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WELCOME TO AURORA BOREALIS.
"We who live on the edge of the Earth and who are the last bulwark of freedom have to this day been protected by our remoteness and by the mystery and fear created by our name..."
If you live in EUROPE, SHOP HERE
If you live in the AMERICAS, ASIA, or AUSTRALASIA, SHOP HERE
Scroll over the skeletal beast on the left for pathways to links, artist pages and so on.
Visit our FORUM, hosted by our distributor, SOUTHERN RECORDS.
Visit AB at Myspace
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Wednesday 23/4/08
New additions in the shop: MARZURAAN, STRIBORG, ALKERDEEL, VLAD TEPES, ULVER, CREBAIN, ZARACH BAAL, MAYHEM, VELVET CACOON, PROCER VENEFICUS.
Myspazz update.
Tuesday 2/4/08
BURIAL HEX 'Initiations' ltd 2LP with silkscreen sleeve added to shop, along with another CDr and some totally out of print tapes. Also an ASH POOL tape added.
Tuesday 1/4/08
BURIAL HEX 'Initiations' CD, BEN NASH 'The Seventh Goodbye' CD and the BURIAL HEX / SILVESTER ANFANG split 7" are all now available in the webshop. More items to follow very shortly.
Many thanks to everyone that came down to see the bands on the UK tour, the support was much appreciated, and thanks to all the other bands that played. Special "big up yourself" to Ben of JAZZFINGER and Alt-Vinyl for being the consumate host.
If you have emailed in and have been waiting for a response, expect one in the next 24 hours as I clear my mailbox.
Wednesday 19/3/08
BURIAL HEX 'Initiations' CD and BEN NASH 'The Seventh Goodbye' CD are both ready to start shipping next week. Very proud to release both of these and really looking forward to the tour next week.
Thursday 6/3/08
New items added to the webshop: incredible WILD JAEGER CD wooden boxset and THE LINDBERGH BABY CD.
Wodensday 5/3/08
Here's all the details for the upcoming BURIAL HEX, SILVESTER ANFANG and BEN NASH UK tour:
Sunday 23rd: The Fenton, Leeds.
Burial Hex/
Inseminoid (Culver/Mutant Ape project)/
Broken Bone (ex-Yorkshire Bone PE)/
Sex Tourist (one of Mikko's favourites!)/
and Ashtray Navigations.
Monday 24th: The Old Blue Last, London.
Burial Hex/
Silvester Anfang/
Ben Nash/
Forest Creature ("power noise duo and spaz punk" http://www.myspace.com/forestcreaturesofdoom)/
Queen of Swords (newish London band: members of Palehorse, Trencher, VŠrd Ov Ard... http://www.myspace.com/queenofswordssound)
Tuesday 25th: The Telegraph, Newcastle.
NOTE: also the possibility of an instore at Alt Vinyl.
Burial Hex/
Silvester Anfang/
Jazzfinger (awesome Newcastle band, still have a couple of copies of their latest CDr on Blackest Rainbow)
Wednesday 26th: Chameleon, Nottingham.
Burial Hex/
Silvester Anfang/
Ben Nash/
Forest Creature
Thursday 27th: The Cooler, Bristol.
Burial Hex/
Silvester Anfang/
Ben Nash/
Forest Creature
Friday 28th: Whitechapel Gallery, London. Plan B magazine event.
Burial Hex/
Silvester Anfang/
VŠrd Ov Ard ( www.myspace.com/hexouttapes)
Sunday 30th: Fitzherberts, Brighton.
Burial Hex/
Line up TBC but Dylan Nyoukis is putting it on so expect noise spaz and terrific glug. ( http://chocolatemonk.co.uk/enter.htm )
How about them apples? There will be an AB stall at all shows, though I won't be bringing everything. Door prices are roughly a fiver, so come down and see wome awesome bands.
New releases coming up:
BURIAL HEX 'Initiations' CD and 2LP. Vinyl is ltd to 500 and cover is silkscreened on black cardstock.
BEN NASH 'The Seventh Goodbye' CD. Comes in nifty letterpress 2 colour card packaging.
SILVESTER ANFANG/BURIAL HEX split tour 7". Limited and lo-fi release for the tour.
All of those will be available on the tour and available on AB and in shops shortly after.
Coming soon:
JOURNEY TO IXTLAN CD and 2LP. This is killer. ATWA worshipping occult desert rock and new age doom.
BLOOD OF THE BLACK OWL 'A Feral Spirit' 2LP. Very proud to be workingh on this, same mind behind RUHR HUNTER.
L'ACEPHALE 'Malefeasance' CD and LP, plus 2LP edition of 'Mord und Totsclag'.
There's some more stuff in the pipeline too, so watch this space...
Thursday 28/2/08
New stuff in the shop from EARTH, BURIAL CHAMBER TRIO and BURNING WITCH, restock of MIASMA.
Tuesday 26/2/08
MONUMENT OF URNS, NORTT, FLAUTAS DE CHIGUIRE, SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN and a restock of T.O.M.B. added to the webshop.
BURIAL HEX, SILVESTER ANFANG and BEN NASH will all be touring the UK in March. Here's the dates so far:
Monday 24th London, Old Blue Last.
Tuesday 25th Newcastle, venue TBC, no Ben Nash.
Wednesday 26th Nottingham, venue TBC.
Thursday 27th Bristol, Cooler.
Friday 28th, London, Whitechapel Gallery (small capacity), no Ben Nash. Show in association
with Plan B mag.
Saturday 29th Leeds, venue TBC, BURIAL HEX only.
Sunday 30th, Brighton, Fitzherberts, BURIAL HEX only.
More info in the coming days. There will also be a limited edition split tour 7" with exclusive material from SILVESTER ANFANG and BURIAL HEX.
Monday 18/2/08
TENHORNEDBEAST/MARZURAAN page now up with samples.
BEN NASH page added to the artists section. Be sure to check him out live next month.
BURIAL HEX page added to the artists section. The debut album for Aurora Borealis, titled 'Initiations' will be available from the site and from the band in late March when they play a handful of
UK dates. Not all dates are confirmed as yet, so please get in touch if you are interested in putting on a show. The majority of dates will be with the amazing SILVESTER ANFANG. More information to follow.
Saturday 16/2/08
Another shop update. New items from: ROBEDOOR, RIVERCREST, NUIT NOIRE, KISS THE ANUS OF A BLACK CAT, and ALUK TODOLO.
Friday 15/2/08
New Aurora Borealis hooded sweatshirts added to the webstore, just in time for Spring!
New STRIBORG T added, suitable for sylvan lurking...
Thursday 14/2/08
New Japanese CD from NUIT NOIRE, strangest band in France.
Currently finalising plans for a short UK tour with SILVESTER ANFANG and BURIAL HEX. Expect the BURIAL HEX CD and 2LP 'Initiations' to be available late March.
Monday 11/2/08
From the 'Judas Kiss' review of ABX019 split CD:
"TenHornedBeast... seems to be in a more contemplative and less savage mood on this recording than he was on 'The Sacred Truth'... immense drifts and drones,
from both keyboards and a feedback-saturated guitar sound, are still very much the order of the day...
MarzuraanÕs contribution is entitled ÔInto Countless BattlesÕ. This Tyneside-based band is new to me, so I canÕt say how this compares to their previous work,
but itÕs a long, woozy stumbling rumble...like Skullflower on a good day...The endless fuzzy riffage takes you into a blissed-out opiate realm and keeps you there for a good long while.
The packaging of this CD is really nice Ð a folded card sleeve with die-cut peek-a-boo runic glyphs on the front flaps." - Judas Kiss magazine.
Saturday 9/2/08
TENHORNEDBEAST/MARZURAAN split CD added to the webshop.
Thursday 7/2/08
More new items from UTECH added plus the rather remarkable AUSTRASIAN GOAT LP, great droning blackened doom misery.
Wednesday 6/2/08
Back and working, most orders from the last week have been sent out now. More new items to add to the shop when I get a chance, but so far there's CDs from LASSE MARHAUG, JAMES PLOTKIN,
the marvellous SILVESTER ANFANG and the incredible FAUNA. Next release is the split from TENHORNEDBEAST and MARZURAAN. More info in the next 24 hours.
Saturday 26/1/08
I'm away until Staurday 2nd Feb. No email during this time and no orders will be sent out until the 2nd.
Wednesday 23/1/08
Webshop updated. New items from GUAPO, BLUE SABBATH BLACK CHEER, ANARKID, WARM, US CHRISTMAS, BURIED AT SEA, DUKKHA, UNHOLY WARLOCK, ICE BOUND MAJESTY, SKULTROLL.
Thursday 14/1/08
Webhosting sorted and email back online, bit of a backlog though...
Thursday 3/1/08
In the process of changing web hosting, please bear with me while I get everything ship shape. Email is currently offline.
Wednesday 2/1/08
Webshop and label back and running at full strength now after time off. Lots going on for 2008, watch this space.
Monday 31/12/07
WRAITHS "Oriflamme" LP now available in the webshop.
Friday 28/12/07
WRAITHS page added. "Oriflamme" LP will be up in the webshop on Monday 31st.
Monday 23/12/07
Happy Festivus to all our customers, cohorts and accomplices! Any mailorders placed over the festive period will be sent out from the 28th onwards as dictated by postal service opening times. Next release to look out for is the WRAITHS 'oriflamme' LP. Vinyl only, limited to 500, released
December 31st through the AB webstore. More info to follow shortly.
Saturday 15/12/07
More new items added to the shop today. STRIBORG 'Journey of a Misanthrope' DVD added, brand new, just came out: surely a must for Christmas viewing?! Also, 'Solitude' - another new album, plus another two reissues. In celebration of all these
new STRIBORG items, some of the CDs have been reduced in price in the AB TASMANIAN MISANTHROPIC BM XMAS PROMOTION.
Finally got the JACK ROSE/SILVESTER ANFANG split 7" back in stock, though now with a different cover. If you didn't get it before I highly recommend it. These are the last copies.
In a mailorder update, I have managed to clear 90% of the backlog following problems with the vinyl packaging suppliers (got a new one...), and will be shipping orders out all next week as well. Orders placed on Wednesday should arrive before
Christmas if you are in the UK. Just think, your loved one
could be sitting there on Christmas day, all snug and warm in their MOSS hooded sweatshirt dribbling merrily away in front of the STRIBORG DVD... ah, festive magick.
Tuesday 11/12/07
Big webshop update today with tons of Japanese imports: lots of BORIS CDs, several CORRUPTED CDS, FILTH OF MANKIND CD too. Adding a few more bits as well from OM, SILVESTER ANFANG, JACK ROSE, and
MIASMA & THE CAROUSEL OF HEADLESS HORSES.
Saturday 1/12/07
WOLFMANGLER "Dwelling In A Dead Raven For The Glory Of Crucified Wolves" deluxe double LP version with gatefold sleeve, two extra tracks and two posters now available in the web store.
Wednesday 28/11/07
New CDs in the store: brand new releases from Profound Lore by Killusion's new project THE HOWLING WIND, and the bizarre PORTAL.
Sunday 25/11/07
Yet again London proves what a shitty place it is. Thieves have stolen my brakes off my bike and my girlfriend's brakes, shifters, headset and bars. If I ever catch them I will kill them. This is the second time in 2 months. London is a money trap full
of thieves and madmen and I despise it.
Saturday 24/11/07
New stuff in the store from DRUDKH, ASTROFAES, ASHES, WOODS OF INFINITY, KAILASH, AYTHIS...
Friday 23/11/07
DEAD RAVEN CHOIR LP now available in the shop. Smoke viyl, edition of 300. Black vinyl available through Southern, edition of 600.
"The songs are stunning, permanently teetering on the edge of insanity, like a wild amalgam of Burzum, Hawkwind, and Captain Beefheart" - Metal Hammer
Monday 19/11/07
The amazing new DEAD RAVEN CHOIR album is now available in the webshop.
Recorded in Poland on cheap and archaic Soviet Bloc technology,"My Firstborn Will
Surely Be Blind" sees DEAD RAVEN CHOIR in full throttle audio assault with total disregard for all conventions of audio
fidelity, with great songs of the 20th Century by artists diverse as Townes Van Zandt, Richard Thompson and Cole Porter
torn limb from limb and dragged through SmolkenÕs forest home. Curiously upbeat in parts, though with harrowing and bizarre artwork.
This will be available both online and from record stores throughout Europe (well, good ones at least...) from today. The LP version will follow possibly by the end of the week after the usual
catalogue of delays. There will also be a new shirt.
Restocks in the shop of the much sought after BURIAL HEX LP. Also restock of STURMPERCHT CD. New items from: BURIAL HEX, SILVESTER ANFANG, R.Y.N., MARZURAAN, HEAVY WINGED and more.
Saturday 17/11/07
Updated the L'ACEPHALE page with an exclusive interview with this amazing band. Expect more from L'ACEPHALE on Aurora Borealis in 2008.
This year will still see the vinyl issue of WOLFMANGLER's "Dwelling In A Dead Raven For The Glory Of Crucified Wolves" on glorious double LP with extra tracks, some new art and two posters. Hot on its heels will be
the vinyl only pressing of WRAITHS "Oriflamme", a masterpiece of analogue electronic pulsing hell and fury on deluxe 180gm vinyl for full ear damage. Your neighbours will love you when you push this up to ten at Christmas.
Lastly, got some more new stuff to put on the site in the coming days as well as some restocks so keep checking back.
Bit behind with things this week with a few days out of town again, but orders are mostly on track. Any problems and you should hear from me.
Saturday 10/11/07
New items added to the store today and some price changes. Items from BORIS, SHORA, FAUNSABBATHA and BLACKEST RAINBOW labels, DARKSPACE, STRANGE ATTRACTOR journal and CROM!! More stuff to come next week.
Well worth a visit if you are in London: Savage Pencil presents ...
Creatures of the Night
This body of work furthers the artistÕs interest in the imagery and iconography of Black Metal and the occult.
Fur and wings abound along with calligraphy, hidden messages and ciphers summoned from the subconscious, bringing the audience face to face with our collective nightmares. That these creatures of the night figure in the folklores of so many cultures gives them a resonance beyond the cult followers of Black Metal.
'A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame.'
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
show runs nov 11 - dec 9 . 2007, gallery hours tu - su . 2 - 6 pm at
96 Gillespie presents Creatures of the Night by Savage Pencil -
Nov 10th to Dec 9th, 2007
This exhibition features a range of new drawings and sculpture in which Pouncey's characteristically frantic and supernatural figures are cast as imaginary creatures of the night.
This output follows an intense period of method artmaking - fuelled by the sonic influence of Black Metal music Ð where his artwork is urged to flow into a visual stream of trance induced consciousness.
Savage Pencil, AKA Edwin Pouncey is resident illustrator at The Wire magazine and has published several books of illustration, including his "Corposemeat Comix" series. He hosts a radio show on Resonance FM, and has produced work for publications including the NME, Frieze, Juxtapoz, Kerrang, Mojo, Loaded and Bizarre. He holds a Masters degree from The Royal College of Art and lives and works in South London.
A contemporary and peer of Gary Panter and Bruno Richard, his work has appeared on albums covers for Sonic Youth (Death Valley 69, Drunken Butterly, Halloween), The Fall (Lie Dream of a Casino Soul) Rocket From The Crypt (On a Rope), Lee Renaldo (From Her To Infinity), and Big Black (Headache).
He has exhibited at the ICA London; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Gimpel Fils, Mayor and Intoxica Galleries, London; and Exit Art and Noiseville Galleries, New York. He has also published numerous books, comics and collections of his work. He is resident illustrator of music magazine The Wire.
Tonight: Heaven and Hell at Wembley. Aka BLACK SABBATH with the world's greatest Heavy Metal vocalist, Mr Ronnie James Dio. I am very very excited.
Friday 2/11/07
Very busy times here at AB. I'm pretty behind in sending out orders, but they are going out as fast as I can. The MOSS LPs have taken a long time to put together and send out, and are indeed still being sent out. The MOSS zip hoods were only delivered yesterday,
so they have now started to go out. Apologies for the delay on these.
To add to this mailorder mountain we have the imminent release of the remarkable new DEAD RAVEN CHOIR CD and LP "My Firstborn Will Surely Be Blind". Already garnering great reviews, this is going to be a major release.
Monday 22/10/07
MOSS 3LP back on sale in the webshop.
Thursday 18/10/07
MOSS 3LP will be back on sale on Monday. Can't do it right now as I need to be away again this weekend. Apologies. Some orders have already shipped so I'm catching back up again after the post strike.
Saturday morning 13/10/07
I'm going to be away until Tuesday night now, so will not be answering any mail until then. In the meantime I have taken MOSS 'cthonic rites' triple LP off sale. This is so that I don't oversell it while I'm away. There will be some more copies
on sale on Wednesday, but not a lot, so if you want one, dive in then.
I just saw on Newsnight that the post strike talks reached some sort of agreement, so maybe it will all be over when I get back and some of the millions of packages piled up in sorting offices
will have been sent out and the time will be ripe for me to start sending MOSS LPs and all other mailorder out once again. I hope so. More news as I get it.
And lastly, I have added some copies of the WERNER HERZOG book to the site. Rare as hen's teeth or rocking horse shit, this book has been something of a holy grail for Herzog fans, but its been reprinted. I have some copies and will devouring mine tomorrow. Will report back on Tuesday.
Thursday night 11/10/07
Well.... MOSS has been selling really well. Amazed. Still no update on the postal strike, but hope to post more info on that tomorrow. Just added a bunch of tapes and some vinyl from the Epicene
label. Lots of dirty noise and scuzzy abuse from: KULT OF UNICRON, TEETH COLLECTION, GHOST OF OBTUSE, WETHER, CAVES, MIGRATIONS IN RUST, VESTIGIAL LIMB and the marvellous BLUE SABBATH BLACK CHEER. Also picked up a few more bits today, including a restock of the SUNBURNED CIRCLE vinyl, plus some
other stuff I will try and put up on the site tomorrow, along with that HERZOG book. Approved the WRAITHS vinyl test pressing today, sounds massive, so thats all on schedule. More tomorrow.
Wednesday 10/10/07
MOSS vinyl is now up in the shop, along with a new sweatshirt design. I will be adding more items to the webshop during the course of the day.
Tuesday 9/10/07
Things have ground to a halt here at Aurora Borealis due to the continuing postal workers strike:
"The consumer watchdog Postwatch warned that the disruptions could shut down most of the network until the end of next week.
"No one knows when they can post with confidence," it said."
So basically you can still order stuff, but its not going anwyhere right now. The MOSS vinyl will be available through Southern (and the various distribution partners) from Monday, so you may well be able to get a copy from you local independent store.
I was planning on selling the 3LP version here on the site from yesterday, but with the strike things have changed. I will now put the 3 LP version up in the webshop tomorrow, but will not be able to ship them out until the strike is over. I will aim to start selling them at noon tomorrow -
hopefully this is a mutually conveninent time for customers all over the world. I would also add however that there are approximately 375 copies in total of the 3 LP version, so they should last a little while at least! I will post more info as and when it becomes available.
In other news I have whole bunch of great new tapes from Epicene which appeared recently, and I have copies of the Werner Herzog book "On Walking on Ice", which was recently reprinted by a small press. There is a ton of other stuff on the way too, but... its in the mail.
Wednesday 3/10/07
In standard good old British fashion, the Royal Mail are going on strike again. This happens to coincide with the proposed release date of the MOSS LP: call it a coincidence, call it an act of
magickal sabotage to prevent this unholy work from calling The Great Old Ones from their slumber, either way I will not be mailing out anything at all on the 8th of October. More news as I get it. Here's what the
Royal Mail have to say:
"The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has announced further strike action, in the form of two 48-hour strikes, from lunchtime on Thursday 4th - lunchtime on Saturday 6th October, and from the early hours of Monday 8th - early hours Wednesday 10th October.
This will be followed by an unspecified programme of weekly strikes, starting w/c October 15th, until the resolution of the dispute.
The situation is very serious, as this action will severely limit our ability to provide any services for the coming period. Customers should expect severe disruption to all postal services during the strikes and for a significant period afterwards. "
Thursday 27/9/07
Just got sent this linke to an incredible new animation with a Tiermes soundtrack... Truly incredible. Check it out
here.
Monday 24/9/07
OAKHELM CD added to the webshop.
Friday 21/9/07
Webshop update: new items from DEAD RAVEN CHOIR, AMBER ASYLUM, GREAT AMERICAN DESERT/DREAR, KEPLERS ODD, PROFUNDI, UTLAGR, PROCYON-X, SEJAYNO, LEVIATHAN, GNAW THEIR TONGUES and ZODIAC MOUNTAIN.
Wednesday 19/9/07
Bit of an update here about the releases over the coming months.
MOSS 'cthonic rites' vinyl version: This should be available from the webshop on the 8th of October. We will be offering a limited version of approximately 300 editions and contains the
double LP version of 'Cthonic Rites' with an A1 poster designed by Justin Bartlett as well as an additional LP, 'Live Burial'. The standard
2LP version of 'Cthonic Rites' will be available through distributors on Monday 22nd October.
DEAD RAVEN CHOIR 'My Firstborn Will Surely Be Blind' CD and LP: the new album finally sees the light of winter's day... Amazing new material from Smolken with a new more heinous sound.
Deluxe digipack with booklet and the LP gets the heavy duty treatment. This is also scheduled for October 22nd.
WOLFMANGLER 'dwelling in a dead raven for the glory of crucified wolves' double LP: almost one year after its CD release, this pinnacle of Polish forest doom gets a vinyl release. Gatefold sleeve with the same
Alex Tucker art as on the CD, with the inside gatefold art by French (SUNN O))), Blackest Rainbow etc). Double vinyl, with two extra tracks not on the CD. Two newsprint-style posters of the artwork are also included in the
package. Available as black vinyl and extremely limited 'camo' vinyl! Scheduled for November 5th.
WRAITHS 'Oriflamme' LP: A vinyl edition of the incredible 'Oriflamme' demo CDr from these Scottish spectral sonic necromancers. Special aged sleeve and brutal audio assault. Incredible record. Scheduled for November 19th.
MOSS 'Live Burial' LP: December 3rd sees the release of 'Live Burial' with a very special full sleeve, different vinyl colour. This will be a very limited release, watch for more news.
The first release for 2008 is set to be a split CD from TENHORNED BEAST and MARZURAAN. Mastered the CD yesterday with Antti, sounds amazing: the MARZURAAN track is my favourite thing they've done. There will be more news about future releases soon, got some very special
things in the pipeline, just don't want to announce anything too soon.
Tuesday 18/9/07
New items in the webshop: TENHORNED BEAST CD, SLEEP RESEARCH FACILITY CD, 'JOHN BARLEYCORN REBORN: DARK BRITANNICA' compilation CD and the 'FEED YOUR EGO' Japanese compilation CD.
Saturday 15/9/07
Whilst moving some boxes in the warehouse, I unearthed a couple of boxes with some stock of previous AB releases thought to be long out of print. The CREBAIN picture LP and the GRAILS 'Black Tar Prophecies II' LP can both be purchased in the webshop now while stocks last.
New items in the shop from BORIS, SUNBURNED CIRCLE (yep, Circle and Sunburned Hand of the Man collaboration), GROWING, JESU, GINNUNGAGAP.
MOSS LPs should now be ready to ship second week of October. Apologies to all concerned, but this is out of our hands and entirely due to the manufacturer. Expect another update shortly.
Audio samples added in the shop for STARGAZER'S ASSISTANT, and MOSS. More samples will be added in due course.
Monday 10/9/07
More new items in the shop from: VELVET CACOON, ALUK TODOLO, PROCER VENEFICUS, WOLVES IN THE THRONEROOM and GODHEADSCOPE.
Saturday 8/9/07
Shop updated with new items: NUIT NOIRE/CIRCLE OF OUROBOROS 7", ASKA/HYPOTHERMIA 7", BASILISK LP, WORMSBLOOD tape and the incredible BOUND IN SKIN, a 5 CD compilation.
No, I still do noty have a confirmed delivery date for MOSS vinyl.
Friday 7/9/07
New L'ACEPHALE T shirt available now in the shop.
Great review of L'ACEPHALE:
Continuing Aurora Borealis's exploration into the muddier waters of blackest metal comes this unexpected gem from Portland Oregon's
" L'Acephale. Taking their moniker from a secret society and publication from French writer and occasionally atheist mystic Georges
Bataille this dark intellectual thought is carried directly into the band's singular and dirt-ridden experimental sound. Taking
cues from Burzum's career-defining 'Filosofem' but also gleaning influence from the likes of Drudkh, Akitsa, Ulver, Striborg and
Hate Forest this is the kind of black metal that I just don't hear enough of - both effortlessly noisy and lo-fi but powerful and
frenetic at the same time. Walls of melancholy fretwork are built over powerful super-fast drumming and the razor-fed vocal work
of frontman Set Sothis Nox La to create grim textures of menacing sound tailor made to keep you from sleeping right ever again.
'Mord und Totschlag' is quite surprisingly the band's debut demo cassette and has been re-released in deluxe format (with a fancy
poster and booklet!) with some extra material, but don't let the 'demo' status put you off, just as with so many other USBM acts,
these early demos are often the most singular and defined efforts from the band and certainly I've been won over by L'Acephale.
Interspersing the album randomly with peculiar bursts of synthetic ambience, noise and drone (not unlike Striborg) this is a
shockingly detailed album, far more grandly realised than so many similar albums in the genre coming across far more like a well
crafted story than is usually to be expected. By the time you reach the album's centrepoint - the 21 minute epic 'Against a
Weeping Sea of Sleep'; a long form piece of pure funereal hatred which travels effortlessly from hyper distorted and primitive
black metal into acoustic strumming and drone before weaving its wicked way into droning doom. An absolutely shocking piece of
work from start to finish - metal fans, noise fans and doom followers take note, this is a band I have a feeling we will be
hearing a great deal more from in the months and years to come! Huge recommendation." - Boomkat.
Wednesday 5/9/07
Big shop upddate, lots of new stuff: BURIAL HEX, COBALT, CAINA, AMBER ASYLUM, HINTERGEDANKEN, PULSEFEAR, ANGELIC PROCESS,
ULVER, TROUM, ALTAR SHADOWS, SALUTE, T.O.M.B, and the new OAKEN THRONE issue 5 with CD.
Great review of Stargazer's Assistant from Boomkat:
"Aurora Borealis is quickly becoming one of those labels which is a badge of quality,
a label where you know whatever the record is, no matter whether you've heard of the
band or not it's going to be worth listening to, and this latest from The Stargazer's
Assistant is no exception. 'The Other Side of the Island' is a soundtrack produced to
accompany a series of sculptural works by Guapo drummer David J Smith, and Smith
together with some very able collaborators (namely Finnish electronic whizz Antti
Uusimaki and Guapo's Daniel O'Sullivan) the three make some quite stunning soundscapes.
With the relation to Aurora Borealis there would be an assumption that the album is
an exploration into the outer reaches of doom metal, but that's where you'd be wrong -
'The Other Side of the Island' is a more textural affair with electro-acoustic soundscapes
conjuring up Ennio Morricone or Svarte Greiner, albeit with an occasional metallic slant.
It's seriously dark material for those late night boat-rides with the grim reaper, the kind
of material that won't so much keep you up at night as turn you into something you're trying
to convince yourself you never were. Spooky doesn't even come close..."
Tuesday 28/8/07
Aurora Borealis is proud to release the debut album by THE STARGAZER'S ASSISTANT. Entitled "The Other Side of the Island", the album is the soundtrack to the
sculptural works collected under the same name, both being
the work of David J Smith. In addition to his percussion
duties with Guapo, Smith has spent the last two years
bringing his visions to life; life that emerged slowly,
painstakingly, out of wax, coal, copper and lead. In much the
same way, the soundtrack itself slowly writhes organically
before the listener: the groan of the motherlode, the shifting
of tectonic plates, the song of the Earth's crust.
In collaboration with longstanding musical cohort Daniel
O'Sullivan (with whom Smith plays in Miasma & The
Carousel Of Dead Horses) and audio engineer Antti
Uusumaki, Smith has created a strange work comprising of
layered vocals, percussion, electronics and prepared strings.
The Stargazer's Assistant offer up the soundtrack of eternal,
elemental labour.
You can read more about David and his artwork here. Recent collaborators in his live improvised performances, two of which took place at a gallery, the sculptures bearing
mute witness to the spectacle, have included Daniel O'Sullivan, Alexander Tucker and Mark Pilkington (better known for his work with Strange Attractor magazine). Further dates will be publicised here.
The CD was also available in 2 highly limited gallery editions sold at the exhibition, one in a silk screened cloth bag, the other in an additional lead slipcase. Please email if you are interested in these editions, we may be able to get some still.
Thursday 23/8/07
Artwork for the new DEAD RAVEN CHOIR album "My Firstborn Will Surely Be Blind" has been completed and sent off to the plant. The album consists of ten tracks of stripped down BM influenced
forest noise balladry, perhaps Smolken's most accessible album to date, and yet the opposite is also true. More news to follow soon.
MOSS 'Cthonic Rites' 2LP is still at the plant, no delivery or release date confirmed as yet.
THE STARGAZER'S ASSISTANT (David J Smith of GUAPO, MIASMA, AMAL GAMAL) "The Other Side of The Island" CD will be released on Monday 27th August. It consists of 3 tracks, 38 minutes total. "The Other Side Of The Island"
is the spectre of a soundtrack to David J. Smith's elemental sculptural works, recently exhibited in London. Sounds that writhe and groan organically before the listener, conjured by Smith and long time collaborators Daniel O'Sullivan and Antti Uusimaki.
A very strange and disturbing work that holds the keys to "deep time" and the restful breath of eternities. More info will follow in the coming hours...
The remainder of the year will see a very limited vinyl only edition of the incredible 'Oriflamme' work of WRAITHS from Scotland. "Wraiths exclusively utilize found & re-structured equipment, location acoustics and human vocals.
No computers or synthesizers are used in any Wraiths recording or live event. All Wraiths releases are recorded live and improvised, under ritual conditions." Described variously as "death-ambient and blast-furnace power drone...nihilistic electronics", WRAITHS
deliver punishing slabs of heavy noise, though with unhealthy organic warmth. I listened to this so much at 6am over a 4 week period that I convinced them to allow me to release it on vinyl. Following that, there will be a split CD of two disparate acts from
North East England, the hazy narcotic rock of MARZURAAN twinned with the occultic drones of TENHORNED BEAST. Lastly, MOSS 'Live Burial' will be reissued on vinyl only. This was
previously released as a CDr in an edition of 13 copies, and is a live recording
from the band's rehearsal space. Its some of the most brutal MOSS audio ever, and sounds incredible on vinyl.
Lastly, I have a mountain of new items to add to the webshop here, so hopefully should have everything up by tomorrow.
Thursday 16/8/07
MOSS update: all parts are now in manufacture, but I don't yet have a delivery date. No preorders, sorry. There are essentially two versions:
the standard edition is black vinyl, heavy gatefold, with A1 poster. The special edition is black vinyl, heavy gatefold, with A1 poster, 2 pin badges and
an exta LP, "Live Burial", on clear vinyl in a picture sleeve. "Live Burial" was previously released as a CDr in an edition of 13 copies, and is a live recording
from the band's rehearsal space. Its some of the most brutal MOSS audio ever, and sounds incredible on vinyl.
I will update the site with exact dates when the information becomes available.
Monday 13/8/07
ARKTAU EOS CD added to the webshop.
Saturday 11/8/07
New in the store; STRIBORG 'Ghostwoodlands' T shirt in black or grey, KORGUNTHURUS LP, ARKHA SVA/BLACK STENCH split LP.
New OAKEN THRONE mag is on the way. This issue comes with a CD, featuring a MOSS track along with a bunch of other good stuff. Should have them next week.
L'ACEPHALE has been selling well and has left a big impression on all who have heard it. Reviews and features are on the way in some of the major press.
SILVESTER ANFANG have also been getting a lot of attention, and deservedly so.
New release info will follow shortly, got some good stuff on the way.
Friday 10/8/07
In the last few days new items added to the store from MORDANT MUSIC, STUMM, I-CORAX, ASHPOOL, STRIBORG,BARBATOS, AKITSA, SUTCLIFFE JUGEND,
REUTOFF, BEN NASH, POCAHAUNTED...
MOSS vinyl update: all the parts are now on order finally. I expect to have finished goods ready in 3 weeks maximum.
More updates on other new releases will be posted in the coming hours...
Tuesday 31/7/07
New items added to the store from SVARROGH, ALLERSEELEN, WALDTEUFEL, CADAVEROUS CONDITION, IN GOWAN RING, and a restock of STURMPERCHT.
PLEASE NOTE:There seems to be a problem with mailorders placed between the 29th of June and the 4th of July. Although received, orders between these dates
seem to have not been processed and sent out. Apologies for the inconvenience. I am working on this right now and hope to get the orders shipped out by tomorrow.
Monday 30/7/07
Back from holiday and back at the AB helm once more. Shop update will be tomorrow now, and hopefully will have some news updates too.
Saturday 21/7/07
PLEASE NOTE: I WILL BE ON HOLIDAY FROM THE 22ND TIL THE 29TH OF JULY. DURING THIS TIME I WILL NOT BE SHIPPING ANYTHING OUT, BUT ALL
ORDERS PLACED AT THIS TIME WILL BE SENT ON MONDAY THE 30TH. ADDITIONALLY I WILL NOT BE ANSWERING ANY MAIL DURING THIS PERIOD. ALL MAIL WILL BE
RESPONDED TO ON THE 3OTH.
Friday was my final day of full-time work, so from the 30th I will be concentrating full-time on Aurora Borealis (along with some other projects). This means that emails will
be answered in a timely manner, orders will be shipped within 48 hours tops, and the news, Myspace and webshop will all be updated almost daily. There's a ton of great new gems for the webshop sitting here, so check back on the 30th for mountains
of great new CDs, tapes and vinyl. I apologise to anyone that has had a crappy shopping experience with AB, but things got too much to handle on top of a full-time job with long hours. With the luxury of time, I will be trying to build up the webshop and hopefully customers will
notice the difference: I know it sucks waiting for records to turn up! It is also likely that the webshop will get something of a redesign before too long.
In the meantime, you might want to click here and download an AB "mixtape" assembled by John Macedo. John's done an excellent job cutting together lots of old AB releases, and I think
it shows the label's aesthetic very well. Its pretty long, 1 hours and 6 minutes, so may take a while to download. The rough tracklisting (without titles or times) is as follwos: Knives ov Resistance/Ginnungagap/Guapo/Silvester Anfang/MOSS/Wolfmangler/L'Acephale/Wolfmangler/KTL/Fungal Hex/Jesu/Villains/Grails. Enjoy!
Monday 9/7/07
L'ACEPHALE 'mord und totsclag' deluxe CD version now available. Ultra intense BM from Portland, Oregon, with hypnotic death folk passages and occult
schematics. Comes in DVD case with card slipcase, with 18pp booklet and poster. From the press release:
Acephale; from the Latin a-cephalus, headless or without a chief.
Taking their moniker from George Bataille's political and cultural
journal from the late 1930's, Portland, Oregon's L'acephale have
created a ritualistic totem that stands as "a war machine against
received ideas".
Formed in 2002 and conceived originally as a one man project,
Set Sothis Nox La birthed a sonic Lusus Naturae of Herculean
proportion, taking equal inspiration from the current wave of
Eastern European black metal (including Drudkh & Hate Forest),
the more experimental approach of post-industrial neo-folk
(Waldteufel, Toroidh etc.) and cultural writings & philosophies
from neo-paganism through to the surrealism of the Inter-War
years.
Following on from other USBM ubermensch like Weakling,
Wormwood, Leviathan and Wolves In The Throne Room et al,
L'acephale create a heady brew - blasting whirlwinds of frenetic
energy combine with more measured and eerie passages to
create something potent, original and devastating.
Click here to vist their band page.
Thursday 5/7/07
Excellent review of SILVESTER ANFANG by the mighty ArchDrude, Julian Cope:
"Those seeking further ritual dissolution of the mind should seek out the incredible
'official debut' by Belgium's free-form snot-gobblers Silvester Anfang, who call their
music 'funeral folk' (see www.funeralfolk.be) and take their name from the German new year.
Across two hugely epic tracks, these lunatics' demented psychedelick hogwash of chorale vocals,
free-form lead guitar, eerie minor-chord organ and Nadja-style drum decay conjures up comparisons
with modern masters such as Death Comes Along and Shiva's Tongue, as well as evoking the
'committing-a-body-to-a-Danish-bog' Iron Age rituals of very early T. Dream, Le Stelle di Mario
Schifano, and YETI-period Amon Duul 2. I'm convinced the chick licking the skull on the album cover
is intended as a faithful visual representation of what's taking place within the album's
micro-grooves. Released on the excellent Aurora Bourealis label, would it be too disappointing to
admit that this is also superb music for exercising to?"
Amazing! Hear the words of the wise and buy yourself a copy now!
MOSS vinyl draws nearer, though still a few problems to iron out.
Saturday 30/6/07
The excellent Guapo are supporting FINAL and NEUROSIS tonight at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London. Should be an amzing night. Copies of the JESU vinyl will be on sale I believe.
Reprint of the MOSS 'cthulhu' shirt is in stock now.
Currently listening to:
ALUK TODOLO - forthcoming CD
ETTRICK - feeders of ravens LP
GOATLORD - reflections of the solstice CD
Friday 29/6/07
KTL shirts were finally delivered last night, but still missing size large, due early next week. Apologies to all customers waiting on these. As a further complication there is a UK postal strike today and tomorrow. This will obviously slow things down somewhat.
RAKHIM LPs sold out very fast. New stock expected today is the MOSS cthulhu shirt, reprinted with a dark grey ink. Also expecting a giant delivery from Austria, but I suspect that its languishing at a depot somewhere...
Thursday 28/6/07
New in stock: Blackest Rainbow/AB T shirts, SUNN/EARTH angelcoma split LP. Very limited stock of these items.
Monday 25/6/07
JESU sundown/sunrise EP second pressing now in stock. Limited to 300 in transparent and transparent red "colour in colour", exclusively to this website. There are two further colours available: 1000 transparent available through our distributor, Southern Records, and 250 solid grey and yellow "colour in colour" which will be exclusive to Hydra Head in the USA.
Other new items in the store: BONE AWL LP & 7", EXTINCTION CD, RAKHIM LP, BLASPHEMY CD, MIDNIGHT CD. Also some KTL 1 LPs in black vinyl that I had lurking.
Pictures of the forthcoming L'ACEPHALE CD package & the fold out poster:
Got a Myspace page finally: Very modern.
Saturday 23/6/07
MOSS 'Cthonic Rites' double LP version is scheduled for Monday 30th July. This will be available worldwide through our distributor Southern Records. There will be an ultra limited edition with an extra LP containing the 'Live Burial' session. This was recorded in 2004 and is a live rehearsal: sound quality is narcotic, the ambience is desolate oppression. This will only be availiable in a very small number from the band and from the AB site. No reservation, no preorders.
New items in the shop: GraveTemple CD, Burial Chamber Trio LP, Devoid of All Mercy CD, Chora & Lanterns Cdr.
Due next week: Ben Nash tape, STUMM CD, I.Corax CD, JESU 'sundown/sunrise' LP (2nd pressing, new colour), new stuff from NWN! Productions, Todestrieb, Blackest Rainbow and others.
Current listening:
Devoid of All Mercy 'your children left with the stranger' CD, Battlecruizer.
Nargaroth 'amarok' Pic LP, No Colours.
Mythical Beast/Pocahaunted split LP, NotNotFun.
Prurient 'fossil' CD, Hospital.
MOSS 'live burial' Cdr, self released.
Thursday 21/6/07
VILLAINS "Drenched in the Poisons" CD review:
From New York's trash strewn streets comes Villains. Like Florida's Negative Plane, Villains makes music from the time forgotten: a locus of denim and suds, stashed pints, and schwag bags. It's not that Drenched in the Poisons was recorded in a vacuum; it's that the members of Villains have little-to-no regard for acquiescing to the metastasizing white-belted horde frothing for limited releases of "High Metal Art." Where there is no compromise; there is no quarter. "Sickness of Snakes" rolls out of the gate, flicking tongued guitars, snarling vocals, skins and brass as hotwired streetcleaner on a midnight joyride. "Trampled" transliterates Slayer's "Captor of Sin" for the wee-hour express train crowd. There is no brown bagging. Thick lines of coke and meth are hoover'd up bullish, inflamed nostrils. The vacant, shocked white stares look on as scab-faced whores make ten dollars the hard way, heavy hips creaking and groaning under piss-colored light. Desecrator's screams are short struggles. Killusion and Teeth divebomb and neigh and roar. Witchwhipper sets percussive waves in motion, coughing up torrents of double-bass bomb, soaring cymbal and snare combinations that slash and rip and gouge. The title track is Villains at full strength, full of Beam, beer, and bud, a miasmatic hormonal monster of thrash hatred. Villains is not policemen; they are the bad guys with the curlicue mustaches. Highest recommendation.
- Stewart Voegtlin, STYLUS
Tuesday 5/6/07
SILVESTER ANFANG "Kosmies Slachtafval" CD and T shirt and KTL "Kindertotenlieder" T shirt added to the store. Also another STURMPERCHT CD and the ALKERDEEL tape.
Saturday 2/6/07
SILVESTER ANFANG release their debut "proper" CD through Aurora Borealis on Monday June 4th. Entitled "Kosmies Slachtafval", the CD sees the band in dark post-Krautrock territory. For reviews, info and samples, check the band page. Funeral Brol!
SILVESTER ANFANG will be playing the Luminaire, London, on Sunday June 3rd with Ignatz and Jack Rose. Click here for details.
New MP3 added! Filthy "LTFV" by VILLAINS from their debut CD, "Drenched in the Poisons". CD available now from all good stores and distros. The vinyl edition on Nuclear War Now! Productions will be out in July.
Saturday 12/5/07
The JESU "sundown/sunrise" 12" yellow/clear edition is now sold out. There will be a repress, due in approximately 3 weeks, three new colourways, one each for Hydra Head, AB webshop and our distributor, Southern Records.
Big shop update today: new items from SILVESTER ANFANG (look out for their debut CD release, coming on AB on June 4th!), JACK ROSE, KTL, WRAITHS, Sir RICHARD BISHOP, HEKEL, & RAKHIM (feat members of CIRCLE). All good, limited numbers of all of it, this ain't Amazon...
New stuff one the way: Blackest Rainnbow/AB Ts, new stuff from NZ label Battlecruizer.
Coming soon on the label: SILVESTER ANFANG "Kosmies Slachtafval" CD, L'ACEPHALE "Mord und Totsclag" CD, MOSS "Cthonic Rites" double LP and ultra LTD triple LP, WOLFMANGLER LP, new DEAD RAVEN CHOIR CD & LP (so amazing...), MARZURAAN/TENHORNED BEAST split CD.
June will see SILVESTER ANFANG playing in London, with Jack Rose and Ignatz: hopefully there will be an AB hosted event to coincide with the CD release on the 4th. There are also plans for a KNIVES OV RESISTANCE live event here in London. More news as it becomes available.
Monday 7/5/07
JESU "sundown/sunrise" 12" ABX011
The JESU "sundown/sunrise" 12" yellow/clear edition is now on sale in the webstore.
This will start shipping tomorrow as its actually a national holiday in the UK today and there is no postal service running.
The grey/clear version, edition of 900, has sold out through Southern, both through distribution and in their webshop. A second pressing will take place this week, more colour and run
information will be posted soon.
Saturday 5/5/07
This will be on sale from 9 a.m. Monday 7th May exclusively through this website. Its an edition of 300. One per customer.
In other news, SILVESTER ANFANG "Kosmies Slachtafval" CD will be released June 4th. Deluxe digipack with poster. In the meantime you can pick up their new LP on Eclipse and the split 7" with JACK ROSE in the webshop.
New MOSS T shirt added to the shop, ultra crust... New limited shirt made in conjunction with Blackest Rainbow: designed by French, the shirts come in sky blue
or black with an AB cotton tote bag (a sort of lo-fi DJ bag...). I only have very few of these, so act fast if you want one.
Lastly, the mailorder has a new mistress, so you can expect answers and packages in a more timely manner. Basically, AB started as something to do and has
become a serious concern that I can no longer deal with on my own (and hope to keep my job...). Thanks to everyone that has ordered in the past and that continues to do so:
hopefully we can now offer you the level of service that you deserve.
Thursday 26/4/07
Mailorder is now more or less back up to speed. If there is a problem with your order, I'll email you. Apologies for the slow service and lack of email over the past couple of months. This should be resolved going forwards as I now actually have some help.
The JESU "sundown/sunrise" 12" has been pre-selling like hot cakes through Southern, so it might be worth acting fast if you want one. I may initiate a presales system next week for the super ltd clear/yellow version, so please stay tuned.
Also coming this weekend is a new Moss shirt design, currently super ltd. I will also be posting more infor about SILVESTER ANFANG, and there will be an overhaul to the shop with some new items.
Wednesday 18/4/07
JESU "sundown/sunrise" 12" ABX011
This is the grey/clear version (edition of 900) that will be available form our distributor, Southern Records.
Following moving house and the attendant mailorder problems this has caused, I will not be taking preorders, but Southern will be. If I clear up all the existing issues and do start taking preorders I will let you know.
Monday 16/4/07
Apologies to anyone that has emailed any of the Aurora addresses in the last month or two and not received a reply. Thankfully the email and broadband is now back on after relocating. I'm trying to deal with all the backlog as
quickly as possible, though I currently have 3000 emails in the inbox.
If you are emailing me about an order you placed please be sure to include your full name, the email address you ordered from, the order date and your Paypal id number. Without all of this information it can be hard to track down your order.
In other news, we will be releasing JESU "sundown/sunrise" in May. Clear/grey and yellow/grey vinyl editions will be available, both come with a heavyweight gloss UV sleeve designed by Seldon Hunt. The record is being distributed in Europe and the USA by
Southern Records.
SILVESTER ANFANG, the leading proponents of occultic Belgo-psych, will release their debut CD through Aurora Borealis in early June, roughly coinciding with a UK date or two. Expect good things from these guys: check out their LP on KRAAK and look out for their upcoming LP on Eclipse.
The summer still threatens the new DEAD RAVEN CHOIR CD & LP, L'ACEPHALE "Mord und Totsclag" CD, and the long awaited MOSS "Cthonic Rites" double LP with limited triple vinyl version. The final piece of the puzzle is the inner gatefold which is currently being finished by Justin Bartlet using worn out pens for added grimness...
Lastly,there will be a new MOSS T shirt design available next week featuring the crust logo. I'll post pictures as soon as I get the shirts. Check the MOSS page for a new download.
Thursday 16/3/07
Still running the site from a coffee shop, but all orders up to the 12th March have been shipped and the remainder will be shipped in the next two days.
JESU 12" will be out April 23rd. 2 colour vinyl, with 2 variations. Pictures when I get them.
Thursday 15/3/07
Shop stock is pretty much up to date, if it doesn't say sold out it means its in stock... A few restocks.
KTL has been shipping out daily.
Email: the email addresses for AB are still a problem right now as I still don't have any regular internet connection. I will try and get through some on the weekend when I have some time off work. Apologies for leaving you hanging, I'm not ignoring you!
Saturday 10/3/07
Sir Richard Bishop LP and SUNN O))) CD added to shop.
Friday 9/3/07
I may be developing a severe coffee habit and twitching away, but at least I'm not in Starbucks. Venti, Grande... WTF? Bah humbug. Anyways,
new items added to the store: WORMWOOD CD, CAINA CD, MAKOTO KAWABATA LP (very limited).
Proud to announce 2 new releases coming soon:
SILVESTER ANFANG "Kosmies Slachtafval" CD - the debut CD release from this Flemmish occult psych post-Kraut rock, free folk kollectiv. Dark and magickal.
L'ACEPHALE "Mord und Totsclag" CD. Reissue of the insanely limited demo from this Oregon based cerebral BM/neo folk/post industrial beast. Ultra punishing, harrowing sonic blasts tempered with beautiful passages of mystical revelation and gnostic mantras.
Expect great packaging for both. More information and images soon.
JESU "sundown/sunrise" vinyl will also be out very shortly. More info to follow asap.
Coffee is over, the pastries are gone and work beckons...
Thursday 8/3/07
Aurora Borealis: The Internet Cafe Years....
Many thanks for the insane response to the KTL LP. It looks likely that we will sell out within the week.
New items added to the store: NACHTMYSTIUM LP, WOLD CD, ASUNDER CD, WOLFMANGLER 7".
Wednesday 7/3/07
KTL is now up in the webshop. Apologies for the delay: AB is currently in semi-limbo as I had to move out of my appartment and cannot yet move into my new place. This means no internet connection and
that all the stock is in storage. I'm continuing to run the store as best I can, but some items are a little harder to ship out than others: if there is a problem, (ie - I can't find stuff), I will
mail you about the item in question. I realise that this isn't ideal, but I should be fully moved in the next 4 weeks maximum. In the meantime, I am gradually getting the shop stock more sorted each day, so it should
all be back on target before then.
More news as soon as possible. New release news update on the way.
This update brought to you courtesy of Cafe Nero and their expensive pre-pay WiFi...
Friday 9/2/07
KTL LP sleeves finally arrived...
I now have to pack these and they will be available soon, possibly next weekend.
Wednesday 7/2/07
VILLAINS and KNIVES OV RESISTANCE CDs now available in the store. This is your chance to celebrate diversity.
Friday 2/2/07
VILLAINS "drenched in the poisons" debut CD out Feb 15th...
"From New YorkÕs trash strewn streets comes Villains. Like FloridaÕs Negative Plane, Villains makes music from the time forgotten: a locus of denim and suds, stashed pints,
and schwag bags. ItÕs not that Drenched in the Poisons was recorded in a vacuum; itÕs that the members of Villains have little-to-no regard for acquiescing to the metastasizing
white-belted horde frothing for limited releases of ÒHigh Metal Art.Ó Where there is no compromise; there is no quarter. ÒSickness of SnakesÓ rolls out of the gate, flicking tongued
guitars, snarling vocals, skins and brass as hotwired streetcleaner on a midnight joyride. ÒTrampledÓ transliterates SlayerÕs ÒCaptor of SinÓ for the wee-hour express train crowd.
There is no brown bagging. Thick lines of coke and meth are hooverÕd up bullish, inflamed nostrils. The vacant, shocked white stares look on as scab-faced whores make ten dollars
the hard way, heavy hips creaking and groaning under piss-colored light. DesecratorÕs screams are short struggles. Killusion and Teeth divebomb and neigh and roar. Witchwhipper
sets percussive waves in motion, coughing up torrents of double-bass bomb, soaring cymbal and snare combinations that slash and rip and gouge. The title track is Villains at full
strength, full of Beam, beer, and bud, a miasmatic hormonal monster of thrash hatred. Villains is not policemen; they are the bad guys with the curlicue mustaches. Highest recommendation."
[Stewart Voegtlin]
Saturday 27/1/07
KTL A1 poster comes with every copy of the KTL double vinyl... Still waiting on sleeves from the printers.
More stuff added to the shop: new Oaken Throne (great VILLAINS interview!), Jack Rose CD, SLOMO restock, STURMPERCHT (amazing...), plus some others.
Almost ready to drop:
KNIVES ¯V RESISTANCE CD
VILLAINS CD
KTL double LP and A1 poster
Soon:
JESU "sun down / sun rise" 12"
MOSS double LP (with limited triple LP version!)
WOLFMANGLER LP & poster
Limited BLACKEST RAINBOW/AURORA BOREALIS T shirt & bag combo.
Soonish:
MARZURAAN/TENHORNED BEAST split CD
DEAD RAVEN CHOIR new CD/LP
L'ACEPHALE CD
SILVESTER ANFANG stuff TBC
Wednesday 24/1/07
KTL was due out by now, (live pic above - thats inside, by the way...), but there was a problem with the gatefold sleeves so that the majority of them
had to be returned to the manufacturer. We are currently awaiting a confirmed date whehn we will receive
acceptable copies. More news as I get it, but hopefully this release will be available by Feb 15th.
Lots of stuff added to the shop. Lots more to add.
If you live in or around Sheffield, be sure to visit THE BLACKEST RAINBOW, a great new independent store. (I FIXED THE LINK NOW!) They will be carrrying AB releases as well as tons
of great obscurities and they do mailorder too. Awesome logo designed by French too...
Saturday 6/1/07
Welcome to 2007. Its shaping up to be a massive year for AB: Late January sees the release of
the KTL doppel winyl with A1 poster. Early Feb brings VILLAINS debut CD, an absolute stormer, KNIVES OV RESISTANCE finally comes out on CD, well worth the wait, and late Feb will see the
JESU 12" coming out. March will hopefully bring the MOSS vinyl project, the new DEAD RAVEN CHOIR CD and LP, and the amzaing L'ACEPHALE CD and LP... I'm trying to pace it, but the releases are coming thick and fast. Later in the year will see more WOLFMANGLER, and releases from MARZURAAN, TENHORNED BEAST,
SYLVESTRE ANFANG, and ALEXANDER TUCKER.
Mailorder is finally back on track, though work commitments mean that its not at the sacle it used to be, but I am trying to build things back up again. I have a room full of new stuff to put on the site, so look for new items in the web shop this week coming.
Lastly, God Is Myth records are doing a ltd DEAD RAVEN CHOIR T shirt. Check it out here and help Smolken with payments on his forest lair.
Saturday 16/12/06
MASSIVE update in the shop. New stuff, old stuff, stuff I have had sitting around...
Further news updates tomorrow.
Friday 10/11/06
Thanks to the good people at Southern, Aurora Borealis will be distributed throughout Europe. Releases should at least be able to order from your local independent
record store. You may even find Wolfmangler in your local HMV. It is a strange world indeed. We should have fairly decent US distribution through Southern
in the US from early next year. We also have been given the use of their forum. You can
visit the forum here.
Wednesday 8/11/06
Aurora Borealis interview at Stylus magazine courtesy of Stewart Voegtlin.
Big shop update coming this weekend...
Friday 20/10/06
New DEAD RAVEN CHOIR 'selenoclast wolves' CD added to store. More items returned to stock.
Aurora Borealis is proud to announce that we will be issuing the vinyl edition of KINDERTOTENLIEDER.
Monday 16/10/06
E-commerce resumes. The webshop is open once more, though only offering Aurora Borealis releases at present. I'm piling up the recent acquisitions though and should soon be offering a full catalogue once again. I am also
looking into offering some shipping alternatives and insurance, as frankly I no longer trust the Royal Mail as much as I used to. Perhaps its another sign of the general decline of the West...
Currently recommended in London, the Hans Bellmer exhibition at the Whitechapel gallery.
Sunday 15/10/06
Couple more reviews added to the Wolfmangler page, see the artists section. Further updates in the nexct day or so.
Any customers with order enquiries should email info@aurora-b.com stating their full name and address, Paypal transaction number, and order. Please state if you ordered from a different email address, or there are any other anomalies I should know about.
Thursday 21/9/06
I have taken the shop offline until October 1st as I will be out of country next week and don't want orders to build up to an unmanageable level again. I will reopen with new items then. Unless you ordered in the last few days, your order is in the mail. If there is a problem with your order, you will hear from me.
Apologies for the decline in service and in the speed of service but my current employment status means that I don't know if I can carry on with the shop as I used to - I simply do not have the time. I'm hopefully going to come up with a solution. Thanks for all the support and custom, its truly appreciated.
Friday 15/9/06
New stock will NOT be added to the store this week, a few things are now sold out... All back orders are nearly cleared. I'm not adding any new stuff to the shop until its cleared.
In label news, KNIVES OV RESISTANCE will finally see the light of day after death threats from the band. The CD will be available in approximately 2 weeks. MOSS 'cthonic rites' is still planned for
double vinyl, we are currnetly waiting on the completion of the artwork. Read more at their new web lair. Artwork for VILLAINS is almost complete. The CD will see release in a digipack in the next few months. Witness the
filth.
Wednesday 30/8/06
Dear customers,
Apologies for the lack of contact and information. Many of you will have finally received your orders, and I am in the process of responding to the rest of you. It now becomes clear that I should have slosed the webshop about 5 weeks ago due to personal issues here, but I thought that I could carry on.
I'm sorry that this has left people wondering if they have been ripped off, and that's obviously not good for my business reputation either. If you have an order enquiry or are concerned about your order, please email me asap with the subject as ORDER QUERY. Please try and give me as much info about your order as possible.
Please don't bother emailing if you have ordered in the last 14 days, that's not a problem. I will do my best to get back to you all within 24 hours.
In other news I have a bunch of new things for the site and lots of new AB release news, but I want to get all the backlog sorted out first.
So, apologies once again. Normal service will now be resumed. Thank you.
Thursday 10/8/06
Back in country, so I'm catching up with any emails - if there is a problem with your order, I'll let you know. Otherwise, don't worry, sit tight. I can't send a confirmation email for every order, I don't have time, sorry - this isn't my full time job. Please be patient, I try to get everything out
as quickly as possible.
Restock items: DRUDKH, DEATHSPELL OMEGA and FUNRERAL MIST Ts and HERESI and MUTIILATION LPs. More soon.
Saturday 29/7/06
NEW in the store: GINNUNGAGAP 'remeindre' LP finally. DRUDKH 'blood in our wells' LP, plus vinyl from URFAUST, LEVIATHAN, NORTT... Many new CD titles to add plus some tapes. Many thanks to everyone who came along and bought stuff at Supersonic.
Friday 21/7/06
Lots of items sold out in the store. Hoping for new stock soon on Deathspell Omega shirts, HERESI and MUTIILATION LPs. Lot's more stuff on the way.
Aurora Borealis will be sharing a stall tomorrow at the Supersonic Festival in Birmingham, UK. We will be selling the new GINNUNGAGAP 'remeindre' LP. It will be available from the webstore on Monday. PLEASE do not panic and email me about this, I will NOT sell 700 copies in Birmingham...
CIRCLE are playing tonight in London with MIASMA, should be excellent: CIRCLE will be recording a session for Latitudes today.
Lastly, some mailorder is a little slow right now - I basically have taken on more work than before, so time juggling is harder than ever. If there is a problem with your order, I will get in touch. Otherwise, don't panic, it's just that I'm not Amazon. Sorry.
Saturday 15/7/06
New item added to the store: STRIBORG T shirt.
Expected next week: tons of quality BM from Northern Heritage, such as earky work of DEATHSPELL OMEGA, SATANIC WARMASTER, ILDJARN, and some DRUDKH vinyl.
Thursday 13/7/06
New items in the store: THE ANGELIC PROCESS CD, UTLAGR CD, ILDJARN 'forest poetry' Japanese CD, NECROPOLIS CD and GOATVARGR CD.
Thursday 6/7/06
New items in the store: CURRENT 93/OM split 10", AKITSA/PRURIENT split CD, HERESI psalm II LP, MUTIILATION rattenkonnig PIC LP, DRUDKH swamps T restock.
Wednesday 5/7/06
Available now: WOLFMANGLER werwolf T. Finally available, blood red glory...
Juian Cope, the Arch Drude, on WOLFMANGLER:
"No no no, what you really gots to hear is the new WOLFMANGLER, me dears. Released on the consistently great Aurora Borealis label, this stunningly-titled album DWELLING IN A DEAD RAVEN FOR THE GLORY OF CRUCIFIED WOLVES is as original as our blessed
Teeth Of Lions Rule The Divine, Waldteufel or Khanate, and is truly the sound of the re-heathenised north. Wolfmangler, I salute ye. Imagine if THE WICKER MAN had not been an absolute pile of Christian-informed what-your-auntie-thinks-pagans-do
sub-sub-Hammer Horror, and had, instead, been visionary enough to allow us all to have glimpsed an imagined lifestyle of heathens on some remote northern isle. Well, Wolfmangler is that soundtrack. If a doom heavy metal band played the music of the
Padstow Obby 'Oss, we'd be somewhere close. If Martin Walkier of Sabbat made an album with a colliery brass band, we'd be somewhere close. With their bassoon, trombone and drums at the forefront, Wolfmangler's heady ritual drawl is the best I've heard
since the aforementioned Teeth of Lions, Waldteufel and Khanate. Genius or watt." - HEAD HERITAGE
GINNUNGAGAP 'remeindre' LP is now at the plant. Edition of 700, 200 clear and 500 solid white with a messy change over... Will be available late July, should be for sale at the
Supersonic Festival in Birmingham.
Monday 26/6/06
Available now: GUAPO 'twisted stems' CD EP
Two brand new Guapo tracks, (previously only available on a 7" limited to 200).
Dedicated to Athanasius Kircher, often cited as the last man that knew everything (read more here). The first track
is very contemplative and structured around piano, while the second track is a more brooding, more familiar trip into Guapo territory.
The package consists of a CD in a matte finish CD wallet inside a PVC slip case, the whole being sealed with a sticker baring the tracklisting and
general information.
New in the webshop: DISSECTION vinyl editions on the incredible Norma Evangelium Diaboli, DEATHSPELL OMEGA Ts restock.
The WOLFMANGLER shirts are still on the way after the first batch were deemed of inferior quality and we returned them.
Next releases: KNIVES OV RESISTANCE CD, WOLFMANGLER LP version, GINNUNGAGAP 'remeindre' LP version. VILLAINS debut full length is at the mastering stage in NYC.
Monday 12/6/06
"Wolfmangler is another project from the Polish Moustache otherwise
known as D Smolken, also of Garlic Yarg and Dead Raven Choir. The
sludgefest follows the chamber doom quartet lineage of their previous
releases, the bass/bass/double bass here being augmented by what
sounds like a flute and maybe a French horn. And a big drum. The drum
and flute give songs like "King Guthrum" an almost Korean court music
feel, but the French horn pulls the soupy bass throb closer to Noggin
The Nog territory. There's also a kind of Ray Harryhausen feel,
something reminescent of the awakening of a plasticine dragon or the
approach of clunkily animated skeletons holding swords, maybe one
skelly has one of those spiky ball and chain thingies. If you could
sonically render the effect of heavy rags being hypnotically stirred
into a cauldron of molten pitch with a severed antler this is the
sound you would get. All the while, Smolken hisses elegies, spits
dirges and generally growls one off, rolling his R's like a proper
movie baddy. Totally book." -Plan B magazine
WOLFMANGLER "Dwelling in a Dead Raven for the Glory of Crucified Wolves", unleashed beneath a full moon, is now available in the web shop.
NEW ITEMS in the webstore from 20 Buck Spin records, and Tiermes.
Wednesday 7/6/06
Following consultation with Smolken, WOLFMANGLER "Dwelling in a Dead Raven for the Glory of Crucified Wolves" will now be released on June 11th, the night of the full moon seeming most auspicious. The CD features
cover artwork by the inimitable ALEXANDER TUCKER. The release will be accompanied by a T shirt. A very special, limited vinyl release will follow.
Also imminent are KNIVES OV RESISTANCE, whch has been waiting on some packaging issues, and GUAPO "Twisted stems" CD.
Tuesday 30/5/06
WOLFMANGLER debut full length CD for Aurora Borealis, entitled "Dwelling in a Dead Raven for the Glory of Crucified Wolves", is almost ready. Approximate heath date Monday June 5th.
New items added to the store: The excellent new CURRENT 93 CD, and the much overlooked TARANTULA HAWK CD. Expect more new items later in the week.
Sunday 28/5/06
New items added to store: ASHES, M87, THRALLDOM T, and DRUDKH T, MERRIMACK LP, BLASPHEMOUS EVIL PicLP. Restocks of both URFAUST CDs... Highly recommended, bizarre and otherworldly.
Next week should see the new BLACK BONED ANGEL CD, a new MRTYU! CD, some GRAVES AT SEA action, maybe some BONE AWL. In AB info, the discs are here for the
KNIVES OF RESISTANCE CD, the packaging is on the way. Hopefully this week will see the arrival of the debut WOLFMANGLER album CD, vinyl will follow in a limited run with expanded artwork. GINNUNGAGAP 'remeindre' is in production now, waiting for the test pressings for approval. L'ACEPHALE master and artwork have been supplied and the layout and packaging concerns are now being worked on for the CD.
SUNN O))) in the NEW YORK TIMES? Its a strange world.
Monday 22/5/06
New items added to store: MARZURAAN 'Solid Wood' LP & split 7" with SINK, OAKEN THRONE 3, PLOTKIN/WYSKIDA CD, GAUHAERT, DRUDKH, HATE FOREST,
SURROUNDING comp CD...
WORLD SHOP updated. New items and new prices, some up and some down.
More new items on the way including some ultra limited items that are sure to fly out....
Saturday 20/5/06
Fixed some problems in the store, such as the GRAILS button for the Latitudes session. Got tons of new stuff to add to the store... New OAKEN THRONE zine, tons of vinyl and some new CDs.
Got an unmastered version of the VILLAINS album, totally killer, will be out soon. WOLFMANGLER full length CD will be out in the next 4 weeks, as should be the KNIVES OF RESISTANCE CD. Might be some limited edition GUAPO CD action coming up soon too, tying in with their US tour with the mighty ZOMBI. More soon...
Wednesday 26/4/06
The new STRIBORG added to the store. It actually sounds kind of "better" than some of his previous works, very interesting. Also selling a prett interesting comp tape, worth a look. In other news, MOSS 'Cthonic Rites' is almost sold out on CD now. A repress will follow. Thanks to everyone that has polluted their essence with this
fine disc. The vinyl version is now in an advanced stage of planning. More new release info very soon.
Saturday 22/4/06
New items added to the store. THRALLDOM, LSD MARCH, MARK D. More to come...
Friday 14/4/06
Aurora Borealis is very proud to announce the release of GRAILS 'Black Tar Prophecies II'. Consisting of four new studio tracks on transparent yellow 180gms vinyl, housed in a 2 colour vellum sleeve, the band are reaching further into the frontiers of their creativity, musical
expression and ability. Truly awesome stuff. Limited to only 500 pieces worldwide.
New T shirts added: FUNERAL MIST, OFERMOD. Small stock on these so act fast...
A quick word on postage costs: mailing vinyl records to the USA is now ridiculously expensive, almost prohibitively so. For the GRAILS release and future vinyl releases, we will try and work with an ever growing number of US distributors. I will post more news on this shortly.
Wednesday 12/4/06
MOSS venue change: MOSS now play live in Bristol at The Hatchet, 27 Frogmore Street, Bristol. Thursday, 13th April, 8pm onwards, £5. Venue info here.
Ne GRAILS record will post in the shop tomorrow. The band have their copies and reaction has been great. Hopefully CONSPIRACY will have their copies on sale at the DOMINO festival show in BRUSSELS on Sunday.
Thursday 6/4/06
More new items added to the store... More to come!
GRAILS 'The Black Tar Prophecies II' should be available in the webstore next week. Four new tracks with a new twist on the GRAILS sound, amazing stuff. Two colour vellum-style sleeve,
transparent yellow 180gm vinyl, limited to 500 copies. US distributors to be confirmed this week.
The kvlt ov MOSS creeps onwards... Awesome review here. MOSS play live in Bristol at The Junction, Stokes Croft, Bristol, BS1 3QP. Thursday, 13th April, 8pm onwards, £5. Witness this rare sighting...
NEXT: KNIVES OV RESISTANCE ltd CD, GINNUNGAGAP 'remeindre' vinyl, WOLFMANGLER LP/CD...
Wednesday 5/4/06
SLOMO 'The Creep' added to the store. More soon.
Saturday 1/4/06
Big store update today, lots of new stuff, more stuff next week.
Got some problems with the GRAILS sleeve artwork, so that may be available in about 10 days with any luck. Artwork now underway for the next WOLFMANGLER opus,
"Dwelling in a dead raven for the glory of crucified wolves". This will be on both CD and LP.
FUNGAL HEX is sold out, but SOUTHERN do still have a few copies...
Good MOSS review can be found here.
Wednesday 22/3/06
FUNGAL HEX is now marked as out of stock - I may have a few more, but it looks like thats it. Many thanks to everyone that has purchased this fantastic record.
Hope to have the GRAILS 12" for at least some of the UK shows...
Monday 20/3/06
Service resumes as normal at AB. All mailorders received over the last few weeks are now being processed and mailing out today and tomorrow.
Interesting feature on Dead Raven Choir in this month's Men's Health (Russian) magazine: can this really be the soundtrack in a Russian gym somewhere?
I will be adding lots of new items to the webstore in the next few days, as and when I have time from my other commitments.
In release news, GRAILS 12" is in production, KNIVES OV RESISTANCE is ready to go, and VILLAINS have finished recording and are now mastering the debut album. Expect great things...
Thursday 16/2/06
Added some new items to the store...
OFERMOD LP is out of stock, may not be able to get any more copies. Many of the items stocked will NOT be restocked, usually due to their unavailability. FUNGAL HEX is now down to about 20% of the pressing, so don't miss out.
Also running out: URFAUST 1st CD, DEAD RAVEN CHOIR CD, HAINO CD, HOLY McGRAIL CD, WALDTEUFEL CD. Out: FROST 7", BENIGHTED LEAMS CD, URFAUST 2nd CD.
Coming soon to the shop: FROSTMOON ECLIPSE 'dead and forever gone' CD, DRUDKH 'poison in our wells' CD, MALIGN 'divine facing' CD,
OFERMOD T shirt, LSD MARCH CD, DEAD RAVEN CHOIR 'selenoclast wolves' CD... The list goes on.
Wednesday 15/2/06
Coming soon: GUINNUNGAGAP - 'remeindre' 12" vinyl version.
Coming soon: KNIVES OV RESISTANCE - 'Prisca Sapientia' CD. "An end-times opus, inspired by John Dee and Karlheinz
Stockhausen and their quests to find the hidden truths of the universe, through schismatic means. Knives ov
Resistance entreat the choruses of Enochian angels - to the human ear, this resembles Popol Vuh's scores
for Werner Herzog, or a more restrained Godspeed You Black Emperor"
In the works: GRAILS - 'black tar prophecies II' 12", VILLAINS CD, JESU 12". Details to follow...
Due in the shop: EARTH 'hex' Dbl LP, ABIGAIL 7" and LP, HEATHEN HOOF LP, VON CD.
Wenesday 1/2/06
Celebrating the freedom to express views which may be construed as incitement to religious hatred, many NED items added to the store. Deathspell Omega, Funeral Mist, etc.
Orthodox evil triumphant.
Monday 30/1/06
Seven new CDs added to the store, including BLACKDEATH/LEVIATHAN split, HJARNIDAUDI, DRUDKH and others.
New links added.
Saturday 28/1/06
New MOSS shirt added to the store.
Monday 23/1/06
More added to the artists section. Will add more MP3s this week.
New 2 colour MOSS T shirt in production, will post in webshop in the next few days, along with new stock: some DRUDKH, Amber Asylum, Hjarnidaudi, and Benighted Leams CDs.
Sunday 22/1/06
Artists page added. Click on the skeletal feet on the navigation corpse... Information on the artists released by Aurora Borealis can be found, along with some graphics etc. This page will be added to on a regular basis.
Added some new links, including VILLAINS...
Saturday 21/1/06
ONDSKAPT "Draco Sit Mihi Dux" double LP added to the webshop. The fabled whale of London towne was unfortunate enought to hear some of this horrendous work emananting from the cabin of a demented sailor aboard a trawler in the North Atlantic... Disorientated, the beast sought to beach himself as far in land as possible and end it all.
New MOSS shirt will post in the shop in the next few days...
Friday 20/1/06
New items from MIASMA & THE CAROUSEL OF DEAD HORSES, HOLY McGRAIL, and KEIJI HAINO added to the store.
Thursday 19/1/06
DEAD RAVEN CHOIR box set now in stock. New WOLFMANGLER CD and LP will be released later in the year by Aurora Borealis.
New MOSS shirt available next week, more items to add to the shop on the weekend.
Sunday 15/1/06
it was the best of times, it was the worst of times... New items in the shop, none of them very cheerful. All of them are highly recommended though. Velvet Cacoon is, I feel, especially worthwhile. Do a Google search and read up on them, its enlightening.
Thursday 11/1/06
Cleaning up the webshop. New items imminent...
Wednesday 11/1/06
Another year seems to be speeding past already.... Really busy with mailorder for Fungal Hex and MOSS, and Crebain is still flying out too. Thanks to all of the customers purchasing from the website, please be patient, I'm posting orders out as fast as I can.
Plans are afoot for this year, so many great releases coming out. Some ready to go, some are just twinkles in the minds eye, but its looking good. I also WILL update the store with new items asap, got some great new stuff, though still no sign of the LEVIATHAN/BLACKDEATH split CD... Stay tuned.
Monday 2/1/06
FUNGAL HEX is now available in the webshop. Postage on this item is pretty steep - approximately 1/4 of the total price for non European customers. As soon as US distributors are confirmed I will post on the site, it may be cheaper and easier to buy from them.
In other news, interesting new label just launched by the name of Paradigms Recordings. They have some very interesting releases plannned over the next few months. A noble endeavour.
Friday 30/12/05
The following items are out of stock: L'Acephale 7", Hate Forest "Sorrow" LP, ONDSKAPT and DEATHSPELL OMEGA 'Kenose' CD. Hope to get these restocked. GINNUNGAGAP 'remeindre' CD is also out of stock but its unklikely that I will be able to get any further copies. Southern, the label responsible for the Latitudes series, still have copies here.
Items due in the webshop: FUNGAL HEX double pic LP, VELVET CACOON (both cds), LURKER OF CHALICE LP, EARTH 'Hex' dbl LP, HAEMOTH 'kontamination' pic disc, XASTHUR 'nocturnal poisoning' dbl LP, WALDTEUFEL CD, LEVIATHAN/BLACKDEATH split CD, FROSTMOON ECLIPSE CD, MIASMA & THE CAROUSEL OF DEAD HORSES CD, HOLY McGRAIL 'Collecting Earthquakes' CD. These should all be in by January 7th.
Thursday 29/12/05
Hail Pan! Thanks to all for the great response to the MOSS 'Cthonic Rites' CD release. The AB copies of the 'Underworld Ritual' CDr that came with our first 50 copies have now all gone. MOSS should have the remainder available from their site. Images of the sleeve are attached below. The recording is 'lo-fi', being 'The Gate' recorded from the crowd to tape on a hand held mic. Unrefined is a good word to apply...
 
In other news, the long awaited vinyl pressing of FUNGAL HEX will go on sale in the webshop on January 1st, 2006. Postage on this will be obscene - its a double 12" 45rpm picture disc set housed in a 2 colour vellum slip cover in a thick PVC bag. More details can be gleaned here.
Friday 23/12/05
Cosmic blasphemy is unleashed! MOSS 'Cthonic Rites' CD is now available...Cthulhu fhtagn!
The webstore will be open as usual but postage will commence once again on the 28th of December.
Saturday 17/12/05
Got let down by the pressing plant, so MOSS 'Cthonic Rites' will now be here Monday. Stay tuned for more on this masterwork of ultra doom.
FUNGAL HEX double picture disc LP is also ready and will post on the site Monday or so as well. Looks great, very pleased with how it came out.
Current favourites:
v/a WOOD BROTHERS compilation of Latvian, Estonian etc BM. Great stuff.
TOM WAITS "dirt in the ground" - Obsessing over this song, very Christmasy...
SATANIC WARMASTER 'opferblut'
DARKTHRONE 'total death' - can there really be a Siouxsie and the Banshees cover on the next album? Amazing!
Friday 9/12/05
CREBAIN review added for your general perusal. Listen to Cries of My Motherland.
Tuesday 6/12/05
Back and shipping stuff out every day at the moment...
MOSS 'Cthonic rites' CD is imminent, basically had a bunch of problems with manufacturing, packaging difficulties. I suspect some cosmic conspiracy to supress this paean to the Elder Gods. Nice review of the MOSS/WOLFMANGLER split can be found HERE.
FUNGAL HEX will post on the site very very soon. I fear the postage will be insane, it weighs more than many a newborn.
WHITE DAUGHTER lurks in the shadows, but the reviews have started and are most positive about this negative downer.
Thursday 17/11/05
CREBAIN "Night of the Stormcrow" pic LP added to the store. Ancalagon, the man behind CREBAIN, is a stalwart of the SFBM scene, and cohort of LEVIATHAN, with whom he released a split CD. Aurora Borealis is proud to release this remastered version of the demo, in an edition of 500. Act now!
Catching up with mailorder still. MRTYU! CDr is out of stock. INTEGRITY LP is almost sold out. Some shirt sizes are nearly sold out. These will be restocked by November 28th and you will be notified if the size you order goes out of stock.
I'll be on tour with KHANATE from Friday 18th November until Saturday 26th. Any orders placed during this time will not be shipped until the 28th. I should have some AB stock with me on the tour.
Hope to add a couple more items to the webstore before I leave...
Wednesday 9/11/05
Banks Violette and Stephen O'Malley collaborate on some artwork, show is in Brussels. Info HERE.
Monday 7/11/05
Last few days to visit the Austin Osman Spare exhibition, open to 11th November.
The Maas Gallery
15a Clifford St
London
W1S 4JZ
Exhibition Opening Hours: 10amÐ5.30pm Entrance is Free. Map HERE.
New Items added to the store, more to come.
Todays listening:
THRALLDOM : Seven Heads... 7"
MARISSA NADLER: Ballads of Living and Dying CD
DEATHSPELL OMEGA: Kenose CD
Wednesday 2/11/05
Shirts will be available.
Todays listening:
MORBID ANGEL: Blessed are the Sick CD
ALLERSEELEN: Venezia CD
MOSS: Thee Bridge ov Madness cdr
Monday 31/10/05
Hails! Samhain update: UNEARTHY TRANCE live CDR is sold out. Managed to find 15 more copies of the out of print GINNUNGAGAP "remeindre" CD, buy or weep.
Trying to add more stuff as and when so check for updates this week...
Apologies for slower than usual shipping times at present. Been really busy and its hard to find the time to get everything done. Please allow 28 days for delivery, but I do usually ship orders out within 48 hours.
CREBAIN pic LP is about to be unleashed upon the world. Expect to see this epic slab this weekend.
Following that, we have FUNGAL HEX, which is currently in production, and the MOSS full length and
WHITE DAUGHTER (featuring CAPRICORNS member) full length debut, which should all be out by December.
Current listening:
TIERMES: malahvia CD and s.a.g II CD (try COLD SPRING mailorder for these hard to find gems)
SLOMO: the creep CD
KORPERSCHWACHE : sordid revelations CDr
WHITE DAUGHTER: Stiff With The Invisible CD
LURKER OF CHALICE LP
MOSS: Cthonic Rites CD
DIO: Holy Diver CD
PANIC DRIVES HUMAN HERDS: new tracks demo CD
Wednesday 19/10/05
Brief update: Thanks to everyone that has bought the INTEGRITY LP and shirts in the last 10 days. We are constantly shipping orders, so allow at least 10 days delivery at present.
New items expected for the store by the weekend: some HATE FOREST ltd vinyl, plus items from HOLY McGRAIL, ONDSKAPT, DEATHSPELL OMEGA, THRALLDOM... the list goes on.
Work continues on the CREBAIN picture disc and the FUNGAL HEX release, MOSS full length artwork is almost complete.
Sunday 9/10/05
INTEGRITY "Palm Sunday" LP finally available. Info here on this merciless release.
INTEGRITY shirts will be ready to ship by Wednesday.
AURORA BOREALIS Nercognosis and Skull Logo Ts are now reduced to clear in the webstore.
CAPRICORNS vinyl finally back in stock.
UNEARTHLY TRANCE 'In The Red' vinyl back in stock.
BLACK BONED ANGEL plays in the UK this week. Plays Friday 14th October at Instal festival Glasgow. I think there is a Leeds date also, but I can't find the dates anywhere, he took them off his site. Please mail me if you know them so I can post them on here.
The 'Eternal Love' CDR is out of stock now.
Incoming: waiting for VILLAINS restock, ONDSKAPT CD, DEATHSPELL OMEGA CD, THRALLDOM 7s.
Current listening:
ONDSKAPT: Dodens Evangelium CD, NED.
KYLESA : To Walk a MIddle Course CD, Prosthetic.
MOSS: Cthonic Rites CD advance
TWILIGHT: s/t CD, Southern Lord
MUNICIPAL WASTE: Hazardous Mutation CD Earache
SARGEIST: Satanic Black Devotion CD, Moribund.
L'Acephale: The Book of Lies 7"
WHITE DAUGHTER: Stiff With The Invisible advance CD, amazing...
Saturday 1/10/05
Added DEAD RAVEN CHOIR "death to dead wolves" CD to the store. Incredibly strange and unsettling recordings from Smolken of WOLFMANGLER.
FUNGAL HEX has gone to press. This wil now be a double 12" picture disc set with a printed sleeve. Looks amazing.
CREBAIN "night of the stormcrow" is heading for a Halloween release date. Picture disc looks killer. Proud to be releasing this majestic slab.
Saturday 24/09/05
Store updated: new items & restocks from: DEAD RAVEN CHOIR, MING, GHOUL, GRIEF, L'ACEPHALE, MRTYU.
INTEGRITY 'palm sunday' LP will be ready for sale next week. All the elements are now in and it looks and sounds killer. More news on this shortly.
Current listening:
MOSS: Cthonic Rites CD advance
L'Acephale: The Book of Lies 7"
Ghoul: Raping Soul CDR
Watain: Rabid Death's Curse CD
Opeth: Ghost Reveries CD
Monday 12/09/05
THRALLDOM "black sun resistance" LP added to the store. Interesting review and discussion of this gem to be perused at your leisure.
WOLD CD added to the web store.
STURGEON WHITE MOSS issue 6 added to the web store (Jeffrey Brown image above).
Links section updated.
Catalogue section updated with more info on AB releases.
Sunday 11/09/05
Updates to the links page. Updates to the store in the next 24 hours. MIASMA & THE CAROUSEL OF DEAD HORSES were absolutely superb supporting ASVA the other night here in London. Fail to see them at your great peril.
Tuesday 6/09/05
Great response to the MOSS/WOLFMANGLER split CD, thanks to all the customers so far for supporting such uneasy listening. For more info on MOSS and some MP3s, look here , and for WOLFMANGLER look here.
New items on the way: WOLD CD and THRALLDOM Black Sun Resistance LP this week, and the INTEGRITY Palm Sunday LP will be here next week. Total armageddon beckons....
Friday 2/09/05
MOSS/WOLFMANGLER "protected by the ejaculation of wolves" split CD, shirts and pins all now available in the store. Get this deluxe packaged meisterwerk now and be forever doomed...
URFAUST. If you like the more deranged and creative side of Black Metal, then you need to hear URFAUST. Hailing from the Netherlands, URFAUST somehow bring Classical bombast, near-psychedelic droning buzzsaw riffs and the drunken singing of a moribund cabaret artist together with totally spectacular results. A work of staggering genius.
I managed to get some of the limited edition DARKTHRONE LPs and CD boxsets that were recently released in Japan to coincide with the Tokyo exhibition of Peter Beste's Black Metal photography. I also managed to get some copies of the book as well, also limited. I was intending to sell these on the site, (see Tuesday's pictures), but I have pretty much sold out of everything. Please email me if you are interested in any of this stuff and I'll let you know what I have left. I may do another order if they have any LPs left.
Tuesday 30/08/05
MOSS/WOLFMANGLER "protected by the ejaculation of wolves" CD imminent.
KHANATE "capture & release" is immense.
URFAUST.
Friday 26/08/05
New item in the store: UNEARTHLY TRANCE "live in Belgium" CDR. Fresh from Humanless recodings, UT live on the last date of the European tour earlier this year. Raw but powerful recording, excellent performance including an unreleased track.
MOSS/WOLFMANGLER splitCD will be here next week, ready to ship. Badge sets and shirts for both bands will also be available. Prepare for ultra Doom on a cosmic level, crushed up against primitive forest Doom, whispering melancholic verse to the corpses of wolves and ravens...
Saturday 20/08/05
The doors are apparently at 6.30pm tonight at the Underworld, last band has to finish at 10.30pm. Apologies for the flier above saying 7.30pm...
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