themselves - Roman Is As Roman Does from anticon. on Vimeo.

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TELEPHONE JIM JESUS - A point too far to Astronaut - 2004

www.myspace.com/telephonejimjesuscom

Download

This is a one-man project published, again, by the amazing people from Anticon. I don't really know if hip-hop can be called instrumental when there's no voice... Anyway, I recommend it if you like electronics and instrumental hip-hop like Dosh, for example.

"This album is a neatly fitting collage of all sorts
old spoken word samples, nice clear hitting drums,
hollow spacey synths, and a bit of psychedelia"

http://jtlcub3d.blogspot.com

Blue In The Face from Thom Buttery PRYMEDIA on Vimeo.