The Rock Blogger

Natural Snow Buildings. Daughter of Darkness. 2009. 5 stars.

It’s been some time since I have been so deeply immersed in an album. It’s rare for me to forget that I am even listening to a recording, to just let it seep into my brain, to be so naturally absorbed by the senses, like the snow in my backyard, the wind against my window or the blinding sunlight spilling in. Daughter of Darkness provides such an unusual and powerful listening experience that is ceases to be a an impossibly long collection of songs and becomes an avenue for meditation and psychedelic escape.

This mysterious and prolific French duo have produced a mammoth work that rivals the equally ominous efforts of Godspeed You Black Emperor. Combining drone, post-rock, psychedelic folk and noise rock, they have produced the ultimate opium den soundtrack, a drawn-out, enveloping sound that can bring you to the darker caverns of your subconscious. Middle eastern guitar work, haunting choral vocals, strange chimes, and tribal percussion are some of the eclectic elements that stand out across this collection’s unbelievable 6 hours. Yes, the album (rather, a series of cassettes) is that long. But it doesn’t really matter, because an extraordinary release needs extraordinary time to (un)settle. It is truly something to be lost in and can be entered into from any song.

Needless to say, Natural Snow Buildings are intimidating. But as soon as you get a taste of these organic pieces, you will be hypnotized, or at the very least intrigued. The duo’s anti-commercial and uncompromising ethos is simply admirable. Such commitment to the transcendental power of music is humbling. Its just too bad that this act hovers so low below the radar because they really do have a powerful sound that expands on the spiritual and esoteric dimensions expressed by bands like GYBE and Six Organs of Admittance.

Daughters of Darkness, being self-released, is incredibly hard to find. I scoured the Internet looking for a myspace page, band website or label that sells it but I’ve come up with nothing. If anyone has further ordering information or anything else to say about this band or album, please leave a comment below.

“If I can find my way through the darkness”
Not on the album, but it gives you a sense of what they sound like.

Menace Ruine. The Die is Cast. 2008. 5 stars.

Montreal’s Menace Ruine have crafted a remarkably original and powerful work of art with The Die is Cast, an experimental drone album featuring haunting female vocals and cacophonous blasts of distortion. The duo, known only as Genevieve and Serpent de La Moth, play slow, ritualistic riffs and layered synthesizer waves to produce ominous and organic walls of sound.

In the same spine-chilling fashion as The Angelic Process, the effect is both terrifying and transcendent, where rich melodies lay hidden under crushing noise and reverb. Incorporating sonic elements from black metal to doom, these compositions are intensely psychedelic and not for the weak of heart. The guitars buzz like infernal insects while the occasional percussive blast hammers forward with primal urgency. The crystalline voice of Genevieve provides an air of mystery over the recording, with soft, cryptic phrases gracing the surface of these dense songs. Her performance is reminiscent of choral or Medieval traditions, invigorating the spiritual energy of their complex compositions.

With all these compositions blending together seamlessly, the meditative potential of this record shines through. Where other drone bands would risk sounding repetitive, abrasive or self-indulgent, Menace Ruine sound natural, focused and inspired. Their music encompass a wide array of incredible feelings, both frightening and elating, as if they have demons and angels whispering in their ears. This is an emotional triumph.

Menace Ruine - Bound by Wyrd

(not on the album, but still cool)

Godspeed You Black Emperor - The Dead Flag Blues

Behold..the Arctopus. Skullgrind. 2007. 4.5 stars.

Skullgrind is a maddeningly technical metal album that embraces mathematical riffs and progressive rhythms. As a completely instrumental work, Skullgrind’s complexity is powerful and enveloping. Genres bleed into each other as the band burns through their spiraling structures, with spastic touches of jazz, doom, and progressive metal coming through. The whole experience is hypnotic and exciting, with incredibly intricate solos and shifting time signatures ripping through your perceptual faculties.

Such a calculated sound may initially seem cold, detached and emotionless, but the fervor in which it is performed is convincing proof of life. From the percussive rolls to the wiry guitar lines, Behold…the Arctopus is all about intensity, even if it is filtered through a mechanistic prism. Like the cover art demonstrates, Skullgrind is about the fusion between the organic and the technological, an aesthetic not unlike the grim artwork of HR Giger or the post-human visions of late 90’s science fiction. With these thematic touches, the searing technicality of this record is less intimating as it is intoxicating.

Behold…the Arctopus may sound inhuman, but it is certainly an effective progressive-metal project. It successfully weaves free-form techniques from jazz and avant-garde traditions with arty futurism and insane precision. Like a delirious scribing from some idiot-savant, Skullgrind is undoubtedly impressive despite its uncanny nature. A celebration of all things cybernetic and hyperactive, this release confirms the vitality of progressive-metal as it slithers its way out of the underground.

Behold…The Arctopus-Skullgrid/Canada

Hala Strana. Fielding. 2003. 5 stars.

Music for a lucid dream. This is a downright remarkable and pleasantly psychedelic folk album from California’s Hala Strana. Fielding encompasses gentle acoustic harmonies, evocative field recordings and touches of traditional Eastern European instrumentals in its stunning musical journey. This album is both mysterious and deeply comforting, as its relaxed rhythms and experimental use of samples creates a warm and intimate atmosphere to get lost in. The subtlety and diversity of the compositions within this two disc set keeps it engaging over many repeated listens, as new details reveal themselves each time. The musique concrète approach makes each song a colorful and intricate collage begging for exploration.

While these pieces cover a lot of sonic and cultural territory, its hardly daunting. It has a dreamy evening vibe to it, making the perfect accompanying soundtrack for laid back tripping. There are a few strange and disquieting moments here, given the eclectic use of found sounds (think Set Fire to Flames meets Six Organs of Admittance) but they add some twists to the winding trail of the entire album.

Fielding stands as one of the most satisfying psychedelic albums I’ve come across. Its sound is undeniably unique and not only showcases stellar musicianship but also introduces the listener to variety of obscure sounds and traditions. As an opiate induced travelogue, Fielding is truly a work of art that belongs in your avant-garde collection.

Njiqahdda. Nji. Njiijn. Njiiijn. 2008. 4.5 stars

Njiqahdda (pronounced Nee Gee Kaa Daa) is a mysterious black metal/psychedelic act from Illinois that focuses on abstraction, experimentation and a dense layering of sounds to produce their ritualistic compositions. Underneath the drawn-out shoegaze riffs, bizarre percussive trances and waves of distortion lies an album rich with spiritual and musical concepts. Like the equally obscure offerings of Velvet Cacoon, Njiqahdda speaks its own artistic language far removed from decipherable convention - there are no allusions to nationalism, satanism or the occult to be pulled out from here. What remains in these 4 incredibly long tracks is pure and all-consuming catharsis, a rare and raw specimen of rock completely separated from image and meaning, one focused only on the exploding pools of color inside the mind’s eye.

Soaring symphonic lines, rumbling bass, tremolo guitars and distorted, garbled mantras blend together in a thick wash of noise. Despite there being no distinct musical element to lead Njiqahdda’s charge, the complex textures become accessible through hypnotic repetition, as the cyclical movements ring through like Phillip Glass’ notorious symphonies. While I initially found some of these moments to be monotonous and trying, they soon began to grow on me as I became immersed in their sheer complexity.

It has to be said - Nji. Njiijn. Njiiijn. is a challenging and often disturbing record. It is fanatically dense, opaque, often frightening and difficult to get into. Yet all these seemingly aversive traits make this work all the more rewarding, because as it is explored over repeated listens, and perhaps in different contexts, it reveals the incredible potential experimental music has for meditation, reflection and release. There are few albums, even within the fractious genres of black metal and post rock, that offer such mystical and organic dimensions as this one. Njiqahdda are the gate keepers for a mysterious and intense psychological experience that is difficult to shake off. There is great strength to be found from this record if you are willing to sift through its inner sanctums.

Njiqahdda - Aasklamatii Ligmett Aursag (excerpt)

As a side note, there is an interesting interview with Njiqahdda to be found over at Pagan Flames Productions. Be sure to check it out.

Sunn O))). Dømkirke. 2008. 4 stars.

Along with close contemporaries Earth and Boris, Sunn O))) have become flag bearers for the doom-metal avant-garde, pushing the genre to new experimental boundaries with each full-length album. While they may have just lovingly mimicked Earth’s early drones with their first set of releases, Sunn O))) quickly evolved into a innovative force of their own right, pushing out heady, slow-as-molasses jams of impenetrable darkness. The chilling spoken word intro of White 1 or the pseudo-black metal wraiths on Black One demonstrated the cloaked duo’s capacity for creating exciting and terrifying masterpieces that were as unique as they were heavy.

Dømkirke carries on with the proud tradition, bringing the distinguished drone masters and their special guests to an ancient Danish cathedral where their compositions could be given a full atmospheric treatment. From what I understand, this was recorded live, giving the album raw power and urgency - a strange word to use given the band’s snail-like pace. The majority of this album moves away from the groaning and drawn-out riffs of the past, opting instead for dense, dark ambient pieces. That being said, the album is still bass-laden and unbelievably heavy, its just more focused on atmospheric drones rather than lumbering guitar work. Vocal contributions from black metal artist Attila Csihar are spine-chilling, as his dark, operatic chants echo like the rites of some ritualistic cult-figure. The later half of the album has him more restrained, offering distant and indistinguishable shrieks and rasps to hover over the searing drones.

Dømkirke may not sound as direct or metal as 2005’s Black One, but the thick graveyard atmosphere and dense production remains fully intact. The inclusion of monk vocals and the chosen recording space also lend Sunn O))) even more gravity to pull you down into their murky pits. As a band willing to take risks with their already unconventional and disturbing sound, Sunn O))) have once again shown their intense mystique and musical craftsmanship.

(not sure if this is the right cover, but it’s what’s showing on RateYourMusic now).

Deerhunter. Microcastle. 2008. 4.5 stars.

Deerhunter’s much anticipated followup to last year’s breakthrough Cryptograms is a dreamy shoegaze record full of trippy melodies and crystal-clear ambiance. The majority of the songs on Microcastle are far more focused than those on their predecessor, with a more streamlined, psych-pop structure that delivers quick bursts of shimmering energy. Beautiful numbers like “Never Stops” wash over you with their cool, hazy atmosphere, sending off druggy, blissful vibes not unlike My Bloody Valentine. The expansive production also lets psychedelic songs like “Little Kids” breathe with full vigor, spreading out into a sea of mellowing reverb.

While Deerhunter may be more focused and refined this time around, the album isn’t called Microcastle for nothing. There are several labyrinthine tracks that lure you into densely layered passages, immersing you in ambient detail. Songs like “Green Jacket” are mysterious, ghostly and gorgeous despite their general lack of direction. They lie in the middle of the album like dark pools of water, a comfort zone for the sleepy astral traveler.

Microcastle, as I have hoped to indicate above, is a richly textured album that moves between tight, wiry alternative rock (”Nothing Ever Happened”) and lush experimentation with ease. The divergence between moods and tones can often be challenging, as you’re not sure whether to fall asleep to this album, or have it blaring along to reckless hedonism. There is no doubt in my mind that Microcastle will be named as one of 2008’s greatest albums, even though segments of it are somewhat ’samey’ and indistinguishable from each other. Taken as evidence of Deerhunter’s speedy evolution, or as a colorful shoegaze album, Microcastle is a fresh, exciting and seductive listen.

“Nothing Ever Happened” Live

Somnivore. Clergy of Oneiros. 2007. 4 stars.

Finnish dark-ambient artists Somnivore draw on allusions to Greek mythology to create this somnambulist album. Deep, rumbling drones, distant voices and airy electronics suck you into these 6 unsettling dreams. A cold atmosphere hangs over the entire album, conveying scenes of abandoned buildings, smoldering cities and mildewy caverns.

The progressions here are absorbing, with enough subtlety to invite meditative, introspective experiences. While the mood of these pieces is vaguely sinister, with its many whispering actors and eerie chimes, Clergy of Oneiros still stirs reflection.

Some of the tracks can be a slightly repetitive and downright baffling, but the more industrial tinged songs at the album’s conclusion brings the meandering to satisfying apex. Midnight music for the lucid dreamer or the downright deranged.

Nahvalr. Nahvalr. 2008. Enemies List Recordings. 4.5 stars.

Nahvalr, described by its founders as “open source black metal”, is nothing less than a landmark in originality. Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga from Connecticut’s equally brilliant Have a Nice Life have taken submitted noises, samples and instrumentals from across the web and melded them together into 8 terrifying movements that shift between ambient, doom, drone and black metal styles. These impenetrable walls of sound are as compelling as they are suffocating, rich with grotesque detail and atmosphere. While numerous dark ambient acts have touched on the same blackened corner stones as Nahvalr, both the innovative creative process and the density of this album is remarkable.

The idea of having many so disparate sounds compiled may seem daunting, even counter productive in the creation of music, Nahvalr moves far beyond mere bursts of noise and finds a common, sinister and even spiritual thread that runs through their collections. Their compositions, whether they are cavernous, bass-driven processions (”Blood Flood”) or ghostly, free-floating ambiance (”Swallower of Bile”) are given ample room to stretch out and breathe, uncovering a powerful emotional center in each.

Music this experimental, haunting and visceral demonstrates the often neglected potential the Internet has for collaborative projects. It may be overlong in some segments, but the dark energy within Nahvalr is impossible to ignore and shake off, making it a masterpiece of devastatingly bleak reflection. I can only hope that projects like Nahvalr, with all their promise and dynamism, will continue to take shape and flourish in our digital culture.