Megaptera – Disease

Megaptera – Disease CD Ur-Muzik 2018

Megaptera’s album Disease is a quintessential example of mid-1990s Swedish death industrial and exemplifies a sound which has been copied over the years, but certainly not bettered. To quickly cover its history, Disease was first issued on CD in 1996 on Art Konkret and has been out of print and unavailable for many years until this updated short run pressing. Personally speaking, I obtained the original version of Disease directly from sole project member Peter Nyström as it was already sold out everywhere (such were the days of CD pressings selling out quickly), and incidentally that contact lead to my interview with Peter in the very first issue of Spectrum Magazine issued in 1998. But I digress…

Sonically speaking, the dank and oppressive soundscapes of Disease are built around sweeping drones, atonal metallic pounding beat, sub orchestral synth pads and further augmented with well-placed movie dialogue samples. This approach is perfectly demonstrated on opening track The Passage To Your Evil Dreams. After this rather storming opening track the following two tracks Disoriented and Haunted By Demons are perhaps slightly more abstracted and windswept versions of the opener, being more ominous and slow stalking in tone, where rusted factory conveyor belts creak and buckle and unidentified morbid pulsing textures provide slight rhythmic focus. The album is rounded out by The Squire Goes Insane, which in its original version was 28 minutes (and split into four parts), but has been further expanded here with the inclusion of a newly recorded fifth part, bringing the total run time to nearly 36 minutes. With such an extended run time, the track slowly unfurls and is an excellent example of slow building tension across the bulk of the first half (assuming this to be Part 1: Warm And Relaxed). The mood takes a decided step-up around the 16-minute mark with a heavy catatonic beat and atonal horror strings (assuming this to be Part 2: Evil Thoughts Are Growing), while the later parts are both minimalist and restrained soundscapes. As for the new appended Part 5: (Resurrected As The) Walking Death, it blends in perfectly with the balance of the album by featuring loose conveyor belt loops, a grinding bass thrum, and distant windswept atmospheres.

In essence Disease embodies the sound of the grit and decay of an abandoned industrial complex mixed with a solid dose of creeping horror aesthetic, which when combined is immediately recognisable as Megaptera. Although the project would go on to outdo themselves on next album The Curse of the Scarecrow (issued in 1998), Disease is still a landmark release and it is great to have a newly remastered sound, with expanded content and newly designed asylum-themed artwork. According to the cover this release is ‘unlimited’ (a reference to the undead perhaps?) to 300 copies so is not likely to stick around too long.

Announcement: cover of Noise Receptor Journal No.6 released

Substantial work on Noise Receptor Journal has been happening behind the scenes throughout 2018. While the final elements are being completed, the cover of Issue No.6 can now be publically released, featuring collage artwork by Dominick Fernow.

As for content, the new issue will include:

• Interviews with: Death In June (exclusive), Prurient/Hospital Productions, Kevlar & Detriment Effect
• Detailed article on Genocide Organ’s :CIVILIZATION:, with pages of archival images of the group
• Detailed report and photos of the Tesco Organisation & Cold Meat Industry 30th Anniversary festivals
• 70+ detailed review
• Review section collage artwork by Dominick Fernow

The magazine is currently targeted to be released in late November/ early December, with pre-orders likely to be announced in the coming week.

Look out for further updated soon.

Inflated Climax – Inflated Climax

Inflated Climax – Inflated Climax MC Trapdoor Tapes 2018

Inflated Climax are a new anonymous project on Trapdoor Tapes where their self-titled tape delivers crude and lo-fi industrial noise/death industrial sounds.

This self-titled tape contains a single lengthy untitled instrumental track, which repeats on both sides. The composition has then obviously been spliced together from a series of recording sessions as the cover indicates this was recorded between 2015-2017. Overall the mood is dank and morose which is achieved through atonal, slow throbbing rhythms which are mixed with thick bass driven distortion. In one section, the slow throbbing beat rolls catatonically onwards, akin a container train lurching forwards to the end destination of an unidentified death-camp, while other segments feature stasis inducing minimal looped rhythms, or looser tonal modulations infused with soot and ash. In some way this reminds of some of the long form experimentation of Atrax Morgue, but where that project’s free form sound was often clinical and mid to higher pitch, here the sound is a deep rumbling lo-fi death industrial approach in a restrictive and suffocating way, which certainly matches the visual cues of the cover.

Obscure, crude and understated in equal measures, packaging comes in a plastic pocket with two double sided photocopy sheets with rubber fetish imagery.

Announcement: Call for advertising space in Noise Receptor Journal Issue no.6

Announcement: Call for advertising space in Noise Receptor Journal Issue no.6

I am now taking bookings for advertising space in Issue No.6 of Noise Receptor Journal.

Planning and preparation for Issue no.6 is well underway and is currently scheduled to be released in early December, 2018.

 

If you would potentially like to book advertising space, contact me at: noisereceptor@hotmail.com with a message of interest and I can provide further details price and technical specifications. Should you have any other questions, get in touch.

 

Content of the issue to be announced in due course.

School For Cadavers – Re Education

School For Cadavers – Re Education MC Trapdoor Tapes 2018

School For Cadavers is a new project featuring Jon Evans and Julian Percy, who are both members of Last Dominion Lost. In noting that context, there are clearly some strong parallels which can be drawn between the sound of these two project. Yet with reference to School For Cadavers, the tribal industrial elements of Last Dominion Lost has been toned down for a more streamlined industrial noise approach, which on a few occasion furrows within a dank death industrial style.

The tape features seven tracks in all and while three of those are denoted as being live recordings, this is not immediately evident given the consistency in recorded sound spanning all tracks. Sonar opens the tape with a screeching distortion, indecipherable yelled vocals and underpinned but an understated rhythmic loops, while the following track Spirit Of The Air contains a quite distinctly wonky and disorienting tone. Dead Time is a clear standout piece, based around cyclic throbbing mid paced layered loops and other sweeping tones which build in intensity, while other random slashes and cuts of churning sounds continual interject and gradually take over. Side B brings the absolute standout track Demise Of Logic, which is a monolithic pounding ritual death industrial track, completely with wailing air raid sirens, shuddering synth tones and garbled evocations. As for the final track Last Look blends a suspenseful horror soundtrack styled mood and coupled with a central slow pounding death industrial beat, while another screeched distortion layer ratchets up the tension. Great stuff.

Like the very much underrated and under appreciated Last Dominion Lost, School For Cadavers deliver expertly executed high calibre material, and should not be ignored or overlooked.

Grim – Primary Pulse

Grim – Primary Pulse MC Trapdoor Tapes 2018

The long standing and cult Japanese project Grim returns with a new five track recording (from 2017), issued via Trapdoor Tapes. Contextually speaking Grim has always had a left of centre approach to their power electronics/industrial noise material, with the often-weird juxtaposing elements thrown in for good measure, which is certainly continued and exemplified on Primary Pulse.

Hermit opens the tape with loose windswept noise modulations blended with manipulated voices, before Volcano Flower kicks in, framed around a series of burrowing pulsing tones which coagulate into a driving rhythmic structure coupled with distorted agonised vocals, which is a clear standout track and very much in a distinctive Grim style. The third track for Side A is Assassin’s Room, which is categorised by a wonky and off-kilter looped rhythm, while the vocals are of a garbled spoken type, prior to a classical music organ motif and stoic industrial pulse features in the final moments. Side B features another standout piece of Grim weirdness, with Melting Man featuring a strong throbbing element, central sub-orchestral melody and wailing chants of sole project member Jan Konagaya, with the atmosphere becoming progressively more unhinged as it progresses. G.T.R. concludes the tape with a blend of elements including an Asiatic toned loop, rolling industrial drums, sweeping abstracted guitar, squalling noise etc., yet never succumbs to sounding like an industrial band.

Although not overly long, Primary Pulse is an absolutely great underground industrial tape and again exemplifies a sound wholly unique to GRIM. Trademark blown out photocopied artwork courtesy of Trapdoor Tapes rounds out the perfectly suited lofi presentation.

Announcement: Spectrum Compendium book cover released!!

I am extremely proud to reveal the finalised cover of the Spectrum Compendium book!

After a couple of design options, in the end it was decide to go with a cover design both keeps and builds upon the feel and aesthetic of the original Spectrum Magazines, which to my mind has come out as a very strong and striking visual.

The book layout is still being worked on by the publisher, but evidently I will have a copy to proof and approve this month (October, 2018).

More details on publication date will be announced later when known but getting very close now!!!