[2010] Sailors With Wax Wings - Sailors With Wax Wings

What in my opinion was the best collaboration project back in 2010, Sailors With Wax Wings debut is one of the most interesting works I've listened so far in their style. Conformed by Ted Parsons (Swans, Jesu), Hildur Guðnadóttir, James Blackshaw (Brethen of The Free Spirit), Colin Marston (bassist of Gorguts, Dysrhythmia and Behold... The Arctopus), Aidan Baker (Nadja), Simon Scott (Slowdive), Prurient and the folks from Pyramids, this album shouldn't be considered as a mix of all the aforementioned bands, but a completely new sound that ranges from shoegaze, modern classical, drone music, neofolk at some parts, and post-rock ethos. Heavily layered and complex, there's not a single moment in this album that doesn't grab your attention with its melodic trance. Bearing a vague resemblance to the collab Pyramids + Nadja, this album explores that same dense atmosphere and gives it a larger range, allowing the listener to discover new parts of the whole at every new listen.

Download it here: [V0]


Buy it directly from Angel Oven Records here.

[2010] Ultralyd - Inertiadrome

Latest (and among the best) release of Ultralyd, this time they went for a catchier take on their style, and while shorter than their previous albums, it makes for a great album. One of my favorites back in 2010, Inertiadrome has a cheerful tone, with a few hints of krautrock repetitiveness here and there, and definitely a perfect starter for these looking to get into this band.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from Rune Grammofon here.

[2010] Egida Aurea - La Mia Piccola Guerra

Italian urban tales, manifested through powerful folk songs with neofolk undertones. This is Egida Aurea's first LP, follow-up of their first release, Storia Di Una Rondine EP. Quickly becoming one of my big favorite albums of this year, the songs on this album have a traditional italian vibe spiced up with heavy synth usage and mournful female vocals, whose softer side is often contrasted with a heavy dose of percussion and guitar-driven melodies, without losing a single bit of italian folk.

Download it here: [V2]


Buy it directly from HR!SPQR here.

[2010] The High Confessions - Turning Lead Into Gold With The High Confessions

Chris Connelly (Ministry), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Jeremy Lemos (White/Light) and Sandford Parker (Minsk) join forces together for this new experimental/post-punk project. Earlier in the year we had Shelley collaborating in Hallogallo 2010 which was a Michael Rother, sort of Neu! revival project; this time he combines his past experiences along with Connelly's to create an album that would fit nicely within the same scene that gave birth to bands like The Pop Group, Swell Maps, Pere Ubu and others. Trance-inducing melodies, overall quality music released under the same label that would see the light of Godflesh, Relapse Records.

Download it here: [V2][V0] Removed per request


Buy it directly from Relapse Records here.

[2010] Urfaust - Der Freiwillige Bettler

The perfect follow-up from Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist and with hints of Einslieder and the split with Joyless, Urfaust delivers after 5 years without releasing a full length. The duo conformed by IX (vocals, guitar) and VRDRBR (drums) proved that they didn't waste their time. Der Freiwillige Bettler (The Voluntary Beggar in german) is an excellent album, which makes me miss a bit of the orchestral sections in Verräterischer..., but it has some of the melodic side of Einslieder which made that EP so worthy of several listens.
Big favorite of the album: Der Mensch, die kleine Narrenwelt.

Download it here: [320]


Buy it directly from Ván Records here.

[2010] The Human Quena Orchestra - A Natural History of Failure

Featuring a series of guest musicians for the first time in the career of The Human Quena Orchestra, this album takes the unsettling vibe of the band to a live setting, making it seem louder and weirder than it usually is. Audio nihilism, this is for those who want to hear a band deconstructing itself in the form of sparse, heavy compositions painting nothing but desolated landscapes. Ryan Unks (Creation Is Crucifixion, Fate of Icarus) is the main musician behind this.


Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from Utech Records here.

[2010] Saturnalia Temple/Nightbringer/Nihil Nocturne/Aluk Todolo - On The Powers of The Sphinx

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.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from The Ajna Offensive here.

[2010] Master Musicians Of Bukkake - Elogia De La Sombra

It's no surprise that the Latitudes release of Master Musicians of Bukkake also happens to be the weirdest so far  (in the opposite sense) for the band. This album, pushing forward the already present (yet subtle) style in Totem Two, composed a traditional drone/psych folk album which lots of eastern influences (and reminiscent of 70's krautrock bands), and then a full blown krautrock song, which features lyrics for the first time. A big favorite of this year, Elogia de La Sombra is a great album featuring the best psych folk of this decade.




Buy it directly from Southern Records here.

[2010] Deathspell Omega - Paracletus

The chaotic riffing of Fas, the motif structure of both Kénôse and Chaining the Katechon and the interludes of Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice, that's how the final chapter of the trilogy, Paracletus, sounds like, with an added complexity result of the natural evolution of a band that has remained in almost complete secrecy since their inception. Words alone can't explain how good this album is.
The Holy Ghost, the explicit reference on the album's title, is evoked in the album cover as a deformed black beast with thousand of tentacles and born from the above fire, Deathspell Omega exposes this true nature in a lyrical and musical frenzy, taking aback the listener in this revealing journey through chaos. The summarizing of their enlightning message comes with the final words of this album:

You were seeking strength, justice, splendour! You were seeking love!
Here is the pit, here is your pit! Its name is SILENCE…

Download it here [320]

Buy it directly from Season of Mist here.
Buy it directly from Ván Records here.

[2010] The Body - All The Waters Of The Earth Turn To Blood

Easily the weirdest, most interesting release of this sludge band from Providence, Rhode Island. In here we can finally hear the Magma influence they claim to have (and which is evident by some band photos) with the inclusion of operatic female vocals, whose chants (in the same mysterious vein the french zeuhl band wrote 40, 30 years ago) carry most of the melodies present in the album, while the pummeled heavy riffs and thumping drumming (as hardcore as ever) lead the way. Album of the year material right here, and composed by two guys that could easily be mistaken by southern hunters carrying shotguns wherever they go. Don't you dare miss this release!

Download it here: [V2][V0]

Buy it directly from Blue Collar Distro here.

[2010] Stargazer - A Great Work of Ages

Rawer than A Scream That Tore The Sky, after 5 years we get this fine release, in which this tech/avantgarde death metal band from Australia incorporates vocals and a faster, more structured sound than how it used to be. It was certainly a surprise to me how good it sounded from the very first song, at first I feared the bass wasn't going to be as prominent as their previous full length, but luckily I was wrong; the bass assaults you from the second and third song onwards and truly breaks through the compositions, turning into a main highlight.
You cannot miss this, only from time to time one gets excellent releases like this one. It makes up for the lack of Gorguts this year, I can assure you.

Download it here: [320][V0]

Buy it directly from Profound Lore Records here.