2014

2013 was a pretty bad year for me and most people around me, so I'm happy it's finally over, and can only hope that the next year would be better. I also turned 27 y.o. a week ago; of course you can congratulate me with that too, if you want. As for this blog, I actually don't have much interest in continuing it, but I see I have some regular readers, so I'll try to post new reviews at least from time to time. Happy 2014 for everyone!

Képzelt Város - "Anatolij" [2013]

Artist: Képzelt Város

Title: Anatolij

Genre: Post-Rock, Post-Metal

Country: Hungary
Year: 2013

Track List:

1. Kepler
2. Orion
3. Vörös óriás
4. Albireo B
5. Epszilon
6. Libra
7. Nóva
8. Theodor
9. Ég veled, Anatolij!

Képzelt Város (which means "Imaginary Town", if my knowledge of Hungarian doesn't deceive me) is a band started in 2005 by 4 architecture students from Budapest (but expanded to 6 members since then). Maybe "Anatolij" isn't an extraordinary release, but it has everything I love in Hungarian rock: "cosmic" atmosphere and the dominant role of the keyboards (+ cello):

Uran Bator - "Butsalgah" [2013]

Artist: Uran Bator

Title: Butsalgah

Genre: EBM, Ethno-Industrial, Breakbeat

Country: Russia
Year: 2013

Track List:

1. Maadai Kara
2. Kargyraa
3. Khookhoo Namjil
4. Jelmeigen Sagal
5. Ooskus Uul
6. Valambay
7. Barbannadyr
8. Bool
9. Chokyr At

One more Asian-themed album, but this time it's not metal. Uran Bator is a new side project of IVAN[Ъ]MAN (also known for Стройбат), influenced by both industrial/EBM and Mongolian/Tuvan/Folk music. If I'm not mistaken, all the lyrics on "Butsalgah" are in Tuvan, and they tell a story set in the alternative universe where the ancient Mongol Empire is armed by nuclear weapons. The idea is very interesting, but "Butsalgah" isn't without its flaws: the cover art looks cheap, and I didn't particularly like the "industrial" component of Uran Bator's music. However, I still think it's one of the most original and innovative releases of 2013.

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Darkestrah - "Manas" [2013]

Artist: Darkestrah

Title: Manas

Genre: Black/Pagan Metal

Country: Germany/Kyrgyzstan
Year: 2013

Track List:

1. Манас-мститель
2. Память (Старик)
3. Победа
4. Кыргызстан
5. Манас-батыр

Darkestrah are probably the one and only well-known Kyrgyz metal band, and here's their most recent release, titled "Manas". Personally I prefer their early stuff which they recorded before relocation to Germany - because as of now, their music seems to be more influenced by bands like Drudkh, and therefore lost much of its "exoticism". All the lyrics on "Manas" are in Russian (unlike their earlier albums with lyrics in English). Anyway, if you're interested in Asian black/pagan metal, this album is worth checking out - although Darkestrah aren't as "unorthodox" as Tengger Cavalry, for example.

Cold Divide - "Weaponized" [2012]

Artist: Cold Divide

Title: Weaponized

Genre: Industrial Rock

Country: Australia
Year: 2012

Track List:

1. Weaponized
2. Citizen Replaced
3. Cold War Skies

From last.fm:

"Cold Divide combine genres to create an uncompromising, original sound. Apocalyptic, menacing and memorable.

From the beginning, Cold Divide have worked hard to ensure that they are a live act to be reckoned with, incorporating live synths, loops and glitched out mayhem from sources both hardware and software alongside heavy rock drums and guitars. This intense and continually evolving process of combining genres and sounds is a vital part of the bands identity, since the production and sound design of their recordings are as equally important as their live performances.

To date the band have supported international acts such as: Combichrist (Norway/USA), Grendel (Netherlands), Nachtmahr (Austria) and Lab4 (UK).

Cold divide have also remixed artists such as Frontline assembly (Canada) and Distaudio (Australia). They have also had the track “Plagueworthy” from their debut ep Grand manipulations used in the in-game soundtrack for the online multiplayer game “APB”, which was developed by the same team as grand theft auto and features other artists such as Pendulum.

Heavy slabs of guitar. Vocals that can soar, snarl and penetrate. Synths and bass that sound like the very fabric of space and time being ripped apart. Drums that make you want to dance but kick you in the chest. Cold Divide aspire to create their own sound. That unique combination that only they can make, so as soon as you hear it, you know. Cold Divide want to make sounds you’ve never heard before, but will want to hear again and again and again"

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Flash Terrorist - "Body Fusion Limit" [1997]

Artist: Flash Terrorist

Title: Body Fusion Limit

Genre: Industrial Death Metal

Country: Italy
Year: 1997

Track List:

1. Virtual Programmer
2. Body Fusion Limit
3. Blood For God
4. Scar
5. Shothead
6. Victim
7. Narcos
8. Life's To Stake
9. Extortion
10. Infected Molestor

Yesterday, Fear Factory had a live performance in my city (for the first time ever), but unfortunately I couldn't go. Maybe my list of "seen live" bands isn't empty, but it mostly consists of local bands; moreover, I had to go to Moscow to see Ayria and L'ame Immortelle live. So it was a big pity to miss FF coming here, even though I don't like their newer albums that much.

Why do I write all this? Here's a very obscure and underrated band whose one and only full-length, "Body Fusion Limit", sounds very simular to the FF's mid-90s releases (something in between of "Demanufacture" and "Soul of a New Machine"). Flash Terrorist were formed in Italy in 1991 under the name "Alice In Hell" (inspired by Annihilator's debut album?). There's not much futher information about them, except they've released only one album and then disappeared - even though they had a lot of potential and the right understanding of how industrial death metal should sound...

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Gorduw - "Dialectics Tar Diokihtis" [2001]

Artist: Gorduw

Title: (Vosmaya Chastt Istorii Feitnathorotha) Dialectics Tar Diokihtis

Label: Folvork Prods.

Genre: Industrial / Black Ambient / Noise / Power Electronics

Country: Russia

Release date: 2001

Track List:

1. …Torna Endorhii
2. Stevaden Torna Edaktee Wchern Aiyansar
3. Sha-maan Codes Tar Gultu Hadge 2
4. Tu 'aavard Tar Armo-piercing Teenkiiav
5. Paranormal Kamla Gorduw
6. Enddor
7. Harg Stinnikkyt Tar Rationalism
8. Pantu Merg Tiginei Vurduhai
9. Malar Ree Eco-tii Torna Kaytan…
10. Wahhou, Kumkelga Sti Tar Meeyo
11. Kumkelga Umi Nagg-tii Liznin Ertoku

All Music & Lyrics By dr.Feitnathoroth.
Recorded & Mixed At Bledniy Drozd Studio In October - December 2000.
Produced By dr.Feitnathoroth.
Alhora: Some Vocal Samples.
Cover & All Art By dr.Feitnathoroth/Diversion Industry.
(P)&(C)2001 Folvork’prod. Kfeytzez 041 - 042.

Maybe this album was posted elsewhere before, but a quick search in google yields only dead links, so I'll post the only mp3 rip of this album I have (128kbps only) which I obtained in 2006 (if I remember correctly). Out of all Gorduw albums I've heard so far it's definitely my favourite one. It starts with a lengthy harsh noise intro (…Torna Endorhii) and continues with repetitive electronic (industrial/dub/ambient) soundspaces. I'm not saying "repetitive" as if it's something bad, because it only helps Gorduw's music to create a very dark and hypnotic atmosphere. "Dialectics Tar Diokihtis" is a quite lengthy release, but personally I can easily sit down through its while playing time (while I can't say the same about many dark ambient albums, even very renowned ones...)

The album is entirely instrumental, but there's a lot of voice samples which are mostly unintelligible (except for "4... 3... 2... 1..." samples of female voice, probably by Alhora). According to the release notes, all the music was wriiten by dr. Feitnathoroth during his shamanic practices which involved being intoxicated on Amanita Muscaria ("Gultu" in Folvork language) and other hallucinogenic mushrooms. Just like in case with all the other Gorduw releases, all the track names are in made-up "Folvork" language.

The whole Folvork Prods. label ceased its existence circa ~2006 (according to the rumours - due to the imprisonment of dr. Feitnathoroth), but since 2011, other undersround labels started to release new albums of Gorduw. I haven't heard any of them yet, but something tells me I shouldn't expect much from them. As for "Dialectics Tar Diokihtis", it's an excellent album in my opinion, despite its simplicity - that's an example of a really dark and impressive industrial/electronic album with raw DIY production. If only the creator of music wasn't trying to be so badly kvlt (which, unfortunately, is the case not only with Gorduw, but with a lot of black metal and PE projects)...

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Winter Soul - "Reactor" [2007]

Artist: Winter Soul

Title: Reactor

Genre: Dark Electro

Country: South Africa
Year: 2007

Track List:

1. Reactor
2. Black Widow
3. Stargazer
4. Legacy Of Violence
5. KGB
6. Ritual Abuse
7. Ghosts Of Time
8. Battery
9. The Bokor

The industrial scene in South Africa is unsurprisingly small, but it does exist, and Winter Soul are probably its best representatives. "Reactor" is just a decent dark electro album, nothing groundbreaking here, but it's worth attention as a very good release from a region that's not rich in industrial music.

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Oblivion Machine - "Starfield" [2012]

Artist: Oblivion Machine

Title: Starfield

Genre: Industrial Death Metal

Country: Russia
Year: 2012

Track List:

1. Starfield
2. Тёмные времена
3. Призраки
4. Suite for Alice
5. Луна в Cкорпионе (acoustic)
6. Surfacing (rmx)

The newest album from this relatively well-known (in the underground circles, of course) Russian industrial metal band. Of course "it isn't Fear Factory" (c), and the release in general is so-so by the world standards, but for our local scene it isn't bad at all, and if you're into futuristic metal and have nothing against female vocals in such kind of music, you'll probably like "Starfield". While it's mostly melodic death/industrial metal, there's also a lot of acoustic parts (especially in the second half of the album), and the closing track is entirely electronic. The cover art is beautiful, but I think it'd be for suitable for a progressive metal or a purely melodic death metal album.

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Red Harvest - "There's Beauty In The Purity Of Sadness" [1994]

Artist: Red Harvest

Title: There's Beauty In The Purity Of Sadness

Genre: Industrial Metal / Gothic Rock

Country: Norway
Year: 1994

Track List:

1. Wounds
2. Naked
3. Resist
4. Mindblazt
5. Mastodome
6. Shivers
7. [-]
8. Mother Of All
9. α.β.γ.l.e.a.k
10. Sadness
11. The Art Of Radiation

If you're reading my blog, then there are good chances that you know about this band (one of the best in industrial metal, in my opinion), and have listened to at least some of their albums from the 2000's. However, this album (2nd full-length one in their discography) is significantly different from all their other releases. It's nowhere near as heavy as their later works, it's rather a mix of depressive rock and Ministry-like early industrial metal. The atmosphere is great, a perfect combination of industrial/dystopian/post-apocalyptic aesthetics and the melancholy of gothic/depressive rock. The two closing tracks are especially remarkable.

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