Here you will find all the distributed CDs from A - M. To browse other sections of the shop please click the red links below:

AURORA BOREALIS RELEASES
DISTRIBUTED ITEMS: vinyl, CD (A-M), CD (N-Z), clothing, other items, add registered shipping.
All prices include shipping worldwide. Please allow 28 days for delivery. You will be emailed when your order has been shipped. Although we aim to ship orders out within 48 hours of receipt, this is not always possible. You will be emailed if there is a problem with your order (eg address seems incorrect, item out of stock, etc).



aethenor
'Betimes black cloudmasses' CD


Genre: avant garde
Highly-anticipated second album from the trio of Vincent De Roguin (Shora), Stephen O'Malley (Sunn0))), KTL) and Daniel O'Sullivan (Guapo). Like their genre and audience-confounding debut 'Deep In Ocean Sunk the Lamp of Light', 'Betimes' is an atmospheric, constantly changing piece that encompasses a mind-boggling array of different performance and processing techniques. The deeply psychedelic and affecting results present a soundstage that is continually evolving, with new elements entering and leaving the fray every couple of seconds. Betimes includes significant contributions from free percussionists Nicolas Field and Alex Babel, who sprinkle the sound field with an almost FMP-style rush of splattering drum sound, raising the intensity of the music (without resorting to bashing). 'Betimes' also features effects and vocals from Ulver mastermind Kristoffer Rygg.
Cover design by Swiss designer Nicola Todeschini and Vincent De Roguin. CD is in a letterpress card folio, printed by Stumptown.
"Musically, Aethenor summon the most somnolent examples of Bernard Parmegiani, Organum, Nurse with Wound, Klaus Schulze, Igor Wakhevitch, Coil, Iancu Dumitrescu and Charlemagne Palestine. Acousmatic drones ebb and flow into crackling and bubbling sonic clusters. Lulling piano motifs and lamenting chants shimmer into distant lunar horizons while oscillators spin and drove serenely into unchartered audial regions. Sometimes as calm as a silvery sea, so that every gentle cat's-paw and lapping wave is deafening. Sometimes as tempestuous as a fuming lava beach, spitting and popping at the surface." - Daniel O'Sullivan
12.99


aethenor
'Deep in Ocean Sunk the Lamp of Light' CD


Genre: avant garde
Debut by trio of Stephen O'Malley (Sunn0))) ), Daniel O'Sullivan (Guapo), and Vincent de Roguin (Shora). Taking its title from The Iliad, the music here is deep and cosmic, completely unlike anything you'd expect from such heavyweights. More in the tradition of 'Spiral Insana' and 'Cyborg' than anything, the tracks float along in a masterful collage of activity, where careful scene changes highlight O'Sullivan's classic but artfully placed Rhodes bombs, de Roguin's organ, and O'Malley's guitar. Extraordinary effort has gone into editing, mastering, and shaping these pieces - these are not tossed off improvisations or "side-project" orphans. Housed in CD jackets hand-printed by Alan Sherry/SIWA
12.99


ALABASTER SUNS
"Alabaster Suns" CD (RPG-03)

Genre: Hardcore
ALABASTER SUNS is the new band rising from the ashes of the much celebrated CAPRICORNS (Rise Above records). The band features K A Williams on guitar and vocals and Nathan Perrier on drums with new blood DL on bass. After playing numerous shows, this is the bands first recording, with John Hannon at the controls (NO RECORDING studio).

The album opens at a furious pace with 'Iron Gang', brutal and heavy, it bears comparison with elements of VOIVOD, PRONG and similarly progressive brutal acts of the mid 80s, though with a Dischord edge, perhaps bringing to mind bands such as SWIZ and CIRCUS LUPUS. The band's complex time signatures, and atypical riffs create a true sound all their own though, as they seamlessly blend staggeringly heavy freight-train bludgeon with more mellow breakdowns. Indeed penultimate track 'Alabaster Suns' is a remarkably gentle piece, which makes very effective use of a perfectly selected guitar tone: being veterans of the hardcore scene, ALABASTER SUNS are perfectly clear about what they want to achieve and they know their equipment. 'The World Got Lighter' closes the proceedings with nearly eight minutes mixing mid-paced groove and ferocious rocking.

With their past pedigree and the sheer quality on offer with this debut album its certain that ALABASTER SUNS will get the attention they deserve.

Read more on the blog.

Iron Gang 7:52
Royal 6 in Hand 4:13
Cosmo-Nought 6:56
Alabaster Suns 3:51
The World Got Lighter 7:57


8.99 POSTPAID


ALUK TODOLO
'Descension' CD


Genre: black metal/experimental/krautrock

The first full-length shows the band developing the esoteric theorems established on it's debut 7" and going far deeper in the methodical exploration of the occult powers of musical trance. With the goal to create a timeless, organic mixing of krautrock's strangeness and black metal's coldness, Aluk Todolo conjures rabid obsessive rhythms and abyssal disharmonic guitars, subliminal spiritualist vibrations and bizarre, magick summonings. By reducing psychedelic improvisation to a bare, telluric instrumentation, and basking in the archaic rawness of lo-fi production, the trio elaborates on an audio ritual meant to be monolithic and stabbing, hypnotic but unpredictable, minimalist yet teeming.

11.99 POSTPAID


aluk todolo
'Finsternis' CD


Genre: occult Kraut rock/BM
"Aluk Todolo are a recondite creature. Part okkult black metal fiend and part snide kraut menace. Somehow the doppelganger works and Finsternis proves for a second time there is brilliance in the absence of light. Dry, spare percussion grievously mines the scrapes, shrieks and shimmer of mutated guitar and bass. Finsternis is the German word for eclipse, mimetic of cyclic elements, phases and unphases, endless rebeginnings, broken circles and perfect circles. A dangerous, noxious coil of all things black." - Utech

Great follow up to their fisrt album, much stranger in that they pitch headlong into roads untrodden. In some ways its much mellower than the previous album and maybe more similar to the debut 7". Allegedly recorded in cave far from the modern world and then comprehensivley mixed later, this is a great piece of work.

"Another winner from Utech, but you knew this would be good. This time the wild blackened-psych is totally under control and driven by a deathmarch-drumbeat that is so solid that it really does put you in a trance. A bit of a departure and I'm down." - Hammer Smashed Jazz

Sample: TotalitE.
RESTOCK SOON

ANAON
'An harar hag ar stered' 3" Cdr


Genre:regional experimental
Early recordings by Sorchenn, Ronan Le Deroff and Pierre Durand. The ancestral trio tells and lives its country, Brittany. With myths and legends from the mists of time, Anaon pulls us to our celtic roots; Recorded at Black Legions studio in age-old times by Wladd & Vorlock Drakkstein (Vlad Tepes).
The Black Legions connection makes a lot of sense, there are definite elements of Moevot here, and in the context of Black Legions it is interesting to re-evaluate Sorc'henn. Elements such as the use of language and the strange musical persepctive all benefit from this informed standpoint. When considering music like this, (I'm thinking here of the remarkable SADASTOR release also), its hard not to think that France's isolationism has been responsible for a great many incredible and intriguing bands who seem to be following their own paths.
Limited to 87.

6.99 POSTPAID


ISAK ANDERSSEN
' The Kromatican/Evig' 3" cdr


Genre: modern classical/electronica
Isak Anderssen is a composer, musician and producer. Previously he has been releasing records under the alias of Upper Rooms, with two album-releases and more on the Norwegian label Beatservice. Isak Anderssen deals with a wide variety of styles and expressions. But whatever the setting might be, he deals with the simple and immediate and the hidden complexity that lies within the material he's working with. In addition to a variety of electronica-projects, he's been working with ballet music, chamber music, music for theatre productions and sound-sculptures, and he is also a member of the multimedia-duo Bndvidda (with Jon Halvor Bjrnseth). This beautiful release conjures sunlight glinting on ice fields, the freezing of breath on the Nordic air...
Tavarnkeben, edition of 60.



3.99

Arktau Eos
'Ai Ma Ra' 2CD


Genre:experimental ambient / ritual

Ai Ma Ra is a monumental album containing over 105 minutes of experimental elemental and ambient music, original in the literal sense of the word. More than music, it is 'ethnography of the unknown' in action, providing vistas into rarely glimpsed corners of reality. Created primarily on acoustic instruments, organs and harmonium, carefully mastered on vintage tape, the sound is equally earthy as it is otherworldly a contradiction in terms maybe, but then Ai Ma Ra is not classified easily in any other respect either. It is a record in which to immerse ones self over time, containing more than two years' worth of strange experiences and sensations distilled into a curious, potent elixir, the use of which may in its truest sense be determined only by the individual listener.

Ai Ma Ra, pressed in 1000 copies, comes in a sturdy, deep green cardboard fold over cover stamped with the mark of Arktau Eos. Contained within is an 8-page booklet bound in tte-bche format on high quality paper, a small talismanic print, and two CDs.

Arktau Eos are true pioneers, and this is some very deep, immersive work. I think you'll be able to get something from this if you like FAUNA, BLOOD OF THE BLACK OWL and the like, its deeply resonant on a primitive consciousness level. Highly recommended.

16.99 POSTPAID


ATAVIST
"ATAVIST" CD



"Atavist is the sound of every conceivable negative emotion channelled through the medium of cranium- crushing doomed despair. Ungodly vocals are pitched against unholy foul sludge with bass levels tailored specifically for maximum bowel demolishing discomfort.
This is essential for fiends into: Corrupted, Khanate, Eyehategod, Grief etc.. Features Burning Witch wardrummer Jamie "Boggy" Sykes. Released in Europe via Invada records.
"Atavist are from sunny Manchester and their critically acclaimed debut album features 3 extended tracks of dark, grimacing, doom ridden metallic sludge. The first track on offer is cleverly titled 31:38 ; a half hour droning jam, harnessing all the finest elements of drone-rocks greats (The Melvins, Earth, Sunn o))), Boris etc) and injecting enough intelligence to put it next to even heavy post-rockers Pelican for scope and vision. In fact the album reminds me very much of Oceans debut record on Important not too long ago, large mutating compositions moving slowly (but surely) from place to place keeping the listening interesting but always deep, dark and heavy! A hugely satisfying listen, Atavist have the power, and they aint afraid to use it!" - INVADA
PELICAN NECK / BOOMCAT
"This is intense, brutal and raw anti-music. Utterly fantastic and recommended to anyone with a taste for the truely extreme" METAL HAMMER 8/10

10.50


AUN
'Blackhorse' CD


Genre:drone/ambient
"Echoes of an adolescent past, nurtured to the sound of Swans, Ennio Morricone , Zoviet France and some dirty shoegazing came to the forefront, even including a 1990 squeeling guitar solo in the track Horsemen. 'Blackhorse' is a raw, forward thinking, highly musical album" -Oral

Beautiful shimmering drone, much lighter in tone than a lot of the drone stuff out there and better for it. Structured and layered pieces shift pass the listener like sun dappled clouds, an almost POPOL VUH feel. Glorious. Just found a couple of this 2007 release hidden away at the bunker, I recommend you snap them up. Total duration: 55m42s

Look out for the forthcoming AUN vinyl, 'VII', coming very soon on AB.

10.99 postpaid


BAPTISM
'Grim Arts of Melancholy' CD


Genre:Finnish Black Metal
BAPTISM is known as one of the most reliable Finnish black metal acts with its instantly recognizable, yet deeply traditional, sort of puritanical "Eliterian" musical worship and esotericism. Referencing both older metal and a newly awakened purpose for a more extreme form of Luciferian art, BAPTISMs work is always more than mere music - its a theistic black metal ceremony. As it is, "Grim Arts of Melancholy" stands as a natural continuation of the work BAPTISM initiated in the 90s. Sargofagians articulated vocals unveil mysteries of a blackest nature in the foreground of a deeply darkened, almost insane, mostly mid-paced riffscape, which seems this time to have kept to a minimum the use of beautiful counterpointing of melodies. Old-school thrashing parts are captured amidst songs in their flight across godless depths, yet return to obscurity as soon as the listener is awakened from the morbid trance of a mid-paced minor key hammering. For most of the time the whole album sounds like one single extended ceremonial track dedicated to Azazel or some other force whose name is unknown to mankind. It achieves this atmosphere without using standard tricks such as extremely lo-fi production; in fact, this one probably has the clearest and most dynamic production BAPTISM ever had. It serves its purpose here to highlight the nature of the album as a sort of anti-symphony, a prayer, a clear vision of doom. The messages of BAPTISMs "Grim Arts" are serious prophecies, not entertaining background music! 6 panel cover booklet including exclusive artwork and for the first time all lyrics printed also in CD version.
12.99 postpaid


BLACK MOUNTAIN TRANSMITTER
'Black Goat Of The Woods' CDr


Genre:drone/ambient

Black cd-r and 12 page booklet in black envelope with printed silver obi strip. Edition of 75. SOLD OUT EVERYWHERE ELSE!
A single forty minute track featuring the sounds of abstract 70's horror movie soundtracks, early synth music, drone and noise. Very good indeed!
"its like standing on the banks of a great fjord, watching solemn spectral processions of passing ancestral death ships, some elegant antiques with dragons head at their prows, but mostly just the rotting hulks of forgotten wars, all trotted out to impress some mysterious underworld administration. Like much of the best so-called Dark Ambient music, the sounds created by Black Mountain Transmitter gives the impression of having been set in motion long ago by some remote force." - Julian Cope.
SOLD OUT!

Bleeding Heart Narrative
'All That Was Missing We Never Had In The World' CD


Genre:ambient/modern compositional
Reissue of the stunning debut BHN album from spring 2008 (Ltd x 200). Working with a constantly evolving autumnal orchestra of layered cellos, repeating piano melodies, hushed vocals and mutant textures of sound and noise, Bleeding Heart Narrative has constructed a unique, haunting and compelling album. BHN is the work of sole composer, artist and producer Oliver Barrett, working in the live spectrum as a septet. Presented in a digipak with the new and exclusive bonus track 'Blueskywards'. "We can't recommend this highly enough!" - Cold Spring.

SOLD OUT

blood fountains
'Floods' CD


Genre: avant garde
"There is no beginning, there is no end, only perpetual oscillation between experience, memory and gravity. Emotion propels our lives, connected to one another and all things through infinity. Floods reaches inward, to the icy depths of the heart to touch and to return with ancient elements unfolding in spectral bliss and horror. Reality of pain and agony is equally married with yearning, dreaming and joyous exaltation. Stephen Kasner evokes a fully-realized painting-to-music translation, with collaborations by David Beaver, Mat Woods, Cheryl Pyle and the vexing vocals of Yoshiko Ohara (Bloody Panda). Floods calls forth a remarkable section of time and feeling, simultaneously compressed and unfurling. A frozen monster of memories, hope and love, and a constant reminder of death's door. Seamless, endless, connected energy. These are fragments of hauntings within us all. We must always remember." - Utech

Another great UTECH release: reminds me of a less bombastic, less medieval, less BM version of MENACE RUINE, wonderful.

Samples: Spiritless.
Hemming.

10.99


BONG
'Gilgamesh Lives' CD


Genre:doom/drone

"Amazing new live jams from Newcastle's BONG. Two long tracks of stoned slow motion drums, guitar, bass and sitar... This is a great follow up to their previous split LP we put out earlier in the year, edition of 1000 copies is bleak pro-printed card sleeve with cover artwork by Chris from Gnod and back artwork by the band." - Blackest Rainbow.
Awesome drugged out doom with sitaar for maximum abuse. Check out their other releases too if you can. RESTOCK!
8.99


bosnia
'Nazarene Hallucinations' CD


Genre: grind/hardcore/doom
"Blackened doom crust from Denver, Colorado. Brutal, grinding filth and downtuned terror with an underlying air of atmospheric menace which reminds us of His Hero Is Gone, Kylesa and such, with a deathly nod to black metal aesthetics. Glorious." - Paradigms
Paradigms is on a roll with these gnarly filthy hardcore sounding releases. Well worth checking out, an edition 500.
8.99


CAINA
'Caina' MCD


Genre: avant garde UK Black Metal
MCD featuring 27 minutes of new material on digipak presentation, this is the heaviest souding and most oppressive Cana release since the early demos, not leaving behind its trademark ethereal and dreamy sound. In the artists own words: No clean vocals, no plethora of fancy effects, this is the closest Cana ever got to sounding as a full band. This release also marks the end of an era, as the project is going on a hiatus, so this is the last youll hear from the band for a while
Featuring guest vocals from Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, taped live in Guyana.
9.99


CULVER/SEPPUKU
'Dedicated To Soledad Miranda' split CD


Genre: noise/doom/drone

"Culver, possibly the most under-appreciated "experimental" musician in the UK who's been making some of the most awe-inspiring drone/noise for years. For those of you who don't know, Lee Stokoe plays bass in Geordie post-whatever geniuses Marzuraan as well as being the current foil to Matthew Bower's walls of scraping guitar noise in Skullflower, but Culver is his "main" project. On this CD he gives us a 30 min+ deluge of harrowing.bassy drone. It starts off like the sound of the generator from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and similarly purveys a sense of crawling dread at what is to come. Soon things get more desperate before being crushed into oblivion by a wall of crushing amplifier noise, which slowly develops into a more sedative shifting tone that wouldn't have been out of place on a Conrad Schnitzler record in the 70s. Perfect!

Seppuku give us two tracks in very different styles....first track "Inga" sees a full band play some unbearably heavy doom. Ushered in by what sounds like a tolling bell, this gives way to some Throbbing Gristle-esque hydraulic pumping before the guitars kick in and everything is laid to waste. Brutal low frequencies and inhuman low/screaming vokilllllls....heavy duty! Second track Emanuelle is enhanced by the appearance of Deek and Stevie from Messiah Complex; sounds very post-industrial power electronics, with walls of bleak static forming the backbone of the track, interspersed with what sounds like post-apocalyptic winds of death, and some distorted lines of screeched vocal. Unpleasant.

Comes in a jewel case with a 12-page glossy booklet featuring pics of my favourite euro-babes. Released in tribute to the most beautiful woman to have ever graced the world with her presence, Soledad! 500 copies." - AWWFN


8.99


DEAD RAVEN CHOIR
'Cask Strength Black Metal' double CD

"Incredibly noisy, Black Metal / Noise covers of old Folk songs. This double CD edition collects their Black Metal works from 2001-2004: the 'Sheath and Knife', 'Grand Ravishing Extravaganza', 'Sevenfold Songs of Death', and 'Sturmfuckinglieder'. Utterly insane distortion and recklessly unreasonable cacophony touching the extremes of the genre."- Supernal
The cover of Leonard Cohen's 80's existentialist ditty "First We Take Manhattan" really is a work of genius and must be heard to be believed. Lots of fine work on here and with words from Georg Trakl, Rainer Maria Rilker and the marvelous Mr Townes Van Zandt.


13.00


DEADWOOD
'Ramblack' CD


Genre: noise/death ambient

'Ramblack' is the follow up to Deadwood's successful 2005 album "8 19" (CSR53CD). Over the past 3 years this Swedish artist has been toiling away, creating a new black ambient / death noise masterpiece and 'Ramblack' is the result. Cloaked in a more raw and morbid sound then its predecessor, this album truly changes ones perspective of audial darkness. This analogue beast of an album layers the tonal prayers of demons and the distorted cries of angels, sickness and depravity. True Death Electronics. The soundtrack to your end. 'Ramblack' features guest vocals from Norwegian Black Metal legend Maniac (Skitliv, ex-Mayhem), whose vocal approach on the song 'Forakt' shows the full range of his capacity. Truly one of the most sick and twisted pieces of sonic art ever recorded. Enjoy the disease!

10.99


DIAPSIQUIR
'pacta daemoniarum / crasse' 2CD


Genre: avant garde Black Metal
Having already left a strong mark with their two revolutionary double albums on End All Life productions, which carry the rare honor of warranting the term avant-garde without regard of following any blueprints, here are the first two demos by this obscure and controversial French outlaw black metal band known for their decadent activities. 'Pacta daemoniarum' was originally released in 1999 and 'Crasse' released in 2001 and exhibited twisted, vociferus manic vocals spit on top of complex orchestrated highly distorted chaotic metal. Never resting and fully absorbed in the savage, sexually violent, drug-laden nihilism of French subculture.
13.99


DUKKHA
"Anatta" Cdr


Genre:crushing doom ambience

I think this was the first DUKKHA CDr, great stuff as per the others available here.

5.99


DUKKHA/BLACK VOMIT split
"Be My Second" split Cdr


Genre:crushing doom ambience

Five long tracks, 2 from DUKKHA, 3 from BLACK VOMIT. Excellent showing from both projects here: very heavy, lots of drone, mulit layered, heavy ass "true sheffiled black psychedelia". Some great drums, samples, some industrial elements, this is highly recommended.

5.99


DUKKHA
'Mandala' CDr


Genre:crushing doom ambience

Five tracks of drifting drone, guitar ambience, leading to darkly beautiful meander and crushing heaviness. The heavy is that of EARTH '2': a warm and druggy fug with a touch of menace, something's not right at the periphery of your vision... Track one has a great keyboard that reminds me of the film CARNIVAL OF SOULS. There are surprises throughout, with some very gentle guitar work and birdsong on track two, evoking stuff like VOICE OF THE SEVEN WOODS, even JACK ROSE. There's also elements of ritual sound, temple ambiance, and a feel of MRTYU!, THUJA and so on. Hell's teeth, there's even a harmonica! Can it be true!? This is an excellent CD, really very impressive. "True sheffield black psychedelia".

CDr with double-sided pro-printed insert in a PVC wallet.

5.99


elitist
s/t CD


Genre: grind/hardcore/doom
"Venomous doom grind horror from Portland, Oregon.

The raw, blackened energy and sonic power of this band really do suggest something very special is lurking here. It kind of gives us the feral excitement that cutting edge extremists like Burning Witch and Nasum have given us in the past. Slow, fast, colossally heavy and effortlessly executed basement crust metal punk. Five vital tracks to rip faces. You will be hearing much more from these guys. Watch out for a future Elitist / Transient split album coming out on Paradigms too." - Paradigms
Excellent raging hardcore in the Converge all out assault style, great production. Recommended for sure.
7.49


EYEBALLS
'The Invisible Castle' CD


Genre:drone/ambient

"Richard Dawson's project that debuted on Blackest Rainbow earlier this year, which was followed by CDRs on Bells Hill, Low Point and Dead Pilot, and another release on Blackest Rainbow, a split cassette with fellow UK droner Gareth Hardwick. The Invisible Castle is far more intense, and in some ways heavier than the previous releases on BR, but retains Dawson's own dark take on the world of psychedelic drone music, and this is a proper drone release, clocking in an hour for the full piece. Intense and superb! Limited to 1000 copies in pro-printed wallets." - Blackest Rainbow.
Very subtly shifting drone marathon, another quality release of out-there sound from the Blackest Rainbow stable.
8.99


Fen
"Ancient Sorrow" CD


Genre: Sorrowful UK black metal

"Inspired by the bleak, esoteric landscapes of Eastern England. Fen blend aspects of Black Metal, Progressive Rock, Folk and Ambient, the three musicians sought to express loss, sorrow, exaltation and a sense of ancient pride through the music thus Fen was born. The Ancient Sorrow EP could be described as dark, atmospheric Black Metal with some Post Rock and Doom influences and would be most appealing to fans of early Agalloch and Primordial as well as Alcest and Amesoeurs."
Excellent UK black metal, totally recommended: its very etherial and melancholy, with the epic feel of say DRUDKH or WALKNUT. There is a definite ALCEST feel, though its much more ballsy. Recommended.

Desolation Embraced 08:48 / The Gales Scream of Loss 07:31 / Under the Endless Sky 12:05
Total playing time 28:24

7.99


fleshpress
'Pillars' CD


Genre: sludge/drone
'Pillars' is a monuMENTAL album. Listening to it feels like you've dropped from on top of the pillars sky high down into nothingness. Mind-fucking freefall which eventually ends all of a sudden, dazing the consciousness, cracking the skull. The newest (2007) album from the Finnish disciples of nothingness refuses to be categorized easily. The usual Fleshpress elements - grieving sludge, coal-dark ambience etc. - are present but now they are accompanied with fast, blasting black metal outbursts. A release of its own kind and easily their best so far. 78 minutes of blackened, nihilistic sludge.

8.99


fleshpress
'Worm Dirges' CD


Genre: sludge/drone
Unlike Fleshpress' newer one, "III", described as clean and spacious and open (not words you'd expect to find in a review of a sludgy doom record) "Wrm Dirges" is much less polished, much more primitive and primal, and not nearly as slow, but still plenty sludgy and heavy. Plenty of Eyehategod-isms for sure, but these two extended mostly instrumental jams don't sound metal as much as they sound sort of krautrocky, or post rocky or even post punky in a weird way. Very reminiscent of Dutch hypno metallers Gore, a simple riff repeated over and over and over and over. Completely and utterly hypnotic. Both tracks devolve into dreamy drones here and there before lurching back into sludge mode, but the interesting thing is that the main riffs in each track (two tracks, two riffs!) don't sound metal so much as they sort of sound like Black Flag. Seriously. Maybe Black Flag at 16rpm. You can -almost- imagine them sped up with Rollins ranting over the top. But c'mon, Black Flag at 16rpm?!?! If that doesn't sound like the best fucking thing ever to you, there's something seriously wrong. Obviously this is essential for the drone doom dirge faithful, Sunn O))), Earth, Boris, Corrupted, etc. as well as fans of the new post rock/metal hybrids (Isis, Conifer, Tides, Baroness, Buried At Sea, Pelican) But other folks into stuff like Circle or Salvatore or the more extreme end of the post rock spectrum might really dig this too. Packaged in a cool tri-fold printed cardstock sleeve.

8.99


Runhild Gammelsaeter
'Amplicon' CD


Genre: experimental

Runhild Gammelsaeter (Thorr's Hammer, Sunn0))), Khlyst) releases her first solo recording. The purpose was to create something organic sound with and about life. A lonely thing, like life, arisen from void. Stillness and a microphone, vocal chords. An idea, thoughts, a goal. Sounds of cycles of life and death, birth and cessation, described with terminology from physics, chemistry and biology. Creating by amplifying an infinitely small idea creating an Amplimer, an Amplicon. Amplicons are pieces of DNA formed as the products of natural or artificial amplification events. Like evolution, giving rise to animal forms with ability to reproduce and die. Amplifying from a minute non-tangible idea something larger which may be experienced with the auditory sense. In physics, matter creation is the appearance of elementary particles in physical processes; the opposite of annihilation. Amplicon sees Gammelsaeter as a creation operator, increasing the number of particles in a given state, taking the operation necessary to amplify ideas to sound. Mixed by Tore Ylvisaker of Ulver.
9.99


gruenewald
s/t CD


Genre: ethereal post-BM
Beautiful, introspective songwriting from Germany's Gruenewald. Slow, melancholic and powerful compositions that bring to mind the mellow, mid-period of Anathema, Ulver and the nocturnal resonance of maybe Bohren And Der Club Of Gore building with a hazy glow of Jesu. "Gruenewald" is three deep and involving tracks spanning 45 minutes, each based around the power of the earth and the forces of nature. Clean guitars, deep bass, low-end tones and drifting percussion are brought together by bold Teutonic vocals, all building to soaring atmospheric peaks.
Presented in a stunning limited edition digipak format of 1000 copies. An intimate album, full of wonder, with it's original roots in the world of atmospheric, experimental metal music but with it's eyes firming fixed on the stars.
This is an excllent album and a real grower: after a couple of listens its hard to imagine listening to anything else. Highly recommended - RESTOCK -

8.99

HABSYLL
'MMVIII' CD


Genre: doom noise
"Unbelievably heavy and slow amplifier overload from France! Two long tracks of uber-doom which is seemingly devoid of any coherant structure and exists only to open up a black void in your stereo speakers through which to suck out your very soul. Habsyll sound to me like a less happy-go-lucky Khanate (??!!- AB), or Monarch without the hipster irony. Totally morbid!
Co-release with a bunch of other labels so loads of copies (well over 1000!). Lovely 8-panel digipaks with black-on-black printing." - AWWFN.

9.99


HALLVARDUR ASGEIRSSON
"Lifsblomid" CD




Eight pieces written by Icelandic composer Hallvardur Asgeirson and performed at the Academy Of Arts in Reykjavik. Challenging yet beautiful, powerful and evocative avant modern classical composition taking elements of the 20th Century Viennese musical school of Schonberg, Berg and Webern, the urban deconstructionalism of Einsturzende Neubauten and the desolate arctic glow of Sigur Ros, Biosphere or the Kranky Records roster. Droning doomed classical, shadowy atmospherics and carefully layered works complemented by choral Teutonics for female voice. A mighty proposition indeed. Another excellent release from Paradigms, mining rich and untapped seams as always.

Ltd to 500, CD in DVD case.

8.00

HALO MANASH
'TAIWASKIVI' CD + DVD


Genre:experimental ambient / ritual

As winter hibernation and spring awakening gives way to summer, Halo Manash rises radiant into luminosity, with wings spread into all worlds, and brings forth Taiwaskivi, an opulent work of solar ambience and primordial Ur-music.

Taiwaskivi, a work of sonic flame and aural ash, consists of seven interrelated tracks, utilizing such diverse instrumentation as organ, horns, vocals, drums, gongs, percussions and various string instruments as well as field-recordings captured during the pilgrimage that the creation of the work embodies.

An air of finality abounds, as Taiwaskivi, although a complete work in itself, can also be viewed as the third and final facet of a tripartite series of works that are part of one holistic creation a treelogy, with seed, root, trunk and finally, branches. Being the culmination of an ascending journey through the aforementioned realms within and without, Taiwaskivi is the celestial crown at the peak, reaching toward Sol, source and beyond; it is the leaves and fruit of the branches and their skybound nectar ever-flowing - the sacred fire, the consummation and conjunction of All.
Comes in a hand finished cardboard booklet.

16.99 POSTPAID

HALO MANASH
'Am Kha Astrie' CD


Genre:experimental ambient / ritual

As the apex of Spring heralds awakenings, Halo Manash emerges from Winter and hibernation ~ Treefaced. Horns spiral skyward and antlers ascend. A tripartite trunk arises a pillar that splits all worlds.

Am Kha Astrie, a work of heliotropic, elemental ambient, is an opening, an awakening, a summoning, a crossing of thresholds. After their previous oneiric and minimal album, Am Kha Astrie sees Halo Manash re-integrate a more diverse instrumentation and a multiplicity of soundsources to create their work, which consists of seven interrelated tracks. Am Kha Astrie is a complete work in itself, but can also be viewed as the second facet of a tripartite series of works that are part of one holistic creation.

Archaic elemental drums, bones and spiraling animal horns merge with various metal percussions, chimes, wind-instruments, voices and a multitude of other instruments to create a deep, earthly and yet celestially-bound opus. Am Kha Astrie is a massive and sometimes ominous work, a primal experience of coming-into-being, with all the terror, ecstasy and divine awe that it implies.

Comes in a hand finished cardboard booklet, in an edition of 1000 copies.

13.99 POSTPAID

HALO MANASH
'Language of Red Goats' CD


Genre:experimental ambient / ritual

Guided by nether nectars and dream herbs, oneiric visions and the light of lunar tides, Halo Manash Language of Red Goats aims to be a cartography of cavernous elemental realms and regions, sources and springs that run deep and thick with the fluids of life, death and dream. What was seeded at the Thin Veils has been gathered at Harvest time, and is offered to the seeker as a libation and guide into the ever-liminal, shrouded spaces, for dream-vigils and awakenings.

Language of Red Goats is a complete work in itself, but can also be viewed as the first facet of a tripartite series of works that are part of one holistic creation three faces of the same being. More akin to a primitive fieldrecording in the realm of oneirotropic exploration, than an actual album, the work consists of one lengthy tripartite soundscape. Utilizing only gongs, bells, metal bowls and wind instruments, as well as flocks of birds, the work is in contrast to earlier more refined works that feature a wide multiplicity of instruments and soundsources. Language of Red Goats is a bare, primitive and sometimes raw aural landscape, and yet nonetheless achieves a rare subliminal intensity and an edge of otherwordly luminosity.
Comes in a hand finished cardboard booklet, in an edition of 920 copies.

13.99 POSTPAID


Hapsburg Braganza
'Hatchling' CD


Genre: experimental/ambient/drone
"To the exorcism of the ghosts and escaping from cities"
Hatchling is a slow-burning electroacoustic piece, integrating dense atmospheric collage of field recordings and concrete sound source with highly textural drones and warm subtle harmonics. A very personal and breathtaking piece, both in the heritage of Francisco Lpez and Charlemagne Palestine. Edition of 300 in an Ekopack, on the Idiosyncratics label.

'Moving and morphing into various genres, musique concrete, field recordings, minimalist music, this is one solid sound experience. Very nice work!' - Vital Weekly

'Phil Begg weaves sounds derived from acoustic instruments and field recordings into a rather enchanting warp and weft.' - Just Outside


9.99


HEART IN MOUTH
'The Bigger Picture' CD


Genre:avant prog/ambient
"Vast, beautiful cosmic French electronica / prog isolationism, deep tones and rich textured cathedrals of sound. Almost choral in places, epic and bombastic with chiming bells and pulsing tones to dark, glacial ambient electronica that is pure astral. Hints of classic European avant-prog (Magma, Univers Zero) are subtely apparent throughout too. "The Bigger Picture" is a great triumph in modern composition; inspiring, emotional and provocative to the senses." - Paradigms

The usual high quality we expect from Paradigms.

8.99 postpaid


HORSEBACK
'The Invisible Mountain' CD


Genre: avant garde/dark Americana
"As Jodorowsky's Holy Mountain was a satire of the western approach to self-actualization, Horseback's The Invisible Mountain is a work composed as a means to channel the self-destructive tendencies of its maker, Jenks Miller. The channeling process has required a functionally solipsistic worldview based on the efficacy of individual will in ascertaining its specific reality. This worldview, in turn, has caused a sort of fissure between social consciousness and individual consciousness. In specific, the invisible mountain is an abstraction of the God-self in this whole process, a tenuous and ever-collapsing fabrication that perpetuates the individual psyche amidst processes that would otherwise destroy it or steal its creative power. The mountain itself is false: existing only to the individual as he climbs toward self-realization, and unknowable in any external reality; but it is as necessary as it is false. Without the fabrication, individual reality would crumble and one would be stripped of creative power.
The record itself is based on repetitive guitar riffs and drum patterns similar to mantras in meditation, blackened vocals referencing the uncomfortable tension between one's quest for transcendence and their unresolved relationship with the rest of society The tracks are devices to help maintain discipline in an attempt to conquer. The last track breaks from the mantras into a less rigorously controlled wash of sound. Liberation.
Pressed with black ink on a black translucent paper sleeve. All white inserts with poster. Illustration by Denis Kostromitin." - Utech

This is excellent, UTECH are on fire right now. With a 'Hex'era EARTH feel of bleak Americana almost, but with a thoroughly unpleasant vocal filled with menace, this has been on heavy rotation here at AB towers. Its almost as though it shouldn't work, but it really does , in beautiful morbid spades.

Samples: Tyrant Symmetry.
Hatecloud Dissolving Into Nothing.

OUTOF STOCK

hunting rituals
s/t CDr


Genre: noise /lo-fi
"Horn, crap junk and electronics forming a canvas of broken bones and barbed wire. Wait until the creeping drone gets louder, to become increasingly distorted until swallowed up into the rising fires of the magical ritual".
Another great and highly limited CDr (65)from Faunasabbatha. Sounds like some horrendously murky goings on in a forest clearing at the dawn of a new prehistory... Doublesided wraparound sleeve, black CDr with ink stamp in a poly sleeve.
6.99


JAZZFINGER
'Grief To Grind The FIre' CDr


Genre:drone/ambient/noise

"We released this monster to almost instant sell out status back in Jan 08, and here's a second chance for all you 'Finger fans that missed out first time round. 150 copies, same artwork as the original editon but this time printed on ivory parchment paper. Here's what we originally said about it: 'Most people should know these dudes, noisy drone from Newcastle, they've had releases on Heavy Tapes, Rebis, Gold Soundz, Alt Vinyl, Gareth Hardwicks Low Point, and a load more... It's called 'Grief to Grind the Fire' and has two new tracks totalling in at just under 65 minutes... a real brutal beauty. Bleak black and white sleeves in old school Blackest Rainbow style... 'Legs in the River' is like a swarm of black crows ascending on the earth, causing eternal darkness, and 'Burnt Hole' is like the radio transmission fucked-ness of the aftermath of this crow desolated earth'." - Blackest Rainbow.
6.99


KRUGERS MEDBRAGTE
'Den Sindsyge Broders Bon' CD


Genre:Nordic death tango
"The sublime debut album from Norway's Krugers Medbragte. "Den Sindsyge Broders Bon" is an instrumental soundtrack of Nordic death tango. Guitars, banjo, upright bass, accordion, musical saws and percussion interweave a glorious folkloric journey which reminds us of an unnerving Weimar Republic cabaret troupe or an intoxicated Tom Waits rattling out a musical accompaniment to old, fireside murder ballads. Limited edition of 500 copies only, packaged in full colour, wrap-around sleeve and wallet." - Paradigms

Excellent and unusual release from Paradigms. Brand new release for March 2010.

8.99 postpaid


LEVIATHAN/BLACKDEATH
split CD




Blackdeath offer up TOTENTANZ II, pretty raw Russian BM, 4 tracks of basic, grating hatred. Leviathan offers up 'Portrait in Scars'. 4 tracks, multi layered as usual. Quite a lot of vocal samples this time, miserable as ever. How can Wrest constantly churn out such great work?? Proloific does not have to be a dirty word...

iso 666 release, CD in jewel case.





6.99

LOCRIAN
'Drenched Lands' CD


Genre: avant drone
"First full-length studio album from one of the most consistently good bands around today, Chicago's Locrian. Drenched Lands is a beautifully thought-out piece of music, from a gentle guitar strum/synth opening (not a million miles away from Culver/Earth "Pentastar"-era territory) which cuts out abruptly just as you're becoming entirely engrossed, only to give way to an epic cavernous drone. The whole thing brings to mind some sort of disused industrial factory or barren post-apocalyptic landscape. Dark tones, noise, keys and the odd well-placed guitar strum combine brilliantly to evoke a feeling of desolation, loss, a submission of will....it's almost like the logical conclusion of Neil Young's 'Dead Man' soundtrack; almost tangiential in sound to Earth's recent(ish) "Hex" record. 1000 copies, co-release with Small Doses. Comes in a lovely fold-out printed Stumptown "Arigato Pack" with full-colour 4-page booklet." - AWWFN.

[T]his is exactly what we've been hankering for. A sprawling blackened songsuite, equal parts, dark ambience, dense drones, heavy electronics, buzzy lo-fi almost new wave sounding keyboards, spidery post rock guitars and soft noiseLocrian take that sound someplace all their own -- Aquarius Records

8.99


LUBYANKA
'Suprematism I' 2CDr


Genre: noise/ambient

"Two discs of incredibly minimal non-shifting tone from Lubyanka. The music is based on the Suprematist art movement, and particularly focussing on Malevich's "Black Square". Ultimately minimal, the first disc (3") is an unsettling low throbbing tone with utterly no variation; the second "black" disc is a more harsh static robotic tread, white noise digitised crunching against a harsh noise wall bass backdrop. Warning: NOT easy listening!
100 copies. Jewel case with the CDs themselves as art, concentric circles against a transparent printed insert of a black square. Ultra minimal!" - AWWFN
This is out of print, I just have a couple of these. Great packaging too.

8.99


Lugubrum
'Albino de Congo'CD


Genre: Boersk Blek Metle
Probably the best Belgian Black Metal album ever recorded in Congo, Albino de Congo is Lugubrums latest descent into the heart of madness. Clearing yet another obscure track through the impenetrable overgrowth of the Ituri woods, the band is guided by ancient echoes of Boersk Blek Metle colliding with native timbres, galloping polyrhythms with slurring moods of nihilism and medication unable to control various tropical fevers... a journey through hostile territory, weirdly familiar... and utterly Lugubrumish!
One of the strangest, least commercial bands on this or indeed any other planet. 10.99

PHIL MAGGI
'Blue Fields in Paramount' CD


Genre:drone/ambient/home listening
"A member of Eve And The Sickness, Idiosyncrasia and Ultraphallus and Idiosyncratics label's boss along with Yannick Franck, Phil Maggi also released this new solo album on the aforementioned Idiosyncratics. The album contains a 39 minute track that is formed by totally different mini suites made with loops, fields recordings (he did his sessions in a church and in the streets of Zagreb) and sampled contemporary classical music. The track starts with a dark ambient drone mood with tonal inserts and follows with Zagreb sounds mixed with backward classical music. Suddenly anxious atmospheres take a hold thanks to synth sounds coupled with an orchestration of sampled/treated breaths. The track changes skins many different times, each one like a phoenix born from its ashes and Phil succeeds into keeping the listener's attention thanks to interesting sounds, light melodies and tension."
This is a really great piece of composition, beautifully constructed, layered and exectued. Nice packaging too from this interesting Belgian label. Limited to 300 only. Recommended.


9.99


MARBLEBOG/VORKUTA
split CD


Genre: black metal

This is the CD version of the MARBLEBOG/VORKUTA split EP released as a 7" vinyl by the US label Autopsy Kitchen Records. This must surely sound better as ther tracks are too long for a quality sound on a 7" in my opinion...
MARBLEBOG, from Hungary, are still at the top of their game with their take on minimalist, atmospheric and epic Black Metal. Those who loved 'Forestheart' will love "Uttalan Utakon", an epic track as good as anything they've ever done; VORKUTA come good with "Prophecies", written in three parts (War/Cleansing/Triumph), a blazing track that totally complements Marblebog (I think the vocals are pretty similar), and makes for a great split release.

7.99 postpaid


MENTAT
'AMARILLO ABISAL' CD


Genre: doom/sludge/post hardcore

Great CD from MENTAT, really high quality from this Spanish band. The sound fairly difficult to pin down but they have a strong experimnetal side to their sludge, doom and post hardcore sound. Mostly screamed vocals are given the perfect counterpoint by some beautiful ambient sections and there are some real surprises here like the use of brass and clean piano in parts. Well worth checking out.
6 tracks in 56 minutes, this is a very mature recording and an engrossing and epic listen.

9.99


MONUMENT OF URNS
'Blaspheme' CDr


Genre:ultra doom
Fifth release from one man behemoth MONUMENT OF URNS, 29 minutes of dirty, blackened, slow-as-snails ultra doom. Recommended, as were all the previous releases!
Nice packaging and self-released on the Hand Hewn Timbre label - what a great name!
"Monument of Urns are successful because they tap into something urgent and primal within us and within music itself." - Tiny Mix Tapes

7.99 POSTPAID