Certainly, in the dark passageways and subterranean paths of the darkest genres of music, splits have become quite commonplace, and can be as varied as the artists that venture upon them.  The thing I like most about splits is the expectation of variety, along with the chance to hear perhaps a never before discovered artist […]

The initial reason behind why I chose to consider this work for review was the nature of the collaboration, a father and son piece. It wasn’t because I knew Matt Howden is a gifted songwriter specifically, because here was a chance to see where that gift came from. Often since my teenage years, searching as […]

The co-operation between Martin Stürtzer (well-known for his work with the dark ambient act Phelios, and the Wuppertal-based dark ambient gathering Phobos Festival) and Christian Stritzel officially dates back to 2006 when the German netlabel TonAtom put out Klang ist Ewig, their first common drone ambient record (which was later self-released on CD-R). Some 6 […]

I have a painful confession to make. I never came across Wolf Eyes until their 2004 Sub Pop debut, Burned Mind, started making the rounds. Embarrassingly enough, I have Pitchfork Media to thank. The review I read, and a much better-informed housemate’s hard drive, turned me on to a band that now, eight years on, […]

“There fell upon my ear the holiest sound I have ever heard,” recalled Huston Smith, describing the first time he experienced Tibetan overtone chants. Before 1967, the Western world was unaware of the practice, and to a large extent still are. Huston Smith, a US religious scholar on a visit to a Himalayan monastery in […]

Positive Adjustments is a power electronics act from Sweden. According to the label website, this release “takes a step into the world of beliefs and the weakness it brings[.]” (Obfuscated Records) “Abominations and Filthiness” is a lot of high-end scraping and squeal. My initial instinct is to compare this to The History of AIDS by […]

The most recent release from Hamilton, Ontario’s The Infant Cycle makes a strong argument for the position that not only can all sounds be made musical, they can be made musically beautiful. Now that each and every sound one encounters can be captured, shared, transformed, repurposed and decontextualized in an easy, portable and affordable manner, […]

Fathomless darkness and dismay has the ability to amplify even the smallest glimmer of beauty. In the ugliest corners of material, and immaterial, reality it is not uncommon to discover a defiant diamond in the rough, if you will. A rose amongst the thorns. A beautiful faced whore. A moment of human kindness in war. […]

Behind the steps of death, past the prison of grief, many of us can have a clear vision of what or who has passed away from us. We can appreciate that the perversions of life no longer plague our loved ones, and the value of the best moments we’ve collected alongside the departed reaches as […]

Last week, I got into a few discussions about the point of releasing compilations, and as I’ve attempted to be or was involved in a lot of them in the past, I have to say it’s damn hard to make something really worthy and interesting. And this one is among the best examples of how […]