[2011] Valborg - Barbarian

The most active Zeitgester Music project as of lately (considering the latest three albums), Valborg's new album is a followup of the sound established in Crown of Sorrow, combining several influences and aesthetics in their music ranging from progressive rock to death and doom metal, making their music hard to describe at first.
Similar enough, however, to the likes of late Celtic Frost and Triptykon (specially the latter), and this comparison is fair given their participation in Tom Warrior's Roadburn Festival 2010 and later praise he gave to the band. What's for sure is that the unique blend of sounds in Barbarian makes it one of my favorites of this year.




Buy it directly from Zeitgeister Music here.

[2011] Seven Sisters of Sleep - Seven Sisters of Sleep

Great debut album of this new hardcore/sludge band from California, and easily one of the best things I've heard coming from Southern Lord's new batch of hardcore/crust-punk bands. Short, heavy songs filled with hardcore madness and gloom brutality, gravitating towards the likes of Eyehategod and Thou, distancing themselves from these bands with their energetic, fast-paced delivery.




Buy it directly from Southern Lord here.

[2011] irr. app. (ext.) / Nurse With Wound - 4 Orphans

After Angry Electric Finger 3, 4 Orphans is the new collaboration between these two bizarre figures of the sound collage/dark ambient scene, although it's somewhat of an irr. app. (ext.) album mostly, considering it's based around old Nurse With Wound arrangements, along with the weirdest things the former could come up with in order to spice up the surreal vibe of the album. As usual, artwork by Matt Waldron.

Buy it directly from irr. app. (ext.)'s Bandcamp here.

[2011] The Haxan Cloak - The Haxan Cloak

One of the most interesting Aurora Borealis artists of this year, The Haxan Cloak have released a few live CDr EPs  independently through the years, this s/t being their first LP under a label. The music is composed of classical arrangements, electronically processed via free improvisation and combined with haunting field recordings, creating a very distinctive aura avoiding further descriptions. Another one of these introspective albums that fully reveal themselves after constant listens at high volumes.




Buy it directly from Aurora Borealis here (scroll down).

[2011] Fire! with Jim O'Rourke - Unreleased?

After two years of their first album, Fire! teams up with Jim O'Rourke to release the follow-up, 4 new tracks pushing forward the abrasive, repetitive style of the trio with his piercing guitar blasts and clever sound experiments. Intense collaboration, it adds up to another successful Gustafsson-related project in which O'Rourke collaborates, and already in constant rotation for me. Thoroughly recommended.

Buy it directly from Rune Grammofon here.

[2011] Der Blutharsch And The Infinite Church of The Leading Hand + Aluk Tolodo - A Collaboration

Tight, syncopated drumming, wonky bass and martial industrial madness. What's not to love? The new collaboration between these two dark beasts is out, and as expected, it shows the best of both bodies of work and much more. Considered a continuation of Der Blutharsch's first release in this vein, in which the noisy psyschedelic-rock band White Hills participated. Outstanding release.



Buy it directly from Amortout here.

[2011] Master Musicians of Bukkake - Totem Three

Their latest release and the last from their Totem trilogy, this album is the perfect closure for an amazing series of albums that explored the occult, unknown places of the Earth with its array of sounds, influences and bizarre elements. Comparing bands is always unfair, but it seems to me that they've already gotten closer, if not surpassed, bands from the psychedelic krautrock era such as Agitation Free and Can (saving the distances of course), by combining the best of the psychedelic rock sound with strong eastern influences, and late 20th century's filmography. And on that note (while following the idea of their previous single), this album is a homage to John Carpenter's horror films, mimicking the vintage synths and dark atmosphere that characterized classics like The Thing and the Halloween series.




Buy it directly from Important Records here.

[2011] Masami Akita, Mats Gustafsson & Jim O'Rourke - One Bird Two Bird

One of the most interesting releases in which Jim O'Rourke participates this year (the other would be the Ambarchi/O'Rourke/Haino followup of Tima Formosa), One Bird Two Bird is one of the best collabs I've listened in quite a while. I can quite see why Masami Akita is credited with his real name and not his usual monicker (Merzbow), considering his contributions are actually low key and in tune with the building improvisations as the album progresses, of which O'Rourke and Gustafsson (The Thing) are mainly responsible for (and as far of the latter goes, his sax goes crazy on Two Bird, the most awe-inducing track of this album). Without a doubt,  the most intense free improv collab I've heard this year so far.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from Editions Mego here.

[2011] Circle - Infektio

The latest Circle album, which steps away from the intensity Rautatie had and went into full psychedelic rock with some drawn out, ambient parts. It feels shorter than its predecessor, but it compensates it with the strong tribal vibe and the kosmische synths. Definitely, great material.

Download it here: [V2][V0]


Buy it directly from Conspiracy Records here.

[2011] Grouper - A I A : Dream Loss

This is the second part of the latest 2xCD release by Grouper. Dream Loss starts on a similar way Alien Observer ended, with a slow, haunting note that will serve as an intro, before kicking in with a slow strummed guitar and drowned vocals akin to her previous album, less dark and more provocative and haunting.
Both discs complement each other nicely. Playing them together (which seems to be the main purpose) will create a really dense atmosphere, typical of her live shows. Awesome comeback album, 3 years waiting for something like this and Grouper delivered. Recommended for 2011.

Download it here: [V0]


Buy it directly from Boomkat here.

[2011] Grouper - A I A : Alien Observer

This is the first part of Grouper's (Liz Harris' monicker) first double CD and latest release 3 years after Dragging A Deer Up A Hill, her most famous work. Both CD's complement each other, this one heavily on the dark ambient side. The electronic elements make the manipulated guitar to be almost indiscernible, and instead drowned along with the vocals, giving it the unique ethereal style we're familiar with. Similar in vein to her earlier albums, with a stronger emphasis in the atmosphere and less in the guitar instrumentation.

Download it here: [V0]


Buy it directly from Boomkat here.

[2011] Ulver - Wars of The Roses

Practically a month after the short article I wrote about the upcoming Ulver album, I've finally listened to it and arrived to my own conclusions regarding this new album. Unsurprisingly, Wars of The Roses didn't fail to deliver. Placing it one step ahead of their previous effort Shadows of The Sun, most of the expectations raised by the gathered lineup were fulfilled, particularly speaking of Daniel O'Sullivan's keyboards, Steve Noble's drumming in Norwegian Gothic and Stone Angels, and Stian Westerhus' guitar manipulation in more than half of the album.
Those aren't the only highlights of this album, which had a solid vocal work in Providence: aside from Garm's mid falsetto, Siri Stranger complemented the song with her voice (giving the song a soothing tone after the tense mood Garm sets), while Attila Csihar growled in the background near the end. However, my big favorite song is Stone Angels, in which Daniel O'Sullivan recited poetry in a way not too unlike David Tibet with his project Current 93, and made me wonder if one day he'll relieve Garm from the vocals in the band, since he seems to fit the role quite well.

All in all I consider it one of my main choices for a favorite album of the year, and proves that 4 years didn't pass in vain.


Download it here: [V0]


Buy it directly from Kscope here.

[2011] 40 Watt Sun - The Inside Room

5 years after Watching From A Distance and splitting up, leaving their fans with only a few records in their back catalog (and none as good as the former), the Warning guys reform with a different bassist (William Spong) to form 40 Watt Sun. Pretty much carrying where they left, The Inside Room is an exercise in despair and melancholy, with the same load of sentimental purity that characterized Warning's now classic album. Musically speaking there's a better use of dynamics and atmosphere exploration in this album, although a similar approach is given to the songs: slow, somewhat simple hooks with little bass focus, and emotional vocals going hand in hand with the depressing vibe. An instant favorite, at least for me.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy directly from Metal Recycler (Cyclone Empire's Webshop) here.

[2011] Grayceon - All We Destroy

After 3 years of This Grand Show and during a period where we didn't really know if the band was going to release new material, All We Destroy comes and surprises us with a more intense, rougher delivery, a nice departure from the softer, melancholic style of This Grand Show. Along with their trademark style we get a very upbeat rhythm throughout the whole album, still allowing the omnipresent cello to have its own space within the songs. Great album, which hopefully won't get under the rug, since it's excellent, grows on me at every new listen.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from Profound Lore here.

[2011] Blood Ceremony - Living With The Ancients

3 years after their amazing self-titled album, Blood Ceremoony's sound has definitely matured and dwelved into heavier territories. Their Jethro Tull-influenced style brought by Alia O'Brien's amazing flute now is toned down a bit to allow the heavy doom metal riffing to fully shine, while her vocals display more personality and range than they used to, specially in Night of Augury, in which the occult, 70's psychedelic vibe is accentuated at great extents. The real highlight of the album is, however, Daughter of The Sun, in which guitars, synths and flute go into a psychedelic wormhole, the perfect closure for this release, that could be considered well ahead their self-titled.

Download it here: [320][V0]


Buy it directly from All That Is Heavy here.

[2011] Boris with Merzbow - Klatter

Formerly known as Mellow Peak and due to be released years ago, it's the latest original collab between Boris and Merzbow since Sun Baked Snow Cave. Musically speaking it's closer to the original material in Rock Dream (the noisiest jams present on the first disc) and the best moments out of classic albums like Feedbacker, with the buzzed out solos and heavy, reverberated riffiing. Even though it has the least drone-oriented material they've released with Merzbow (which isn't a bad thing at all) it just shows they're capable of taking the best of their rock-oriented material and level it to heavier grounds.

Download it here: [V0]


Buy it directly from Daymare Recordings here (recommend using Google Translate).

[2011] Norska - Norska

Very impressive debut from this american band, originary from Oregon. While it does have some clear sludge elements (particularly the hardcore vocals and the somewhat obvious hooks, akin to Neurosis' mid career), most of the songs are comprised of complex riffing with a vibe not too different from the style bands like Virus and Ved Buens Ende carried out. The production is not the best here, but considering they're independent, it seems good enough. Really good material, it looks like Norska will be one of these bands giving us something to talk about during the next years.

Download it here: [192][V0]


Buy it directly from their Bandcamp here.

[2011] Faust - Something Dirty

One of my most expected releases for this year comes from the masterminds of the second official half of Faust, and their album Something Dirty. Radically different from last year's release (Faust Is Last), Péron's half leans more towards the psychedelic side of the original band (reminiscent of their s/t and Faust IV), making most of the songs included in this album more accessible (in the way Faust could allow itself) and less on the experimental side (yet unmistakenly focused on it, as usual), which was Joachim Irmler's half and their Faust Is Last's release. 13 tracks that remind ourselves of the krautrock gold era without any sort of revivalist complex that some bands are experiencing (talking about Amon Düül II), and definitely one of the most solid releases of this year, so far.

Download it here: [V0]

Buy it directly from Bureau B here.