Ender - Ender

Artist: Ender

Album: Ender

Label: Darkroom Recordings

Year: 2008






Tracklist:
01. Part 1
02. Part 2
03. Part 3
04. Part 4

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Within the post-rock-encompassing skies of this four track EP, the listener finds herself confronted with the instrumental quintet Ender, who slaves over the most popular of instruments (guitar, bass and drum) to produce a self-titled audible calling-card. The album is made up of moody, yet powerful post-rock shrouded in a haze of gritty ambient. Imagine an cardboard egg-box branded "post-rock," filled with eleven battery-laid eggs and one odd-looking kiwi. Ender stands out just like that kiwi, with the familiar post-rock form, but without the clinical approach taken by so many others.

Like most of their Pacific colleagues, Ender knows how to manipulate the space and ambiance needed for their compositions to flourish and gradually evolve. The combined destructive weight of rhythm guitars and drums in the form of dragging riffs arch the elaborated structure that spans over the whole release. The introspective waves of evolving ambient and stacks of heavy hypnotic hooks are good for forty-two minutes of dark, enticing variations and a few spine-shivering moments, but never seem to deploy their full potential. Near the end of Ender, the band trades in their most heavy weight guitar sound for a piano, and tips the scale in favor of the conformist form.

Once the piano finds it's place in the closing composition, Ender brings it home with a less powerful but more subtle and emotional undertone. Without the drive - one that reminds the listener of European post-metal bands - of Ender's opening, the whole gives the impression that this is still not the best possible result. Their strength lies as much in esoteric explorations as in latent aggression, but I, for one, believe that the latter one - given some more attention - has a few interesting options to strengthen the whole.

Adding a few (distant) vocal accents would expose a more captivating, emotional side of their sound and thus engage the listener even more. At a certain point in "Track 2", the deep combined sound of the bass and guitar triggered a memory of a dirty-sounding Celtic Frost vocal line, fueling the dark tones of that dangerously fierce cloud-formation and accentuating the beauty of the redeeming matte light found in the ambiance. For obvious reasons, Tom Gabriel Fischer's vocals - or vocals in general - will not be the perfect solution to allow Ender to rise above the level of this EP, but if the outfit's drummer could batter their grayish blob of expressions with more depth and edge, they could have a decent shot at knocking me out of my socks. Perhaps then a reference to the hypnotic stoner doom slabs of Windmills By The Ocean is in order.- by Jurgen Verhasselt (thesilentballet.com)

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ELΩXIM

Artist: ELΩXIM

Album: In The Half Light

Label: Self Release

Year: 2007







Tracklist:
01. In The Half Light
02. Lighthouse Keepers Solitude
03. Night's Plutonian Shore
04. Seascape
05. The Cry Of Seagulls

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Download - 2009 - Lost in silence

My band called ELΩXIM, It's structured around 3 basses (2 distorted-1 clean) and drums in specific records.
No guitars are used in any record of ours.
We play a mix of Funeral/Doom/Drone and even Black in some tracks. We are two people from Macedonia Greece and made this band come true since 2000. Our influences are bass bands like: Methadrone - OM - Big Business - Thrones - Necromantia - Godheadsilo - Bunkur - Skuldom - Halo and more. The specific album recorded in October 2007 in my home studio which was also mixed and mastered by me. I hope you like It.

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Manatees - Icarus, The Sunclimber

Artist: Manatees

Album: Icarus, The Sunclimber

Label: Eyes Of Sound

Year: 2009

Tracklist:

01. Of Wax And Wing
02. The Sunclimber
03. Hyperion Altitude
04. Untitled
05. False Sun
06. Out Of The Sky, Into The Gutter

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pass: lateralnoise.blogspot.com

I am pretty sure that there should be some sort of award for best use of a Neurosis influence. If and when said event occurs, Carlisle based Manatees will be in the running without a doubt. Having absorbed the Oakland cultists combined skills of the riff and the ambience, Manatees have crafted one of the most introspective and downright crushing UK releases I have heard in a long time. It would be easy to chuck the sludge label in the general direction of the 3 lads that make up Manatees, but just like throwing gravel off a motorway flyover, it’s pointless and the results are not that impressive really.

They belong at some sort of cross-roads where sludge, post-rock, the tiniest traces of hardcore and Amrep all converge into one huge, Neurot paved brick road.

Opener “Of Wax & Wing” stumbles in on a staggering riff that explodes into some crushing riffage and hoarse vocals. It’s more of a surprise when it ends less than 2 minutes in and the title track rumbles through its slow burning build up of feedback, granite melody and synths to a crescendo only to give way to ambience and acoustic chords plucked over shards of reverb.

Additional drumming appears in “Untitled” driving the fuzz and feedback drenched guitars through the tortured vocals and pounding backbone.

What’s most impressive about this album and Manatees in general is the relative short time they have been kicking around. To create a work of this depth and skill at this stage only means there is so much more to come. Superb. -by dieshellsuit

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Sunn O))) - Dømkirke

Artist: Sunn O)))
Album: Dømkirke
Label: Southern Lord
Year: 2008








Tracklist:
01. Why Dost Thou Hide Thyself In Clouds?
02. Cannon
03. Cymatics
04. Masks The Ætmospheres

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pass: lateralnoise.blogspot.com

Last year sunn 0))) was invivted to perform at a ancient cathedral in Bergen Norway . The performance was captured via 24 track mobile recording and the resuluts were pressed onto double 180 gram vinyl. This recording will be available exclusively on vinyl only. There will not be a digital release (cd or downloads). Pure analog! The 0))) lineup for this performance includes Attila Csihar (Mayhem) on vocals, Steve Moore (Earth, Ascend) on the churchs' legendary pipe organ and Norwegian native Lasse Marhaug on electronics.

The packaging for "Dømkirke" was designed with the utmost attention to detail and quality that perfectly compliments the audio content. Each 180 gram vinyl comes in a heavy stock, full color inner sleeve that features stunning photographs from the performance. The cover of the gatefold jackets feature exclusive art by Tanya Stene (Burzum, Ulver, Darkthrone).

The jackets themselves are ultra-durable extra thick cardboard stock with thick, luxurious lamination. These were modeled after the Impulse! labels' LP jackets from the '60s. This package is durable, built to last and serves as the perfect shelter for this archival release.

Behold the glory!

Nicholas Mollerhaug, the festival curator, wrote these liner notes for the album:

"Our idea behind this concert was to commission a piece of music from Sunn O))) referring to the gothic gregorian hymns of the Late Middle Ages. Hymns that flourished Bergen Cathedral in its earliest years: The age of the Great Famine and The Black Plague. The gregorian hymns of this time reflected the despair, the terrors and darkness of the world. Musically the hymns consisted of long slow lines of unison melodies. The unisonity, the dark mood and the slow melodic development are all elements that also can be traced back to Sunn O)))'s musical universe. These parallells between Sunn O))) and the medieval times gave birth to this commission - premiered at the grand final of Borealis Festival 2007.

The Bergen Domkirke is dedicated to the Norwegian king and patron saint Olav (995-1030). The church was built around 1150. In the 1240s it was given to Fransiscan beggar munks. After fires in 1248 and 1270 the building was extended. With the financial help of king Magnus Lagabøte (1263-1280) the church got its present form and was finished in 1301. The very same king is buried in the chansel of the church. After the reformation the church became the cathedral of Bergen. It was then again struck by fire in 1463 and 1702. A cannon ball in the the church tower is a reminisence of the Battle of Bergen Bay in 1665.

This record documents what happens when aesthetic openness and lack of prejudice rules in a medieval cathedral.

Without these values inhabited in the legendary kantor of Bergen Cathedral- Magnar Mangersnes - this concert would never have been possible.

- Nicholas Mollerhaug"

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Orthodox - Amancer En Puerta Oscura

Artist: Orthodox
Album: Amanecer En Puerta Oscura
Label: Southern Lord Records
Year: 2007








Tracklist:
01. Con sangre de quien te ofenda
02. Mesto, rigido e ceremoniale
03. Solemne Triduo
04. Amancer en Puerta Oscura
05. Puerta Osario
06. Templos
07. Parte II. Apogeum

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pass: lateralnoise.blogspot.com


Orthodox is a drone/doom band hailing from Spain. Their 2006 release Gran Poder was a throbbing, droning juggernaut of a doom album that was more than reminiscent of Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine's Rampton album mixed with YOB's heaviest moments. On Amanecer En Puerta Oscura, Orthodox drops the pulsating doom of Gran Poder in favor of a more striking blend of styles and instrumentation. This makes Amanecer... a thoroughly entertaining listen that has as much to offer as anything essential released in this somewhat saturated genre.

The first thing to note, and to the detriment of the album in some ways, is the album cover's likeness to Earth. This is made even more apparent on the first track, "Con Sangre De Quien Te Ofenda", as it has droning clean guitars and some dissonant out of tune horns (I'm guessing a trumpet and possibly a saxophone). The drums are not as "reverbed" as they were on Gran Poder and the upright bass cuts right through the mix while the overall mix maintains all resonance and warmth without sounding over-produced.

Yet what makes Amanecer... such an entertaining album is the distinctly different vibe on each song. "Mesto, Rigido E Cermoniale" has a Pelican vibe and "Solemne Triduo" is a stock doom/stoner song but is the only song on the album that has vocals. Meanwhile, the 15 minute "Templos" is a very blatant hats off to 70's prog and would not be out of place on any 70s era King Crimson or Emerson, Lake, and Palmer albums. The song isn't especially technical or jammy but the noises and atmospheric drone present are so Crimson it hurts. Listen to Crimson's Lark's Tongue in Aspic sometime if you find it too hard to believe.

The instruments on this album are especially eclectic. Mouth harp, horns, pianos, organs, nylon string guitars, and I'm sure something else is buried in the mix. The bandmembers themselves are of the highest caliber for this type of music and they make their presence known. Moreso here than on Gran Poder.

Overall, if you like Pelican, Neurosis, SunnO))), Isis, Earth etc. then there's really nothing holding you back from enjoying Orthodox. What the band lacks, seemingly, in originality, they more than make up for in genuine musical enthusiasm as this album will take you on a solid 48 minute trip through why this genre continues to deliver the occasional homerun (which Amanecer... is). If I would have gotten to this album sooner it would have likely cracked my top ten for 2007. Highly recommended and thoroughly intriguing release. Mix with THC for optimal results. (metalreview.com)

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Come Sleep - The Burden Of Ballast

Artist: Come Sleep
Album: The Burden Of Ballast
Label: Version Studio
Year: 2007








Tracklist:
01. Be The End
02. To Unveil The Sky
03. Storm Awaits
04. For Sleep
05. Crave Change
06. Never Conquered
07. To This Day Not A Sound
08. His Beast Is Done
09. By The Unknown

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pass: lateralnoise.blogspot.com

That old saying attests that “you only get what you give.” Nowhere does this apply better than heavy metal. The genre can somehow simultaneously be an embarrassing parody of itself and push musical boundaries to new creative planes. The resurgence of “thinking man's metal” came with an increased presence of amplifiers, New York Times profiles, and expensive LPs. It's safe to say bands like Sunn0))), Isis, and Pelican are solidifying their presence as some of the fore founders of the trend. Say what you will about these bands, I think they're really adding some credibility to the genre, sometimes seemingly inevitably associated with the juvenile.

Come Sleep, based in Stockholm, offer a promising album worth of the kind of hypnotic, melodic, tectonic metal that has become increasingly popular over the last few years. The Burden of Ballast is nine tracks long and each cut safely dwells in the six to eight minute territory. These shouldn't be off-putting numbers if you're a purveyor of the niche this band occupies, though. Come Sleep does a good job making sure they sound varied, they aren't afraid to palm mute or play loud if they want to. Similarly, the band has some of the meditative, soft passages that give a band good range. The most direct comparison I could make would be Neurosis at their most contemporary. Vocals are interspersed tastefully, but the band is most interested in creating the oceanic, desolate music they do. The songs aren't long enough to even compare to the shortest Sleep songs, but they aren't as compact or poppy as Jesu. The band occupies a safe zone that is perhaps on the more palatable, accessible side of things.

Perhaps you're looking to explore the genre, Come Sleep would be a good place to start. This band is doing something original, offering the best of both converse ends of the “Doom/Drone/Post/Whatever” pack. (-by scenepointblank.com)


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Hen:ge - Stationery/Crater EP

Artist: Hen:ge
Album: Stationery/Crater EP
Label: Close Nerd Recordings
Year: 2008







Tracklist:
01. Stationery
02. The Way To Enclosure
03. Crater
04. Untitled

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No password for this one!


Story:

Hen:ge is a three men group from Regensburg, Germany. Björn Schmitz and Tobias Zenger (Silent Duel) who both play in the band fire walk with me! and are members in the close nerd collective had the idea of moving some steps back to explore some more experimental droning and slower soundscapes. The original idea was making music just for personal catharsis. At that time they met Matthias Menath who had also the idea of creating hush. Finally they invested two hours for recording the Stationary / Crater EP.

Description:

Hen:ge's music can be described as movements of slow rhythms surrounded by hounting walls of guitar and explosive escapes into the static or even the epic. It shows a landscape of sound in which the atmosphere is mostly dark, lost and less plastic than vivid.

Stationary / Crater EP (Concept):

A lot which is neither worthy to live nor to die for. Proud men built it all up with their own perspiration. Now the people don't have the right any more to just close their eyes and let the tyrants do whatever they like. It's time for them to unite. The way to the enclosure must be paved. Don't be that foolish to confide in anyone blindly. No tyrants, no tears, not even a dust particle will outlive our nature. But on the horizon beyond the majestic mountains of dust beyond our own lies lays the visage of our own nightmares. The last bridge between desperation and aspiration. Deep under the sprawled ruins of ancient times, under the aspirations which were buried there in older days lurks arcane animosity which will resist the devastation. It draws the pain of the world to concentrate it like a magnet. Just like children they will grimly judge one below the other without any meaning of right and wrong till they recognize that in a final step the nature is above all things and everything they prayed for and wanted to die for... the lot is turning and... ...is now just a scar in the earth.

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Tusk - The Resisting Dreamer

Artist: Tusk
Album: The Resisting Dreamer
Label: Hydrahead Records
Year: 2007






Tracklist:
01. The Everlasting Taste of Disguise
02. Cold Twisted Aisle
03. Life's Denial
04. The Lewdness and Frenzy of Surrender

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pass: lateralnoise.blogspot.com

This is the latest CD from Tusk, which includes three members of Pelican (guitarist Trevor de Brauw, bassist Laurent Schroeder-Lebec and drummer Larry Herwig) along with new co-vocalists Evan Patterson (Breather Resist) and Toby Driver (Kayo Dot).The Resisting Dreamer finds Tusk moving away from the "avant-grind" of their last album into a little different, but still very unique territory. It's one of those albums that's hard to describe, a diverse and eclectic mix of genres that includes noise, doom, space rock, stoner metal and a few others. The music ranges from slow, simple dirges to fast, complex songs to unusual and experimental tracks that are sometimes noisy and dissonant, other times subdued and groovy.The album is one long song divided into 4 tracks, and the last one clocks in at 16 minutes and is all instrumental. The different genres, styles and moods described above are all packed into a relatively short album. The Resisting Dreamer is an avant-garde CD that is aggressive, complex, and always interesting.
- Chad Bowar (heavymetal.about.com)

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