Category: Writings

ARTICLE: Tesco 25th Anniversary Festival Live Action Report — Day I

Established in 1987 by Wilhelm Herich and Doc M. Riot of Genocide Organ, Tesco Organisation has become synonymous with Post-Industrial music and an embodiment of Industrial culture. While the over 85 releases throughout the years vary in form and presentation, from the brutal German Industrial/Power Electronics of Genocide Organ, to the hypnotic ambience of Galerie Schallschutz, and the pagan ritual sounds of Apoptose, the one common element is a commitment to integrity and the spirit of Industrial. Based out of Mannheim, Germany,  Tesco Organisation expanded label operations with their archival Functional division (dedicated to reissuing out of print classics), an international Tesco Distribution network, and an American division in Tesco USA/North American Tesco Organisation (NATO, of which I was accompanied by for this event).

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REVIEW: Brighter Death Now – Very Little Fun

What is it about self-destruction that draws a crowd? While standing in the audience at a 2011 Brighter Death Now concert in Germany, I picked up a sense of schadenfreude in the air. On stage was Roger Karmanik, obviously in an intoxicated state, laughing to himself while producing his signature haunting drones and harsh electronics. For a moment I caught his eye. There was something in his stare that unnerved me. I’ve seen this look before. Over the years I’ve worked with a number of individuals who have struggled through depression, through self-destruction. Some survived, others did not. Here was a man on the brink. Who else in the crowd could recognize it? Some are cheering him on, others nod sullenly in accordance.

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REVIEW: Treha Sektori – Endessiah + Sorieh

Endessiah comes three years after Treha Sektori was unveiled through its debut full-length Sorieh – a mind-blowing sound experiment, which brought me on the verge of schizophrenia with its fragmented, chaotic and eclectic approach to sound. The second conceptual entity which Dehn Sora (also in Sembler Deah, Church of Ra) created is far more accomplished, thorough and accessible. Endessiah means letting go of everything, conceptually the record represents a mindset in a decline of the physical world and this is exactly how it sounds. The symbiosis between the ideas and their realization music-wise is clear and logical, which makes the record far easier to swallow than Sorieh, but sufficiently deep, if let to completely unfold in your mind.

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ARTICLE: October Obituaries: Anton Szandor LaVey

The life of Anton LaVey was fantasy made real. Lions roar as a whip cracks against the sawdust covered ground, rings of fire flicker before the circus crowd. Barkers exhibit freakish curiosities to the wide-eyed sheep, while god-fearing men sneak under the tent flaps hosting a topless revue. Silhouettes meet in fog covered streets, operating on the fringes of society, playing all sides of the game. Bulbs flash, illuminating the cruel darkness of man’s true nature, children splattered by cowardly hit and run drivers, brothers murdered by brothers, bloated corpses fished out of the San Francisco Bay. Black-clad figures stand before a nude female altar, a massive black Sigil of Baphomet hangs in front of them. A hooded devil opens his cloak, enveloping his cohorts in a sinister shadow. Shouts of “Hail Satan” and “Shemhamforash” echo in the ritual chamber between hypnotic chanting. “So it is done!” A den is populated with handcrafted artificial human companions, imperfect androids which appear to have seen more of life than the full-blooded drones who walk the streets by day.

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REVIEW: Dissecting Table – Industrial Document 1988/91

The five years from 1987 to 1992 was a profoundly pivotal period in time for Japanese Industrial/Noise music. Merzbow would be breaking through to international markets, performing in the USSR and United States, and then switching from analog to digital production. Kazuyuki Kishino (KK.Null) would start introducing Noise to prog-rock and hardcore audiences via Zeni Geva, and later tour with Sonic Youth. Fumio Kosakai began releasing records as part of Incapacitants in ’89 and form C.C.C.C. with bondage pornstar Mayuko Hino. Masonna was smashing his first pieces of gear on stage. And in the midst of it all, from the frenetic distorted frequencies to the hardcore punk rock guitars riffs of the aforementioned artists, Dissecting Table was the alchemical transmutation of the full range of what was going on in that time period. Consisting of two recorded live performances, this double disc relic titled “Industrial Document 1988/91” from Steinklang Industries documents a seminal moment in Ichiro Tsuji’s prolific nihilistic project and the sub-genre of Death Industrial.

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REVIEW: Son of Eris – Kallisti

A lot can change in five years. Bands and projects come and go, labels open and shut down. That’s about the amount of time I start to question the status of a project if there not a hint of activity. So after such a hiatus, German Discordian Post-Industrial project Son of Eris returned with their sophomore album, defying doubt and again strumming the chords of Chaos. The label publishing this release is Rage in Eden Records, who themselves released Son of Eris’ debut under the record label’s prior moniker, War Office Propaganda, back in 2005. Said debut broke away from popular Northern European mythologies and themes, and would blend Neofolk guitar work with layers of abstract soundscapes, much of which carried through on Kallisti.

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REVIEW: Nocturne – Working Ecstasy

How much money is your time worth? How much of your own humanity are you willing to sacrifice at the altar of commerce and urban living? At what point do you become one of the drones, falling into the open mouth of Moloch? These seem to be the questions that come to mind when listening to “Working Ecstasy”, the latest double CD release from French Industrial artist Nocturne. For over 15 years front-man Saphi has been honing his craft as a purveyor of French Industrial culture, and with “Working Ecstasy” he has achieved his finest work yet.

The album is split into two titles, “Working” and “Ecstasy”, which articulate what I believe to be the theme of the album. That is, the overwhelming sense of demoralization as a result of living in a post-Industrial society. For some, Stockholm Syndrome takes place as a means of survival and one embraces their lot, after all… arbeit macht frei.

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INTERVIEW: Heathen Harvest Interview with Stormfågel

he years 2005 and 2006 will always stand out as one of the highlights in the long history of Cold Meat Industry. We saw new music from Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio, Desiderii Marginis, Atrium Carceri, Brighter Death Now, Sephiroth, Mz.412, raison d’être, the return of IRM, and live performances across the world. They also seemed to have had an increased interest in Neofolk, introducing bands such as Medusa’s Spell, Rome, and Stormfågel. At first I was a little hesitant, if I recall correctly there was a heightened interest in Neofolk at the time, and a sort of power vacuum as well. It would be about 4 years before we would see a new Death in June album, 7 years for a new Blood Axis, and a number of new bands coming out, some looking to make their mark, others retreading the same ground. With Stormfågel, I initially wondered how they would define themselves, but it didn’t take long before I picked up on the subtle, hidden references to Existential films and literature, and took them to be far more intellectual than some of the other new bands coming out.

Over time I felt some internal conflicts within myself, in that I’ve felt rooted in traditional ideals, but fully aware of my own functions and contributions to a modern world. After a closer examination, I was surprised to see Stormfågel also lamenting on these conflicts and with that I was even more excited for their new release and to interview front-man Andreas Neidhardt for Heathen Harvest. The following conversation was had over an extended period of time in early 2012 over e-mail, during which time Andreas was finalizing the new album “Dödsvals”, and towards the end of the thread actually saw its release.

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REVIEW: Terra Sancta – Sunken | Buried | Forgotten

As I put on the latest Terra Sancta release I wonder, is it just me or has there been a growing interest in Dark Ambient over the past couple years? There appears to be a swell in sweeping home produced waves of synths, delayed strings, and references to the cosmos. I’m not complaining, but if one has discriminating taste it’s natural to put a critical eye to the growing number of pedantic facsimiles.

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REVIEW: Bryin Dall – Deconstructing Hank

Country music was a part of Bryin Dall’s upbringing, though not by choice. In time, Bryin Dall set his own course, but it’s clear that the desolate persona of Hank Williams resonated with Dall throughout the years. From the Darkwave sounds of Loretta’s Doll to the terrifying 4th Sign of the Apocalypse, and then partnering with Derek Rush in the “dambient” defining A Murder of Angels and the genre-bending Dream into Dust, the uninitiated may have expected these two to have run out of ways of expressing the dark current which has carried them.

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