Gangleri - music reviews

Distel * Mrok / Regn (7″ 2010)

Roy — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 15:26:57 +0000

Finally the debut of this Dutch project is available. Distel makes “angstpop” and “minimal” but this 7″ is not released on Galakthorrö, but on a Dutch label that reaps the field of strange wave and minimal techno music. Distel does fit on the label, but the Galakthorrö audience might never hear of this release. On the other hand, the two tracks on this 7″ are not really Galakthorrö tracks such as some other tracks that Distel has made. Not really wave or technoïsh either, but more slow and slightly rhythmical tracks with highly distorted vocals (you only hear a rumbling). I must say that Distel has better tracks available on his Myspace, but maybe that is because he changed style somewhat. In any case, I saw Distel live a while ago and there are plenty of tracks available, also very interesting, for future releases, so let us wait and see what the future will bring. A project to keep an eye on, just as the man’s other project Hadewych.
Links: Distel, Enfant Terrible
4 out of 5 stars

Der Blutharsch / White Hills (7″ 2010)

Roy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:46:37 +0000

The NY progrock band White Hills is currently extensively touring Europe. I must say that their Myspace tracks sound better than their track here which reminds quite a bit of Der Blutharsch’s current style. Der Blutharsch’s own track is a long stretched tone with some singing, “prog”, but not very “rock”. The White Hills track is the better one, but they do have better tracks.
Links: Der Blutharsch / WKN, White Hills
2 out of 5 stars

Murder Corporation * Auf Wiedersehen (cd 2010)

Roy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:33:22 +0000

“This is a “different” style for Murder Corporation. Auf Wiedersehen is a dark industrial ambient opera mixed with military marches music. Only for MC lovers.”
I guess I do not fall in that category. “Different” I took different from brutal unstructured noise, but inspite of the marchmusic and propaganda film samples, “Auf Wiedersehen” consists mostly of boring noise and I cannot find the “dark industrial ambient opera”. The package is quite something though, some kind of foldout digipack (a “jakebox”). Limited to 93 copies.
Links: Murder Corporation, Ars Benevola Mater
1.5 out of 5 stars

Bipol * Fritter Away (cd 2010)

Roy — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:14:12 +0000

An alright album on Ant-Zen which holds the middle between old-style industrial and more technoish industrial such as some albums of Speedy J. Slow, rhythmical industrial with some noisy edges, reminding a bit of ICK or so.
Links: Bipol, Ant-Zen
2 out of 5 stars

More free Cock Rock Disco

Roy — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:56:06 +0000

Every once in a while I check to see if Cock Rock Disco has some new free tunes available. Well, there are eight downloads that I had not heard yet, I have only listened to four so far. Sickboy’s “Tweencore” and unfortunately also Duran Duran Duran’s “Powerforce Mix” are rather typical CRD mixes. Energetic, but not the extreme breakcore style, but a happy weird mix of all kinds of 70′ies disco and other music. Fun to listen to, but I hoped for something harder of Duran Duran Duran. The Toilet’s “Bullshit Makes The Flowers Grow” is a lot harder. F**cked up breakcore, also with weird samples, but the new element are the deathmetal grunt and screamed vocals. Herv is slightly boring. There are four other new releases to check out and if CRD is new for you, a lot more! Crazy and at times pretty extreme electronic music for weird people.
Cock Rock Disco

Blood Axis / Andrew King * split 7″ (2010)

Roy — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:41:28 +0000

Blood Axis is born again! This split 7″ announces an album in 2010 and after all these years there is some kind of a Blood Axis website with is updated (a Myspace with new songs)! Actually two albums are announced for the end of this year according to the fan-site BloodAxis.com, “Born Again” and “Ultimacy”, a compilation with compilation tracks and rare releases. Hearing the latest songs that Blood Axis made, I am sure that you too expected a folk song, right? Especially on a split with Andrew King. “The Dream” is a nice folk(rock) song in middle high German with a few electronic elements. Andrew King also made a nice song in middle high German with a repetative folk sound. Limited to 500 copies, so probably sold out in no time.
Links: Blood Axis, Andrew King
3.5 out of 5 stars

Rome * l’Assassin (mcd 2010)

Roy — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:26:55 +0000

The two new tracks on this mcd are like the cover: more minimalistic. There are almost no samples anymore and the two melancholic songs are again more singer/songwriter-like than previous releases. There are some nice string arrangements which also ‘upgraded’ two old songs “Der Brandtaucher” and “Der Erscheinungen Flucht”. The songs are nice, but not as ‘gripping’ as on earlier releases (safe for the strings). Rome might evolve out of the spectre of my musical taste, but first let us see what the future brings.
Links: Rome, Trisol
2.5 out of 5 stars

Post Scriptvm * Grey Emminence (cd 2010)

Roy — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:14:05 +0000

I very much looked forward to this new album of our American masterminds of industrial dark ambient. The last album is 4 years old. When putting “Grey Emminence” in my player, my first thought was: “Post Scriptvm plans to do something different.” The first tracks of the new album sound like (analogue?) experimental soundscapes, the first not the least bit dark of tone and thus nothing like I expected (hoped for). The second track is also a strange compilation of sounds, but already a bit darker. Slowly the sounds evolves towards the dark industrial ambient that we love Post Scriptvm for. There is even a noise track. I have listened to “Grey Emminence” a couple of times now and it starts to grow on me. Post Scriptvm sounds different than before and “Grey Emminence” is surely something different altogether. Not (yet) as good as previous releases, but definately interesting.
Links: Post Scriptvm, Tesco
3 out of 5 stars

Objekt/Urian * Tonfragmente II (cd 2004)

Roy — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:59:10 +0000

I just discovered Objekt/Urian, so I here present an old album. This is the only ‘official’ release of this project, all others are cdrs. Objekt/Urian makes relatively tranquil oldstyle industrial with repetative sounds, here and there a distorted voice and a few harder, even noise tracks. “Tonfragmente II” is a nice album with some darker tracks, some less dark, a few not-too-good, but mostly pretty good and a couple of very good tracks (the harder ones).
Links: Objekt/Urian, Zone de Confusion
2.5 out of 5 stars

va * Nektar 2017 (online compilation 2010)

Roy — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:21:07 +0000

Free online compilations can be a nice way to learn about new projects, but I must say the fact that the length is no longer limited by the amount of information that fits on a disc, things become quite absurd. After the 5 hours Emissions compilation that I reviewed recently, here we have a one file, 800MB and 8+ hours compilation with dark ambient, industrial and a lot of experimental electronic music. I have by far not heard the whole thing when I write this, so this is not really a review, rather an announcement. I heard some nice tracks along the way, but also a lot of too vague experimentalism for my taste. When you are interested, get this compilation here.