evil - disco - scip - pohs - tcatnoc

AQUARIUSRECORDS :We'd been hearing about this lp for a while, a very unlikely gathering of four black metal or tangentially black metal outfits, including two of our favorites, alchemical post rockers Aluk Todolo, and spaced out psychedelic black metal outronauts Nightbringer, along with Nihil Nocturne and Saturnalia Temple. And while all four bands explore dramatically different sonic territories, the disparate sounds and philosophies seem to merge into one mysterious and abstract whole.
Saturnalia Temple start things off in a decidedly UN black metal fashion, thick lugubrious riffs, spacey and druggy and woozy and sprawling, laced with soft psychedelic leads, Very early Earth sounding, until the riffs begin to gather momentum and take shape, and then suddenly it sounds like Kyuss at 16 rpm, some sort of sun baked desert rock, slooowed waaaaaay doooooown, lysergic and hazy, a sort of blackened and metalized slow blues, that just crawls and creeps until the drums finally kick in, and then it's some stoner doom, but with the groove dialed way down, a trancelike churn, peppered with bits of minor key melody and deep chanted monklike vocals.
Nightbringer step up, and explode in frenzy of whirling spaced out blackness, soaring frantic riffs, blasting black beats, the sound more astral and celestial than grim and frosty, the track constantly shifting, from lightning speed blast to warped midtempo moodiness, wild leads tangled up everywhere, haunting chanted vox, totally majestic and epic, even at its doomiest, the sound transcends, the guitars stratospheric, the arrangements lush and sprawling, a total heart of the black sun blast of galactic black bliss.
Nihil Nocturne offer up yet another black facet, theirs a midtempo blackness, digey and Burzumy, with just a little groove, giving their track a very Khold like vibe, a sort of modern Moonfog band feel, but with a surprising twist, the track shifting abruptly, into something much more abstract and un-metal, with glimmering clean guitars, electronic rhythms, the stereo super panned, the sounds swooping from ear to ear, speaker to speaker, major key melodies, until a super creepy processed voice begins to intone ominously, and the track begins again, a black metal Godspeed slow build epic, finally finishing off with a frenzied chaotic climax.
And finally the mighty Aluk Todolo, who do their own thing, and manage to evoke as much mood and mystery as any of the other bands, even working with a WAY more stripped down and minimal sound, that sort of post noise dark rock kraut drone they seem to have conjured in some strange ritual, and the sounds is indeed ritualistic, but also utterly hypnotic, and mesmerizing, all motorik rhythms, simple serpentine basslines, clouds of keening feedback, and abstract guitar crunch, swirls of effects, drifting fragmented melodies, but the drums driving everything, holding it all together, loose and tight at the same time, locked in, but drifting occasionally. Can, Faust, This Heat, German Oak, not black metal, not even remotely, maybe it's the vibe, or the mood, or the band pedigree, but it hardly matters, this is blackened and heavy totally enthralling dark and mysterious minimal hypno rock and it RULES.
Gorgeous packaging, super striking artwork and a massive 12 page 12" x 12" booklet, and yeah, SUPER LIMITED.

EMOTIONALLY VOIDED : Massive four way conceptual split conceived by the great minds at the Ajna Offensive who once again put together an extremely thoughtful and beautifully constructed compilation embracing both the outer reaches of esoteric knowledge and outsider musicks. Based on a complicated theory of magick known since ancient times but recently put forth by occultist Eliphas Levi, and later, through him, Aleister Crowley this split seeks to attain a fertile state of mind through the efforts of its four contributors, seemingly for the purpose of ritual or trance. From Eliphas Levi directly: “To attain the SANCTUM REGNUM, in other words, the knowledge and power of the Magi, there are four indispensable conditions--an intelligence illuminated by study, an intrepidity which nothing can check, a will which cannot be broken, and a prudence which nothing can corrupt and nothing intoxicate. TO KNOW, TO DARE, TO WILL, TO KEEP SILENCE--such are the four words of the Magus, inscribed upon the four symbolical forms of the sphinx.” Therein lies the purpose behind this assemblage. Each of the four acts represents an aspect of the Powers and transforms the ideas behind them into some sort of auditory proclamation. Saturnalia Temple tackles the study, Nightbringer the intrepidity, Nihil Nocturne the will and Aluk Todolo the incorruptible prudence. It's a lofty concept, obviously, but so well conceived and executed by all involved that the pretensions are easily forgiven in light of the musical statement being made. Saturnalia Temple opens things up with "To Know," a slow burning glacial piece of psyched out doom hedonism that grows larger and larger as each minute passes. Here the idea of study and contemplation is transformed into hypno-repetitive song structure, a piece built on one riff that mutates slightly throughout the song's run but ultimately remains focused and unchanged. Saturnalia Temple keep things drugged out and loping as if in tribute to Crowley himself but never forsake the necessary heaviness to pound the idea into the subconscious. "To Know" is a crushing, sleepy head-nodder birthed from the same ground as Pharaoh Overlord and Neu, a total abandonment of self into groove and tone. Nightbringer releases the next assault, "To Will," a forceful and high-strung illustration of creation magick via fierce Mayhem-esque black metal fury and occultick distance. Already conceptually vague and intentionally obscure, Nightbringer are one of few black metal acts able to compete with the Norwegian masters musically, tapping into the same oblique melodies and blinding ferocity that distinguished so much of the initial wave. "To Will" is a crushing piece equally composed of conceptual and musical heft, replete with spoken/whispered enigmas and blinding tremelo-picked guitar lines that scream to an open sky. The sheer force Nightbringer play with comprise an apt demonstration of human willpower, easily showcasing the inner drive necessary to bring elemental magicks into being. Nihil Nocturne also focus on willpower with their piece, "To Dare." For me this is the most surprising song here since for years i've written Nihil Nocturne off as an adequate but wholly overrated black metal act. Blessed with the prestige of being on the mighty End All Life label, Nihil Nocturne have turned out two predictable albums of black metal virtuosity, showing a definite knowledge and commitment to the ideology but very little originality, with many of their songs being watered down rehashes of past Scandinavian glories (and not in any sort of way that speaks of influence or growth-just simple regurgitation.) So to see them turn in a worthy track to accompany the rest is a feat in and of itself, easily speaking to magick and will. Here their interpretation of black metal takes the form of a languid and stretched approximation of songcraft, given over more to Burzum-styled transcendence than Darkthrone's puerile aggression. Nihil Nocturne here grasps for something far beyond in the cosmos, desperately attempting to pluck stars from the night and render them into some more powerful, insidious form. For the most part they succeed, brilliantly, giving the split one of their most fully realized (and best) compositions to date. Aluk Todolo closes things out with their epic kraut-rocking "To Keep Silent," a hulking waste of song that obsesses over one bassline and shits guitar mess all over the steady, skittering drums. If it sounds sexual it is, as buried deep in all modern magick there exists a fixation on the energies produced during copulation. Here Aluk Todolo turns those pressures and tensions into a boiling stew of kinetic energy, the nearly open portal to another view that will distort the world we know know and turn it into some hazier sort of sight, bent on illusion and summons both. As in all their previous work Aluk Todolo completely master the idea of the repeat, clutching the listener close to the chest and lifting them up higher and higher into a breathless realm of both contemplation and understanding. All of it adds up to some outstanding music, four interpretations of essentially the same idea, filtered through two distinct genre perceptions. Ajna has done something wonderful here; they've taken an extremely esoteric subject and made it real through music. It's the ultimate act of artistic illustration. Totally recommended. Cory.

UTVÆR! : My third favorite split of this year (first would be Lose / Lose / Lose, and second Dirtpill / Заводь / Zuboroth), this 4-way split delivers the best of occult-influenced bands I've heard so far. Saturnalia Temple's song (To Know) manages to sound even dirtier and obscure than their previous albums (specially UR), but enough to be a perfect mood-setter for this interesting release. Admittedly I'm not a fan of what they do, but at least I can say it might be of interest to those into the occult vibe of some recent doom metal bands (Moss and Dark Buddha Rising come to mind, for instance). Next we have Nightbringer (To Will), band already well-known in the orthodox black metal scene, with a song that I wouldn't really consider their best of their career, but at least goes along nicely with the concept. It does drag a bit, but this is normal with Nightbringer.
Next song would be To Dare by Nihil Nocturne, a german black metal band with a long career, with this song being one of the main highlights of this split. The prize goes, however, to Aluk Todolo with To Keep Silent, one of their longest songs, in which the mood set by Saturnalia Temple earlier in the album is improved by the syncopathed drumming and the heavy feedback that characterizes this band. It sounds as if it was recorded live, seeing as the production is not as good compared to their previous albums, although it doesn't affect at all their quality. Top quality release, as it's usual with Ajna Offensive.

slowend.com
C'est un disque manifestement concept, mais, euh, hein, bon, vous m'avez compris. L'alchimie, si vous voulez tout savoir. Ou un truc comme ça. Wikipedia, le sphinx, on vous la fait pas à l'envers, à vous.
C'est surtout le disque pour ceux qui se demandent pourquoi Saturnalia Temple. Si ma vieille mémoire ne me faut pas, je dois la présence en mes augustes étagères d'Aion Drakon, à une réécoute dont l'indulgence était confortablement rembourrée par les bourrelets d'aise qui me sont poussé à la découverte de "To Know". Simpliste, poussiéreux, adipeux, libidineux, stagnant, le riff en est parfait de paresse reptilienne narquoise, et la voix à l'avenant se contente admirablement de la facilité que peuvent représenter le chant de gorge et les partitions d'incantations inintelligibles, au croassement noyé dans le graillon cannabinique. Aussi con et sur-efficace qu'un Electric Wizard en sumérien, ou qu'une bière chaude pour s'occuper entre deux prises de figuration sur un peplum tourné en Calabre avec les volontaires du cru.
Leur meilleur morceau, très simplement.
Accessoirement, vous trouverez également ici un tout à fait succulent morceau d'Aluk Todolo, pendant lequel ce connard d'Hadjioannou te démontre avec sa coutumière désinvolture à la Patrick Dewaere qu'une batterie peut te fiche une nausée carabinée et une insoutenable jouissance, en même temps bien entendu, tandis que le bassiste fait palpiter le morceau d'un muscle dub plus sournois qu'on pourrait croire comme ça bêtement, tout aussi nauséeux du reste, et que l'autre foutu gratteux achève, en seconde partie, de coller à "To Keep Silent" de furieux airs de sérénade de l'hémoglobine pour conclusion d'album de Sigillum S. Rien que ça.
Alors après ça, ou plus exactement entre ça, qu'il y ait deux morceaux de beumeu importe assez légèrement, tout comme la captation réelle et physique opérée par le susdit concept. L'un deux se laisse très bien écouter, car Nightbringer est un fort plaisant groupe avec son goût affirmé pour les descentes de rideau tout schuss et tous globules rouges dehors, et la délicieuse plainte des aigus de ses guitares folles de la trille (ceci n'est pas une contrepèterie). L'autre se laisse très bien oublier et sans rancune, malgré les mérites de sa rutilance à l'italienne école Urna, ils sont pourtant teutons, et ses habillages école dark-wave, ils sont teutons après tout. Après ce brusque sursaut de passion panique et d'emphase de la révélation, nous dirons donc que le myste retourne avec une reptance désormais éclairée à la divine poussière. On remercie le Sphinx bien obligeamment.
-gulo gulo,