STRIBORG / CLAUSTROPHOBIA Black Hatred In A Ghostly Corner (Finisternis Productions) cd 14.98
As we were waiting patiently for the new Striborg full length, Southwest Passage, we discovered ANOTHER new Striborg release, a split with a band called Claustrophobia, released on Sin Nanna of Striborg's own label Finsternis Productions, so we contacted Sin Nanna directly (the reports of his reclusiveness, living in a shack with no telephone or computer, turned out to be greatly exaggerated!) and ordered a bunch, and we're happy to report that the new Striborg material is as twisted and blackly brilliant as always.
Just when you thought Striborg couldn't get any more buzzy and fuzz drenched, along comes "Psychic Visions", a 12 minute dirge, buried completely under a sheet of hiss and whir, but where this track is different is the gorgeously creepy keyboard textures laid over the top, giving the whole track a ghostly, weirdly melodic, strangely lovely quality. Sure the drums are minimal and the vocals are an indecipherable growl, and the guitars, well, if they were riffs, they've been blurred and smeared into thick streaks of warm muted buzz, but once the whole track is wreathed in that looping shimmering ghostlike keyboard ambience, it becomes this blackened beautiful thing. The drums shift gear and the keyboards follow, the entire song seems to waver in communion, before slipping back into the initial opening dirge.
After a brief instrumental drone interlude, Sin Nanna offers up another bizarre blast, the drums WAY up in the mix this time, the same sheet of hiss, and again the whirling ghostly keyboards, but this time, the sound is much more atonal, tense and jagged, an almost suspenseful horror movie feel, a strange but sonically sound balance for the strange beauty of the first track.
Sin Nanna seems to have found a kindred spirit in a person called Raped Corpse, who is behind the band Claustrophobia. From China we think, regardless, the two groups definitely share sonic sensibilities, the same hiss/fuzz drenched ambience, stumbling drumming, anguished vocals, strange keyboards, the tracks play out the same almost, long song, short interlude, slightly less long song. But Claustrophobia's opener is much more rocking, with some wild chaotic drumming, and over the top keyboards, LOUD drums, the second track, the nearly nine minute closer is a doozy, almost like a grim blackened Goblin, so creepy and emotional and moody and haunting, the melodies minor key, the keyboards evoking such dread, definitely want to hear more from this guy.
If you're in the market for some mysterious and creepy, buzz drenched melancholic blackness, both Striborg and Claustrophobia should do it for you.
Now, can't wait for Southwest Passage...
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES! Each one hand numbered...
MPEG Stream: STRIBORG "Psychic Visions"
MPEG Stream: CLAUSTROPHOBIA "Ghostly Melancholy"

STRIBORG / SCURSHAHOR split (Southern Lord) 7" 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Outsider black metal aficionados already know they need this, a brand new single from Tasmanian BM weirdo Striborg, but the fact that it's a split with another mysterious black outfit we've never heard of, Scurshahor, and that the sound in many ways is weird enough (and not even really metal), should cause this to appeal to all regular old lovers of weird music.Ê
Starting with the song titles, we're not sure there's ever been a collection of songs that sounds more like they were named using the age old adjective / noun notebook, with which many of your favorite bands were probably named. Check it out: "Psychedelic Nightmare", "Syncopated Pandemonium" and "Malicious Resplendence". Could be killer band names all of them. But here, they also suit the tripped out dubby blackness found within. Dubby? Yep, you read that right. Striborg offers up two tracks, the first beginning with haunting, mournful melancholic guitars, before being swallowed whole by a blown out primitive blast of effects drenched blackness, the most noticeable thing being the vocals, doused in delay and distortion and reverb, the howls and anguished cries sent careening King Tubby style into the void. The second track ranks up there with the weirdest and most experimental stuff Striborg has ever done, a buzzing backdrop of near static drone-riffing, the guitars way off in the distance, swelling and swooping, and the vocals over the top, again, definitely dubbed out, and adding a whole 'nother chaotic tripped out layer to the already damaged black sounds.Ê
The flipside, from a band called Scurshahor (who we're tempted to suspect is in fact Oren Ambarchi) is like a bassier, more low end more static and drone-y Striborg, with similarly dubbed out vocals, leading us to believe that maybe both were recorded at the same time and in the same studio? Either way, Scurshahor sound like a more black metal SUNNO))) (even more than Black One), the riffing a glacial blur crafted from amp buzz and low end drone, chaotic metallic percussion here and there, and of course the vocals, a swirling distorted reverbed dubbed out wraith like rasp. Awesome.Ê
Incredibly thick vinyl, housed in a super striking, ultra heavy deluxe sleeve. And probably limited as all get out...

STRIBORG / VEIL OF DARKNESS Cold Winter Moon / In The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death (Finsternis) cd 12.98
It's been a while since we've heard from Tasmanian one man black metal band Striborg. There was a time, that nary a list would go by without a new release, featuring that distinctive Striborg sound, plodding, miserable blackness doused in sheets of distortion and buzz that were so thick and hissy, they almost sounded like field recordings of rain on steel rooftops.
Ostensibly this is a split, between Striborg, and a band called Veil Of Darkness, who we had never heard before, but who in fact, just so happens to be Sin-Nanna as well, Mr. Striborg himself. Strange. Both Halves of this split were recorded a while ago, 1997-2000, and in fact the Striborg stuff predates the VoD stuff, so not sure what was going on. What we do know, is that everything we love about Striborg is in full effect here, maybe even moreso, the opening track is super distorted, the sound crumbling and blackened, the buzz so thick and blown out, that the riffs are barely discernible, after a brief bit of doomic plod, the sound lurches into a dense frenzied blast, all blurred and murky, the drums a machinelike pound, the vokills a sinister croak, and minus the vocals, the music is locked and looped into a trancelike blur that doesn't let up for the rest of the song. And so it goes, from brittle blasting blackness, to murky ambient drift, the sound super lo-fi, raw and grim, but infused with a seriously sinister vibe, especially on the droned out ambient tracks, with Sin-Nanna growling over thick churning drones, and weird bits of random electronics, hiss and static, before finishing off with a brief blast of start and stop black buzz, with maybe the weirdest production of the bunch, the vocals heavily reverbed, almost dubby, and the drums, the snare sounds like a video game bleep, and the cymbals sound like old tin buckets, but those weird sounds are woven into some blurry murky blasts and a closing blast of atonal organ buzz. Weird and so cool.
So how does Striborg's Veil Of Darkness alter ego stack up? Pretty well in fact, although now we have an idea why Sin-Nanna required a different musical vehicle, as VoD is all ambient, laced with stretches of power electronics, and black buzz. Creepy and otherwordly, darkly droney, disembodied voices, swirling effects, tinkling melodies, sheets of static and thick swirls of buzz, wheezing keyboards, chanted monklike vox, and finally on the closer "Pure Black Energy", some seriously intense pure black sonic energy, an ultra distorted buzzscape constructed from what sounds like super processed drum machines, all chopped up and doused in effects and cranked WAY into the red, for a strange crunchy, crumbling bit of rhythmic weirdness, that sounds almost like it should be on a Will Over Matter record. Killer stuff, from both 'bands'.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES. Each one hand numbered.
MPEG Stream: STRIBORG "Misanthropic Isolation"
MPEG Stream: STRIBORG "Path To The Gate Of Beliar"
MPEG Stream: VEIL OF DARKNESS "Pale Shadow Of The Undead"
MPEG Stream: VEIL OF DARKNESS "As The Mist Casts Across The Haunted Cemetery"

STRIBORG / XASTHUR split (Autopsy Kitchen) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another one of those records that barely needs a review. What self respecting black metaller would see the words Xasthur and Striborg on the same record and not instinctively reach for their wallet? We can only speak for the black metal nerds here, but we have been jonesing for this disc since we first hear rumor of it's impending release ages ago. And if just the mere fact that these two mighty black metal entities are doing musical battle on separate sides of the same 7" isn't enough, the fact that both tracks are fucked and amazing should be.Ê
Striborg is in fine form as always, lo-fi, damaged, demented, noisy, stumbling, confusing, but oh so glorious. A plodding black dirge, vacuum cleaner guitar, practice space drums, blast beats that sound like they're being played on a cardboard box drum kit, hissy bursts of muted blackness, a bizarre black journey through the damaged musical psyche of Sin Nanna, ending in a killer, almost groovy, lurching dirgey outro.Ê
Xasthur seems to be rising to Striborg's 'how lo-fi-can-you-go' challenge, pushing his sound so far down in the murk, it ends up sounding like a transistor radio playing at the bottom of a mud puddle. Probably the murkiest most lo-fi recording yet from Malefic, but if anything, it only serves to make the sound more evocative, more mysterious, and more strangely pretty. Those weeping guitars, mournful melodies, drums that sound like they were recorded from a million miles away, the whole thing is very dark and dim and forlorn, the perfect sonic foil to Striborg's weirdo black damage. And if we even need to tall you how essential this is, you need to march right down here and turn in your black metal credentials.Ê
We're one of the only places selling this thing besides the label, and they are flying out of here, sure to be gone in no time, so grab one while you can.
Pressed on clear vinyl, LIMITED TO 800 COPIES!!!

STUMM / LOINEN split (Kult Of Nihilow) lp 15.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
It says right there on the sleeve: "100 percent Sludge". They had us at 100 percent sludge. Ummm, anyway, two of Finland's sludge rock heavyweights team up, each taking a side of this here 12", and each, surprisingly, doing something new and unique with their bit of sludge. Not that we wouldn't have loved another slab of slow motion dirgery, but we're even more psyched to see what weird shapes, some of this sludgedoomdrone can get twisted into.
Up first is Loinen, whose lp we totally flipped over a while back. They of the crushing doom with Scott Walker style vocals. Yep! You remember now? Well, here they try another something, also completely different, their side begins with a super distorted bass riff, spread way out, allowing for lots and lots of space, and in those spaces, there are strange chanted choral vocals, female, repeating the same pattern over and over, inexorably tangled up with the plodding riff. It's all very mysterious and hypnotic and continues on for nearly three quarters of the side, at which point the vocals finally come in, a strangled alien croon, alternately growling and sort of moaning, and it's not until nearly the end of the side when the drums finally kick in, and for the first time it begins to resemble the aforementioned 100% sludge. A lurching doom trudge with now croaking vocals all wrapped around that relentless distorted bass line. Finally, right at the very end, the track explodes in a frenzy of freaked out chaos, drums everywhere, feedback squealing and shrieking, the track dissolving in a blast of blown out brutality. Weird and quite cool.
So how do fellow countrymen, and masters of their own particular brand of sludginess, Stumm, respond? With yet another strange take on sludge, there's, at least for this lp side, is downright pretty. Thick swaths of washed out guitar rumble and soaring streaks of feedback all tangled and up like some gorgeous alien melody, not harsh at all really, more just strange sounding, and really quite beautiful, the first time we've heard feedback so skillfully sculpted, underneath, drums are simple and spare, it's more about atmosphere and mood it seems, a thick heavy dreamy drift. Right in the middle there's a brief burst where the guitars get more jagged and angular, and some howling shrieking vocals swoop in, but before you know it, they've swooped right back out, and the track is again drifting darkly, a strangely soft sludge shimmer. So great.
LIMITED TO 265 COPIES!!! These are the only copies we can get. Once they are gone, they are gone for good. Packaged like the Loinen 12", in a similar eye melting black and white high-school-binder tweeker pen and ink cover, with crazy art by Loinen member G.G., a tripped out world of strange figures and weird text and upside down crosses, and squiggles and creatures and who knows what else...

SUNN O))) & PAN SONIC / ALAN VEGA / STEPHEN BURROUGHS split (Blast First Petite) 10" 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Killer collaboration, another one of those team ups you might not have ever necessarily imagined happening, and even if you did, you probably didn't think it would sound this good. The core SUNNO))) duo do their thing, thick roiling riffage, warm and lush, surprisingly propulsive, and weirdly catchy, Steve Moore from Earth contributes some gorgeous gauzy organ drones and Joe Preston handles the vocals, deep growl, part intoned, part almost crooned, and of course Mika Vainio of Pan Sonic, offering up little flurries of industrial hiss, and bits of subtle glitch, taking voices and sounds and lopping them back on themselves, Vainio's contribution subtle, but practically perfect. Easily one of the coolest SUNNO))) tracks ever, maybe better than anything on the recent Monoliths And Dimensions.
The flipside features a live jam from Suicide mainman Alan Vega, recorded last year, live and lo-fi, lots of glitch and skitter, a sort of fractured electronica, Vega's vocals super effected, looped and chopped, dense and stuttery and seriously tripped out.
And the closing track on the B side is a stripped down, very Angels Of Light sounding acoustic number from Stephen Burroughs, former frontman for industrial icons Head Of David, his first recording in a decade, his voice rough and raw and simple, the guitar playing fantastic, the song dark and mysterious and haunting.
LIMITED TO 3000 COPIES, half on white vinyl, half on clear, we have the clear, housed in plain white hand stamped covers, but open the cover up (you might have to tear it open) and inside is some gorgeous original artwork.

SUNN O))) / EARTH Angel Coma (split) (Southern Lord) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Don't get too excited. By the time you read this, it will be long long long gone....

SUNROOF / VIBRACATHEDRAL ORCHESTRA Wings Over America (VHF) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is a super limited tour only release commemmorating the first Sunroof!/Vibracathedral Orchestra US jaunt. Not sure how many we can get so act fast. Sunroof starts things off, without their usual cloak of dreamy shimmer, instead wielding armour of crunching, super distorted stutter, before almost slipping into more familiarly dreamy Sunroof! territory, but just as quickly splintering into brittle shards and pulsing fragments, taking us back into serious Skullflower territory. Chopped and damaged grooves occasionally surface only to be dragged back down into the mire. Eventually the crunch gets smoothed down and spread out into a gossamer blanket of warble and whir, sun dappled but still slightly sinister. Vibracathedral Orchestra bear the shimmery mantle on this split, trawling the territory we're used to Sunroof! traipsing through, bells and chimes are smeared into a pleasant skree, lazy percussion is scattered haphazardly across sunbaked krautrock, and tribal rhythms and reverbed guitars are woven into warm expanses of barely tethered space rock, primal and pagan, pulsing and perfect.
MPEG Stream: SUNROOF! "Flutter"
MPEG Stream: VIBRACATHEDRAL ORCHESTRA "City's Sirens Off"

SUPERCHUNK Cup Of Sand (Merge) 2cd 15.98
Holy cow! Superchunk have been around for fifteen years?! Have to say, they've aged very very VERY gracefully - far better than most of their peers - and with a successful, respected record label to boot! We tip our hat to Mac, Laura, Jon and Jim! To commemorate this occasion, they've unfurled a double cd filled with singles, b-sides, rarities and four previously unreleased songs which include their versions of Adam And The Ants' "Beat My Guest" and Government Issue's "Blending In". Cover-wise, they also tackle Bowie's "Scary Monsters" but that one already made an appearance on the 1000 Pounds ep. All twenty five songs were compiled from Superchunk's musical output of the last decade. So, that means... no "Slack Motherfucker" here! This might be a for-diehard-fans-and-completists-only kind of release 'cause they've admittedly included stuff that falls short of the high Superchunk quality control standards. Even still, the caliber of their cast-offs is pretty darn good, making for an interesting and still very engaging peek at what went into the growth of what was and is a great pop band.
MPEG Stream: "Basement Life"
MPEG Stream: "Beat My Guest"

SURGEON Fabric 53 (Fabric) cd 17.98

SVARTE GREINER + ANDUIN Black River (Live) (SMTG Ltd) 7" 6.98
These two aQ faves spent several months touring together, and would finish off each show with a collaborative jam, one of which is captured here, in two parts. The first is all deep blackened shimmer, soft swells of feedback, dark rumbling pulsations, bleak and austere, laced with shards of high end melody, and softly grinding whirs. The second part is much more delicate, breathless and hushed, distant hums and keening fragmented melodies. Both sides are dark and beautiful, abstract and droney, and definitely remind us of Jasper TX and Machinefabriek. Nice stuff.
Housed in a plain black sleeve, LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!

SWANOX / SCRAPS OF DOGS split (Caligulan Records) cassette 4.50
A beautiful and harrowingly dark cassette release from the mysterious new tape label, Caligulan! Based right here in not so sunny these days San Francisco, Caligulan brings the droney, woozy, doomy skull fuck sounds that make a tape head cringe with sorrowful delight!
The Swanox side is one long track, called "Forests Of Pluto", and indeed sounds like an exploration of some alien, yet wooded planet. Deep and dark doomy folk, other worldly voices emmanating from blackened caves, the sounds of ancient trees creaking in the haunted winter winds, reverb drenched guitars plunked by some wraithy wood elf of the unspoiled natural landscape of old. The sounds of Swanox on this release are both haunting and contemplative, letting the mind drift off into the spectral world of tones. Spooky and strangely beautiful music!
The Scraps Of Dogs side is also a dark beauty, but much nosier and much heavier. The first track, "Nag Hammadi" is sort of a metallic drift. The sounds of metal scraping against metal, churning and contorting itself into every changing sonic shapes. Bass tones rumble in a deathlike scree, creating beautifully distorted drones and thick swells of darkened texture. The second track, "Leave Your Body Behind", Is all fuzz and rumble. It sounds like an Orcish army on a death march, in blizzard conditions. The distorted textures undulate in a syncopated way, while more high end elements swirl around your head, like some cold blowing, northern wind. Drifting drones made up of thick fuzz and crackle, mixed up in some evil witch's cauldron, along with a few blackend frog gullets, filtered through the grimmest, most kult coffee machine you could imagine, till it fills your sonic pot with oozing nefarious soundscapes. The coffee machine of grimnity!
The packaging on this fella is beautiful! Much like the Robedoor tape featured on this list, which is also on Caligulan, The cover is adorned with a gorgeous photo of the Northern Woods. More accurately the Pacific North Western woods, where these two doomy bummers originally hail from. The inside is spraypainted to look like some far off galaxy, and there's a beautiful handmade insert to boot! Along with this tape, and the Robedoor, we got the last 10 copies of this gem, so act now or forever hold your deathlike peace!!!

SWEETBRIAR WITH DAVE GLEASON'S WASTED DAYS (V/A) Ace of Spades Series Volume 4 - December 2004 (E14) cd-r 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ace Of Spades is a cd-r series of live recordings showcasing the intimate acoustic music of a variety of local indie artists. The series so far boasts consistently strong performances from all participants (well played and well recorded at Mama Buzz Cafe in Oakland).
Volume 4 is from the December 12th 2004 show starring Dave Gleason's Wasted Days and Sweetbriar. You get nine songs from the former (including a great version of Gram Parsons' "A Song For You") and seven from the latter (ending with a fine medley of "The Wild Side Of Life" and "Honky Tonk Angels" originally by Hank Thompson and Kitty Wells respectively).
MPEG Stream: SWEETBRIAR "The Wild Side Of Life / Honky Tonk Angels Medley"
MPEG Stream: DAVE GLEASON'S WASTED DAYS "A Song For You"

SWORD, THE / WITCHCRAFT split (Kemado / Rise Above) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We just had a big "Witchcraft weekend" 'round these parts... The incredible Swedish doom/prog rockers played two shows in the vicinity -- a packed one at Slim's in SF and also a much more intimate one at a place down in the woods near Santa Cruz (which was thus even more amazing). Several of the AQ staff made it to both shows, and are still recovering. Witchcraft are such cool guys, very down to earth and friendly despite all the ego-stroking rock star adulation that they've begun to receive... and totally deserve, 'cause they ROCK like nobody since about 1972. Their new album The Alchemist is still in heavy rotation here at the store, and MORE new Witchcraft is, geeze, icing on the cake.
The Sword from Texas are another young band of fairly retro doomsters we like who got pretty darn big pretty darn fast... makes sense the two bands would team up for something, in this case a limited edition 12" vinyl only split ep!
On Side Sword, you get a brand new composition from them called "Sea Of Spears" and also a cover version of Led Zep's "The Immigrant Song"! Witchcraft fill the flip with three tracks, the first of which, "You Bury Your Head", was originally released in 2002 as the b-side to their debut single (this is that recording, not the re-recording of it found on their first album). Then there's "Queen Of Bees" and "Sorrow Evoker", newly recorded versions of songs found on Witchcraft's Firewood album. FYI this record is already SOLD OUT at the label, so...

SWORDS & SANDALS / VHOLTZ / WOMAN'S WORTH / ETTRICK s/t (self-released) cassette 5.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SYLVIAN, DAVID The Good Son Vs The Only Daughter - The Blemish Remixes (Samadhisound) cd 17.98
Such a fantastic complement (and compliment) to David Sylvian's last album Blemish (which you may or may not know was a particular fave of Andee's)! You almost wouldn't think it possible, but on many of the remixes on The Only Daughter, Sylvian's chosen remixers have stripped down the tracks to an even more stark and austere state than that of the originals -- at times giving the impression that Sylvian has gone beat poet or is having intimate tete-a-tetes with a petulant piano or lonely horn. One of the best moments on this remix collection is Readymade FC's work on "A Fire In The Forest" with its gentle crunch-crackle-chime of an old neglected musicbox. Beautiful. The impressive list of participants also includes Ryoji Ikeda, Burnt Friedman, Yoshihiro Hanno, Tatsuhiko Asano, Jan Bang, Erik Honore, Sweet Billy Pilgrim, and Akira Rabelais -- all of whom have treated Sylvian's material with the utmost respect and furthered the haunting moods and atmospheres of Blemish in a most fitting manner.
MPEG Stream: "A Fire In The Forest - Readymade FC Remix"
MPEG Stream: "Blemish - Akira Rabelais Remix"

T SKI VALLEY / FAMILY Catch the Beat/Family Beat (split) (Soul Jazz ) 12" 10.98

TAIGA REMAINS / GARETH HARDWICK split (Low Point) 10" 8.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
Another split record featuring two aQ faves, each offering up a sidelong slab of dreamy dronemusic, with each giving it their own subtle twist.
Taiga Remains, aka Alex Cobb, head honcho of the Students Of Decay label, unleashes a deep reverberant drone, all shimmery metallics and soft low end swells. As the track progresses though, the sounds gets more and more dense, thickening, sprawling, becoming more ominous, the bass deepening, within this viscous flow, lurk buried melodies, steel string buzz, super deep melodic rumbles that surface like some massive sea creature before slipping back under. Near the end the sound becomes almost orchestral before finally flickering out.
Gareth Hardwick takes the other side, and his sound is much more tranquil and gentle than the Taiga side, but still similar, almost like the same piece, just stripped to its essence, warm languid layers drifting to and fro, unfurling a soft slow motion melody, melancholy and wistful. About halfway through, electric guitars join in, pulsing and buzzing over the soft shimmery drift, adding an ominous edge, layer upon layer, constantly shifting, overtones appearing and disappearing, the whole thing warm and thick and mesmerizing. Almost metallic but managing to remain somehow soporific and soothing.
Pressed on ultra thick vinyl, housed in a plain green sleeve, and VERY VERY LIMITED!

TAIGA REMAINS / HEAVY WINGED s/t (Not Not Fun) 12" Picture Disc 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Not sure why this never got listed, but if it had, we definitely wouldn't have any left. A killer match up, one man drone against blown out psych rock trio.
A deluxe vinyl version of a long out of print cd-r. Heavy winged kick up some serious shit with their sidelong jam, freaked out andheavy as fuck, a serious sonic pumelling for sure. Taiga Remains offers up a gorgeous thick fuzzed out dronescape, and tacks on a bonus track not on the original cd-r.
Packaged in over the top hand screened vinyl sleeves with cut out triangular stickers artfully arranged on top, Pressed on foggy clear vinyl. LIMITED TO 300 COPIES! We're guessing this is probably WAY out of print, we do have 5 or 6 in stock, and odds are that's all we'll ever get...

TAIGA REMAINS / RV PAINTINGS split (Blackest Rainbow) lp 17.98
BACK IN STOCK!!!
Blackest Rainbow has been pretty damn consistent in their survey of the pharmacologically tainted realm of dronemusik, releasing great albums from Aidan Baker, Barn Owl, Elm, Tom Carter, Jazzfinger, more recently that Bong / Quttinirpaaq split, and certainly this incredible split between Taiga Remains and RV Paintings. The former is the work of Alex Cobb, who also runs the equally great label Students Of Decay; and the latter is a side project of the Starving Weirdos. Both sides of the LP dwell heavily upon reverb saturation grafted onto acoustic dronings from various sources - probably guitar, certainly some bells, maybe a long-stringed instrument. Such is a typical strategy for RV Paintings, but is somewhat novel for Taiga Remains, whose driftscape sensibility tends more towards the smooth surface arcing for tone and harmony. If Blackest Rainbow hadn't etched the names of each artist into the surface of the wax, you'd have a 50 percent chance of guessing who was doing each side. Perhaps Cobb was deliberately trying to coax more of a RV Paintings sound from his gear and vice versa. The major difference in these two sides only becomes apparent when RV Paintings begins to gently tap across sheet metal, gongs, and a drum kit a la Eddie Prevost from AMM. The drone is still the central feature, and the percussive serves to levitate and propel the drone forward. Really great stuff to be found here, and limited to a mere 400 copies.

TARENTEL / LILIENTHAL split (Awkward Silence) 7" 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Tarentel "Sets And Rises". Lilienthal "Rises And Sets".
Two new songs exclusive to this release, limited to 500 copies. Tarentel, you may already know, play majestic instrumental post rock. Lilienthal, the electronic solo project from New Yorker Arrow Kleeman, are similar in prettiness and mood to Boards of Canada.

TENHORNEDBEAST / MARZURAAN split (Aurora Borealis) cd 8.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
Every once in a while, someone will release a record, and we can't help but feel like it was made specifically for us. And for you. Some records just perfectly speak to the aQ aesthetic, as undefinable as that seems to be. This is another one of those cases. Someone thought it would be a perfect combination to match up UK one man ambient drone outfit Tenhornedbeast, with UK slow motion doomlords Marzuraan. And it is perfect. And a fantastic idea, but just because something is a great idea, doesn't always mean someone thinks of it. And we're not saying we had been thinking someone should get these two bands together specifically, we're just glad they did, and we sort of wish we HAD thought of it. But that's neither here nor there. The important thing is that it happened, and now we can all luxuriate in the deep dark heaviness both of these bands explore. And while the bands are indeed different, their aesthetics are not all that far removed. The both exist in some blackened nether region, haunting sonic realms, where heaviness can be expressed in both utter darkness and extreme force, sometimes both, and once in awhile neither.
Tenhornedbeast offer up a nearly 30 minute long sonic ritual, beginning as a bit of swirling black minimalism, but slowly building to a truly intense wall of doomdrone, the sound thick and textured, a churning cauldron of low end buzz and downtuned disembodied riffs, all brought to a boil and poured out in a viscous black torrent, left to flow like some subterranean river. But these deep drones are laced with melodies, and keening high end shards, allowed to shine forth occasionally, but often swallowed up before they can fill those caves with their unnatural light. The track continually changes shape, sound and timbre, various shades of grey and black, lightening and darkening as the landscape changes, a haunting journey through some lost world, where sound replaces sight, allowing us to navigate ever deeper.
Marzuraan counter with what must be one of their prettiest tracks ever. It's still sludgey and doomy, but the notes ring out, the melodies almost soar, the sound fuzzy and glimmering, almost like these guys have caught the shoegaze bug as well. Washed out and blissy, super melodic and melancholy, but the coolest part is that the track seems to warble and waver, almost like someone is manually adjusting the tape speed, so the notes sound drunken and drugged, the track lurches and weaves drunkenly, only adding to the haunting and off kilter beauty. Part way through, the riffs get a little more riffy, and then the vocals come in, a moaning distant croon, and we're most definitely in serious Jesu territory, but that weird speed shifting hitch, keeps it from sounding too pretty, or two blissy. But if these guys keep heading in this direction, they could definitely give Jesu, and Nadja and other metallic shoegazers a run for their money.
The packaging is super swank, a three panel gatefold, each of the front panels diecut with each band's symbol, printed inside and out, housed in a thick plastic sleeve with a sticker affixed to the front.
MPEG Stream: TENHORNEDBEAST "Law Of The Needle"
MPEG Stream: MARZURAAN "Into Countless Battles"

TERJE, TODD Remaster of The Universe (Permanent Vacation) 2cd 22.00
Hands down the best mix collection we've heard in ages. Something about those Norwegians, damn do they know their way around space disco. We've already loved what we've heard by folks like Lindstrom and Prins Thomas, but Todd Terje's ability to create seamless mixes and imaginative edits and remixes has made him one of our favorites from that fertile scene. Remaster Of The Universe finally gives a nice big document to the amazing work Terje has been doing over the last few years. The first disc is his continuous mix of tracks by folks like Chaz Jankel, Gichy Dan, M, Jose Gonzales, etc. while the second disc is a collection of individual remixes and versions he's created for some of the same folks on the first disc as well as Antena, Lindstrom, Studio, Shit Robot, and more.
Terje really is a master at creating mixes that roll with such a shimmering vibration. He's able to respect the original tracks he uses yet totally infuse them with a new energy and a signature sound that is unmistakably his own. We like how that as seamless and smooth as he can be he's also not afraid to get really weird and left-of-center in his approach and song selection. Crossing eras and genres like the best kind of DJ's can, Terje has got us all moving and gliding to these dancefloor gems.
MPEG Stream: GITCHY DAN "On A Day Like This (Terje edit)"
MPEG Stream: ANTENA "Camino Del Sol (Todd Terje Remix)"
MPEG Stream: CHAZ JANKEL "Glad To Know You (Todd Terje edit)"
MPEG Stream: JOSŽ GONZ‡LEZ "Killing For Love (Todd Terje Brokeback Mix)"

TERRORAZOR / H4180V21.C Noise Alliance (Deathstrike) 7" 8.98
Evil Avenger has to be one of the weirdest and demented and most original sonic alchemists in black metal. Besides being the mastermind behind 'wooden metal' horde Varghkogarghasmal, and playing in Front Beast, Necroslaughter, Szarlem, Witchslaughter, Angel Of Damnation, Black Priest of Satan, and about a million others, he also is the psychotic genius behind one man blackened grind metal 'combo' Terrorazor, which just might be the weirdest of the bunch.
Ultra chaotic, murky, muddy, noise drenched blackened free metal. Or something like that. This stuff is really far out, and difficult to describe. Disintegrating riffs, splattery free jazz rhythms that only occasionally coalesce into beats, blast and otherwise, guitars swirl and grind and buzz beneath grunted inhuman vox, imagine a black metal Faxed Head, or even a more avant, free jazz Abruptum, or some sick combination of both!
As if Terrorazor wasn't enough madness, the flipside comes from electronic metal weirdos H418ov21.C, named for a record by Finnish metal gods Beherit, but don't be expecting anything like Beherit, or really like anything you've ever heard. The music of H418ov21.C is a totally bizarre blown out tangle of impossibly distorted drum machine and low slung, throbbing free-form downer doom bass. Like Joy Division basslines were stripped from their original songs, and layered over a cacophony of ancient drum machines gone totally haywire and run through a bank of distortion pedals with dying batteries. So fucking bizarre and so amazing.
LIMITED TO ONLY 150 COPIES. Housed in a plain gold sleeve with a printed transparent front cover. Cool.

TERRORIZER Issue #173 magazine + cd 9.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
AT LAST! The UK's Terrorizer is our favorite "mainstream" magazine devoted to all things metal (and otherwise "extreme"). We've been reading it religiously for years - Andee even has his own subscription - but had rarely been able to stock it at Aquarius, until now. Terrorizer's spotty US distribution had eluded us, and there were only a few book and magazine stores in town that ever had it. But, now we're hooked up and will be carrying it here regularly. Basically, it's The Wire magazine for all the cool, heavy stuff we like that The Wire (usually) ignores. It's big and glossy, 96 colorful pages, plus bonus sampler cd!
This issue, we get the reunited Carcass on the cover (can't wait to see 'em, they're playing in two weeks, several of us here already have our tickets!). Also this ish: Harvey Milk, Capricorns, Keep Of Kalessin, Cult Of Luna, Ascend, The Heads, Grave, Made Out Of Babies, Aborted, Brown Jenkins, Annihilation Time, The Endless Blockade, Amon Amarth, and tons more. You can see, it's a fairly eclectic array of extremity, certainly lots of things of AQ interest in there. Among the other features, there's an article on the burgeoning Greek power metal scene, and an "Invisible Jukebox" (oops, "Hard Of Hearing" is what they call it) session with Behemoth, and of course there's also a gazillion reviews too!
On the cd sampler ("Fear Candy #57), you'll find tracks to check out from Capricorns, Ogre, Blood Farmers, Aborted, Whitechapel, Waylander, Kalmah, Klimt 1918, Brown Jenkins, Daylight Dies, Repugnant Inebriation, Algazanth, Withered, Sotajumala, Deception, Arkangel, Insidious, and Soulfly.

TERRORIZER Issue #174 magazine + 2cd 9.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We said we'd now be getting this essential UK magazine of metallic (and other) extremity on a regular basis, and so we are. Here's #174, right on schedule!
Paradise Lost, Anathema and My Dying Bride share the cover, celebrating 20 years of the British doom-death scene they helped create. Also, stuck to the cover: a -double- cd sampler, with tracks from PL, MDB, Anathema, Oakenshield, Canvas Solaris, Dragonforce, Darkspace, Dwellers Of Twilight, Coffins, and loads more.
Inside the magazine, there's stuff on Esoteric, Motorhead, Krisiun, Gnaw Their Tongues, Krallice, The Wounded Kings, Kalmah, Wold, Harkonin, Coffins... Genghis Tron/Nachtmystium on tour, Destruction (the band) in the studio, a label profile on 20 Buck Spin, an Italian death metal scene report, tons and tons of reviews, and a look back at Possessed's classic Seven Churches. Oh, and Anaal Nathrakh do the "Hard Of Hearing" feature, guessing as to the identity of a bunch of tracks being played for them, getting stumped by everything except for Iron Monkey...

TERRORIZER Issue #187 magazine + 2cd 9.25
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Latest issue of UK heavy music powerhouse Terrorizer. On the cover, Taiwanese black metallers Chthonic (a particularly awesome and creepy cover shot btw!), inside there's Behmoth, Bolt Thrower, Ulver, Neurosis, Death Angel, Glorior Belli, Burnt By The Sun, as well as part one of Terrorizer's Sludge Special, featuring a rad oral histroy of sludge and of course a brief history of Eyehategod. There's also a cool feature on Until The Light Takes Us, the new black metal doc made by Aaron from noise pop band Iran.
And as always, a ton of features on new and upcoming bands, loads of reviews, records, cds, reissues, shows, books movies, and this issue comes with a double cd, one of the discs featuring exclusively unsigned bands!

TERRORIZER Issue #189 magazine + cd 9.25
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Awesome cover - Immortal!! The larger than life face of Abbath staring out at you in perfect corpsepaint.
Also this ish: Slayer, Nile, Venom, Marduk, Baroness, Secrets Of The Moon, My Dying Bride, Evile, and plenty more.
On the free cover-mounted sampler cd: The Ruins Of Beverast, Skeletonwitch, Destruction, Gwar, Paradise Lost, Belphegor, and a bunch of other less well known acts.
As always, an essential metal periodical.

TERRORIZER Issue #200 magazine + cd 9.25
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Whoo-hoo! Congats to the UK's mightiest metal periodical upon reaching their 200th issue. To celebrate, there's (part one of) a feature on the "200 essential albums" as picked by a bunch of your favorite bands... Also this ish, cover stars Sepultura look back at their past. And also: Limbonic Art, Winterfylleth, Misery Index, Blind Guardian, Mael Mordha, Danzig, Horseback, Castevet, Doro, and plenty more... Plus the usual ton o' reviews, news, ads for awesome European metal festivals you probably won't be going to, and a free cover-mounted cd sampler.

TERRORIZER Issue #202 magazine + cd 9.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another issue of our favorite monthly metal mag. Well Decibel comes close, but we've been reading England's Terrorizer for YEARS. On the cover this time, Southern heavies Kylesa, representing the "Dirty South" in this ish's "Dixie Metal" scene report, which also features The Sword, Zoroaster, Torche, Arson Anthem (Phil from Pantera and Mike from EHG) and others. Also: Melechesh, Cephalic Carnage, Wolves In The Throne Room (doing the Invisible Jukebox thing), Sahg, The Crown, Malevolent Creation, Spiritual Beggars, Absu, and more. There's also part 3 of the Terrorizer Top 200 metal albums of all time... and all the usual reviews and news and stuff. Plus, on the cover, a cd sampler, with Kylesa, Tank, Dimmu Borgir, October Tide, Hail Of Bullets, etc.

TERRORIZER Issue #212 magazine + cd 9.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
If you love metal, you really ought to be reading the two metal mags we carry regularly, Decibel and the UK's Terrorizer. Years from now, you'll wish you had a copy of this issue so you can nostalgically look back on 2011 and remember cover star... Tom G. Warrior!! Hey the former Celtic Frost / current Triptykon front man is a good interview. Weird dude. Also this issue: Premonition 13, Toxic Holocaust, Opeth, Runhild Gammelsaeter of Thorr's Hammer, Decapitated, Iwrestledabearonce, Book Of Black Earth, and plenty more including short bits on Disma, Volture, and others. The occasional Decibel/Terrorizer overlap happens with a Skeletonwitch studio report (really?). And there's the usual big batch o' reviews etc. Oh, and a free cd sampler stuck to the cover, with everyone from Twisted Tower Dire to Orthodox on it...

TERRORIZER Issue #213 magazine + 2cd 9.99
Another month, another installment of the UK's long-running metal-must read, Terrorizer. On the cover, looking like he just was in some sort of accident (or battle?), Nergal of Behemoth fame. Inside, stuff pertaining to such fine bands as Yob, Watain, Candlemass, Cerebral Ballzy, Evile, Gojira, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Anthrax, Obituary, Today Is The Day, and more! Comes with not one, but two, cd samplers.

TERRORIZER Issue #214 magazine + cd 9.99
Metal in the form of a magazine, in a bag, with a cd sampler. Cover star, Michael Akerfeldt of Opeth (who is "liberated from the shackles of metal" he says). Also inside, Mastodon, Tombs, Black Cobra, The Devil's Blood, Wolves In The Throne Room, Absu, Evile, Textures, and plenty more. The cd sampler's got tracks from Mastodon, Evile, Skeletonwitch, Fleshgod Apocalypse (check them out!!), and others as well.

TERRORIZER Issue #215 magazine + cd 9.99
Metal in the form of a magazine, in a bag, with a cd sampler. Cover star, "genius" Devin Townsend. Also inside, Cradle Of Filth, Skeletonwitch, In Solitude, Sepultura, Hammers Of Misfortune, Machine Head, Dimmu Borgir, and plenty more. The cd sampler's got tracks from Hammers, The Devil's Blood, Amebix, Absu, Craft, and others as well.

TERRORIZER Issue #217 magazine + cd 9.99
Another issue of this UK metal monthly. On the cover, an old photo of Burzum (to accompany a new exclusive interview). Also: Shining, Iced Earth, Meshuggah, Venom, Nasum (RIP), Dragonforce, Devin Townsend, Nightwish, Animals As Leaders (in the included "Sick Sounds" guitar mag supplement) and more... all strains of metal covered it would seem. There's the usual news, reviews, and cd sampler (w/ tracks by Burzum, Wolvhammer, Sigiriya (ex-Acrimony), Vektor, and others.

THERIEAU, MIKE, BRIAN GLAZE AND GUESTS (V/A) Ace of Spades Series Volume 6 - February 2005 (E14) cd-r 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ace Of Spades is a cd-r series of live recordings showcasing the intimate acoustic music of a variety of local indie artists. The series so far boasts consistently strong performances from all participants (well played and well recorded at Mama Buzz Cafe in Oakland).
The Volume 6 edition was recorded on February 20th, 2005 and features a few songs each from Mike Therieau, Brian Glaze, Paul Panamarenko, James Moore and Monique Lacour.
MPEG Stream: THERIEAU, MIKE "Tomorrow's Woman"
MPEG Stream: PANAMARENKO, PAUL "Don't Come Messin' Round"

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS A User's Guide To They Might Be Giants (Elektra/Rhino) cd 12.98
What's your favorite TMBG song? "Ana Ng", "Birdhouse In Your Soul", "Don't Let's Start", "Particle Man", "Spider", "I Palindrome I", "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"? Well, you've got another prime opportunity to figure it out! Yup, here's yet another They Might Be Giants compilation, but it's a much more concise one. Whereas its double disc predecessors "Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants" and "Then: The Earlier Years" were a bit pricey and overwhelming, this new collection has somehow whittled their highlights down to one single ultra concentrated cd serving of TMBG bliss. It's still a whopping 29 songs long though! They could've easily called it "The Best Of..." or "Greatest Hits", but dubbing it a "User's Guide" works just fine. It's sorta one step away from those "...For Dummies" or "Idiot's Guide To..." how-to series -- perfect for that rare guy or gal who has yet to experience the assorted pop mastery of the 'Two Johns'. The liner notes even includes an assortment of both relevant and seemingly irrelevant trivia facts and figures. One thing tho', you'll need a magnifying glass to read them. The print is teeny tiny!
MPEG Stream: "She's An Angel"
MPEG Stream: "Ana Ng"

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of... (Rhino) 2cd 30.00
Despite the title, this is NOT a complete compilation of the two Johns' Dial-A-Song answering machine genius. Bummer! I mean, sure, they let us know in the liner notes that almost each of the songs here originated as a dial-a-song, but that's just not the same. Hold your horses though 'cause what this two cd set is is a gigantic, stellar collection of They Might Be Giants' best to commemorate their 20th year together! Bonanza! They kick it all off with a triple whammy of "Birdhouse In Your Soul," "Ana Ng," and "Don't Let's Stop", but the running order of the songs from there on is somewhat puzzling. Seems to be just a big jumble. Definitely not chronological nor alphabetical, but it does come with a hefty booklet filled with photos, discography, lyrics, and band-written essays - all laid out phonebook style. There's 52 songs in all including a handful of live versions as well as their contributions to the television and movie world (for Austin Powers and Malcolm In The Middle respectively). A genuine TMBG fan undoubtably already owns a copy (or two) of each of the albums from which 95% of these songs come, but then again, a genuine TMBG fan is also undoubtably a completist so.... TMBG fan or not, if you like finely crafted eclectic, eccentric pop, this is splendid!
RealAudio clip: "Birdhouse In Your Soul"
RealAudio clip: "Minimum Wage"
RealAudio clip: "New York City"
RealAudio clip: "Dr. Evil"

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS Venue Songs (Idlewild) dvd+cd 16.98
Oh the two Johns never seem to run out of wacky ideas, do they?! And their track record is freakishly good. With the skillz of old tyme ad jingle writers they churn out a steady flow of musical nuggets of every shape and color. Even when the concept seems flimsy, the resulting songcraft is so addictively exuberant and just plain well done that any furrowed brows of criticism evaporate into thin air.
For their 2004 tour, they got it in their brains to record a tune for each and every venue they played. Ok, why not? They can pen a jingle about pretty much anything! Venue Songs offers up the aural and visual fruits of those labors. Mind you, many of them don't really seem to be 'about' the actual venue. The insertion of the respective venue's name in the lyrics seems like an afterthought or a convenient rhyme. Ah well, it's still pretty entertaining!
The cd compiles the resulting songs -- some live and some studio recorded -- plus five additional studio tracks. The dvd presents videos of eleven of those venues, and four more visual treats including a work they did with aQ fave web-based dynamo Homestar Runner titled Experimental Film. The dvd is narrated by a character known as the Deranged Millionaire (aka John Hodgman of The Daily Show, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, and This American Life among other pursuits).
Their diehard fans will surely gobble this up in one bite and need another copy post haste. On the other hand, non-devotees may find this maddeningly dorky. As novel, nutty and 'revenge of the nerds' as ever.

THIS WILL DESTROY YOU / LYMBYC SYSTYM Field Studies (Magic Bullet) cd 10.98
We had never heard This Will Destroy You until recently, but we were pretty into it, they do that sort of brooding, post rock epic majesty sort of thing, but they definitely have their own take on that sound. Seems like folks into Explosions In The Sky and that sort of stuff would go nuts for these guys.
The two TWDY tracks here, definitely still hew to that Explosions / Godspeed template, but they do some really cool stuff here. The 11 minute "Brutalism & The Worship Of The Machine" begins all shoegazey and blissed out, sort of Nadja / Jesu territory, big heavy drums, and ethereal guitar shimmer, the melodies lilting and minor key, buried beneath the sheets of guitars and what could be buried vocals, plenty of effects and weird bits of grind and crunch, the sound continually growing more and more dense, until the drums disappear, leaving just a slow drift of muted thrum and bits of record crackle, and a barely there melody, which gives way to some super hushed post rocky slowcore, the drums delicate, the rest of the instruments chiming and softly swelling, building there way back up, but this time, they're joined by what sounds like horns, and don't explode in climax, instead just sort of moan and drift wearily, very rainy day sounding, not quite funereal, but definitely wistful, before slipping back into soft effected shimmer.
The follow up track, a brief melodic addendum, is a whole different beast, muted melodies, warm rumbles, distant streaks of smeared sound, all laced with some electronic skitter, and more crackle and glitch, giving it a sort of Boards Of Canada vibe. Nice.
This Will Destroy You share the split with another band we've heard before but just never gotten around to reviewing, Lymbyc System, whose sound is more of an electronic / post rock hybrid, falling somewhere between Fridge and Four Tet, but with a bit more heft, loping drums, warm organs, glitchy skitter, tinkling chimes, give way to some soaring heavy guitars, majestic melodies, laced with samples and plenty of effects, exploding into a kick ass frenzied mathrock workout for the last minute or two, but never losing any of the melody or dreaminess. The other two tracks explore similar sounds, great production, the sounds clear, the arrangements slipping from hushed and intimate to majestic in a matter of minutes, lots of crunch and glitch and buzz, but also lots of skittery drums, warm riffs, moody drift, some Tortoise-y almost-jazz, a pretty heady concoction that is easy to get lost in.
Of the two, we probably lean toward the more muscular and epic This Will Destroy You, but both bands work together well sonically, and thus this split actually almost plays out like more of a proper record than two bands teamed up.
This doesn't actually come out for a while, but we lucked out and managed to get a bunch early, so all you folks into post rock and math rock and big guitars and slow building epic post metal drift and skittery slowcore and everything in between, this comes highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: THIS WILL DESTROY YOU "Brutalism & The Worship of the Machine"
MPEG Stream: LYMBYC SYSTEM "Processed Spirits"

THORNS VS EMPEROR Thorns Vs. Emperor (Peaceville) cd 14.98
Originally released way back in 1999, this strange split/collaboration was at the time, just about the coolest weirdest black metal (and otherwise) record we had ever heard, a record that really sounded like it was made just for aQ, unfortunately, that was long enough ago that the aQ list was still in its infancy, and thus, this amazing and baffling and brilliant record got short shrift. Just three sentences. But really those three sentences should be enough to convince you:
"Emperor covers Thorns songs, Thorns covers Emperor, although it's hard to tell which band is which, a good thing we think. Ends up sounding like a gothic, black metal soundtrack that's been given a John Oswald-style Plunderphonic treatment. The most evil use of Cubase we know of. Bizarre and amazing!!"
If there was ever a should-have-been-Record-Of-The-Week, this was most decidedly it. Thankfully, this just got reissued, and with bonus tracks to boot, so it seemed like the perfect time to revisit, and give this record the aQ love it so very much deserves, and heck, odds are lots of current aQ customers might not have been getting our list back in the day, so this is for you, and for anyone who needs (or just wants) a little more than those three sentencesÉ
Emperor should need no introduction, they are elite members of the black metal pantheon, alongside Burzum, Satyricon, Mayhem, Immortal, Ulver and Enslaved. Their sound epic and majestic, symphonic and super technical, easily still one of our favorite black metal bands EVER. Thorns however might need a bit more of an introduction. Folks who read Lords Of Chaos, might recognize Thorns mainman (only man!) Snorre W. Ruch as having played a part in the infamous murder of Euronymous, by Varg Vikernes of Burzum. Ruch was with Vikernes that fateful night and was sentenced to 8 years in prison as an accessory to murder. Thorns only ever released one proper full length, and that was not until 2001, well after this collaboration.
But this collaboration, wow, not sure where to start, and not even sure how it came to be. It seems it had been years since the very first Thorns demos (not to mention the pre-Thorns outfit Stigma Diabolicum), so this split was intended to introduce Thorns to the scene, in preparation for his upcoming full length, and featured various older Thorns tracks reinterpreted by Emperor, as well as Thorns covering some classic Emperor jams. It was Thorns first new material since 1992, and weirdly enough actually featured Satyr from Satyricon on vocals. So it sounds like a pretty bad ass black metal match up, but it doesn't necessarily explain how goddamn weird it turned out.
The opening Emperor track is some strange sample heavy orchestral industrial workout, all looped samples, field recordings, strange metallic clanks, martial snares, moaning horn like melodies, faux strings, bursts of glitchy distorted vocals, frenzied guitars, and a super intense cinematic orchestral outro that leads right into a new version of Thorns' "Aerie Descent" from his first demo, a buzzing midtempo bit of blackness, laced with soaring synths, programmed electronics, definitely that modern Moonfog black metal sound that came to define the label and the scene, there are some strange samples, but for the most part the song is a dirgey bit of black metal buzz, laced with various bits of strange sonic filigree, finishing off with a stretch of church organ, haunting and mysterious.
The next track is where it gets really strange, a new Emperor created from various bits of an old Thorns demo, and it begins as a strange collage of weird electronics, backwards rhythms, whispered vox, disembodied guitar buzz, again weirdly industrial, before the black buzz kicks in, but it's all wrapped around that electronic skitter, not to mention some bizarre industrial percussion, the sounds looped and chaotic, changing speeds, the voices processed, skittering and stuttering, laced with rhythmic bursts of static, circus calliope, and then finally a furious blast of looped black metal right at the end. Still one of the coolest and weirdest black metal jams EVER.
Next up Emperor tackles Thorns' "Aerie Descent" and it sounds like classic Emperor, epic and majestic, furious buzzing, super intricate and heavy, the drumming incredible, the production massive, the organ outro somehow even creepier here. Emperor go again with "Thus March The Night Spirit", a classical reworking of their classic "Thus Spake The Nightspirit" from their brilliant Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk, and the black buzz of the original is transformed into some Tim Burton-ish soundtrack, all soaring strings, darkly moody and tense, with flurries of rapid fire notes, and soaring strings, no wonder Emperor sounded so majestic.
Thorns takes control again, redoing yet another old demo track, a creepy almost industrial sounding crawl, the guitars liquid and warbly, the riff slippery and strange, while a mechanical rhythm plods and creaks, the guitars get buzzier, the song gradually growing more and more blasting and black, but the vocals are weirdly processed, and even at it's pounding heaviest, the song is peppered with strange programmed beats and subtle electronics, exactly the sort of stuff that would end up defining Thorns weird mechanized take on black metal. "The Discipline Of Earth" is a Thorns original, and is the perfect blend of orchestral bombast, technical black metal, and brooding black ambience, again laced with programmed rhythms, swirling FX and electronics, creepy vox, before finally erupting into full on black buzz mode, only occasionally slowing down, at which points the underlying electronics and programming come to the fore. And finally, Thorns finishes things off with a cover of Emperor's "Cosmic Keys To My Creation And Times", a plodding doomy dirge, with huge crumbling chords, strange sung/spoken vocals, thick swaths of buzz, muted Teutonic pounding, all strangely and fantastically mechanical and industrial.
In addition to the record proper, this new reissue tacks on three bonus tracks, two pre-production mixes of tracks from the record, and a previously unreleased track, the Thorns demo "You That Mingle May", featuring Satyr again, but also Fenriz from Darkthrone. So totally essential, black metalheads who have somehow made it this far without owning this, right that wrong RIGHT NOW. And the thing is, this record is so cool and weird and varied and textured, that even folks with only a passing interest in or curiosity about black metal, might just find themselves blown away...
MPEG Stream: EMPEROR "Aerie Descent"
MPEG Stream: EMPEROR "I Am"
MPEG Stream: THORNS "Aerie Descent"
MPEG Stream: THORNS "The Discipline Of Earth"

THOU / HAARP split (Reincarnation Prayer / Mirror Universe / One Eye) 7" 9.98

THOU / HUMAN INTRUDER split (Dead Earth) 7" 4.50
Latest from split release loving Baton Rouge heavies Thou, teaming up this time around with a similarly sludge minded outfit from Germany called Human Intruder, and as much as we love Thou, Human Intruder come damn close to stealing the show here.
Their track begins as an appropriately massive crushing detuned doom dirge, a lurching and lumbering creep, with tripped out, almost falsetto vox wailing off in the distance, but then things switch gears, a second vocal, a more harsh bellowed howl comes in, along side some unlikely piano, and maybe even strings, the sound transformed into something weirdly haunting and pretty, moody and super dramatic, the bellowed vox the only thing keeping this from turning into some sort of epic post rock. The guitars are super dynamic, the riffs dropping out completely, to reveal the hushed melody beneath, before dropping right back in again. The song eventually finishes off with a heavy, groovy, almost southern stoner sludge sounding outro. We have GOT to hear more from these guys.
Thou definitely hold their own, while not as weird as Human Intruder, their sound is still pretty sick, a murky, downtuned slithery doooooom, with harsh shrieked vox, the riffs warped and woozy, and way down in the mix, a seriously drum/vokill heavy mix, which suits the insane inhuman screeches, and crazy double kick drumming, pounding and howling away over a muted washed out downtuned churn, a sound way more Khanate than Eyehategod, finishing off a bang, that bang in this case being some punked out metallic noise rock crush. Fuck yeah.
Super swank packaging, a 6 panel fold out jacket, held shut by a Japanese style vellum obi. LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES.
MPEG Stream: HUMAN INTRUDER "Fatal Alliance"
MPEG Stream: THOU "The Butcher's Bill"

THOU / LEECH We Pass Like Night, From Land To Land (Gilead Media) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Holy shit are we glad this thing finally got a much deserved reissue. Originally available as a super limited cassette, the two copies that managed to worm their way into the store were immediately snapped up by Andee and former aQuarian Cameron. Their gain was certainly the rest of the world's misfortune, because some of us couldn't stop listening to Cameron's copy before he jetted off to New York. For the longest time we could only conjure memories of these songs in our heads. Thou's contribution here, the four part epic "Abandoned", is some of the most majestic, beautiful, and psychedelic doom metal to emerge in quite some time. It also manages to be ugly as fuck. But damn, these songs just SOAR, everything is wrapped up in a blanket of ultra dense distortion with glacial drumming and some seriously unbelievable throat shredding goodness, the kind that makes mothers everywhere wonder what would make good boys want to do such things to their vocal chords. Storming out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Thou follow proudly in the tradition of their sludgey, thick as tar forefathers like Eyehategod, Crowbar, and the rest of the usual suspects, but there's definitely something about these guys that stands on its own, not to mention a pretty heavy black metal influence. While thankfully avoiding falling into an "indie" metal trap, Thou nonetheless successfully incorporates a blissed out melodicism that only a fool would deny.
Leech's contribution, an untitled 20+ minute monster of a track, is mighty impressive as well. The band hails from Salem, Oregon, and while we don't know anything about them other than this, it's pretty clear we have some research to do, because you all know how we love our Cascadian black metal. The song winds all over the place with super melodic guitar leads and some great basslines (which you can actually HEAR, unlike many black metal bands). The tortured vocals will definitely hit the spot for anyone digging Weakling, WITTR, you know, that kind of thing. The song is so melancholy, but it just sounds totally unstoppable and out for blood, we really hope to hear more from these guys soon.
The classy white record comes housed in a nice looking full color gatefold with a screenprinted poster, a crusty patch, and whaddya know, a free download card. And while it's great having this album available once again, it's still limited to a mere 750 copies with no plans for a cd release, so act fast!

THRONES / SEDAN split (Joe Preston's Solid Gold Records) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Managed to get a handful of these split tour 12"s when Thrones, aka Joe Preston, was in town recently. This two song 45rpm 12" matches up Preston's Thrones with the new-to-us Sedan, who we had never even heard of before, but whose track here kills, a moody broody rhythmic chunk of kick ass post rock, plenty mathy, with big drums, lush thick guitars, definitely sounds like it could be a new record by some nineties Thrill Jockey band, BUT, the group pepper their math/post rockisms with cool stretches of haunting cinematic chamber music, all layered drones and swoonsome shimmer. Pretty great, and unexpected, and has us definitely wanting to hear more.
The Thrones side offers up a different side of the Thrones we're used to, unfurling a dark, droney super minimal low end creep, all slithery and gurgly, a rumbling drone that soon reveals itself as being pitched down processed vox, the sound blur into a sort of post industrial black ambience, until the song blossoms into cool melody, but again, those synthy sounding melodies are in fact Preston's processed voice, it's total avant a cappella prog, or something, whatever it is, it's awesomely dirgey and droney and a little bit sci-fi, a tripped out minimal ambient soundtrack that might have some Thrones obsessives on the haunt for heavy scratching their chins, the rest of us can revel in Preston's mysterious dark soundscapery.
Probably crazy limited, so not sure if we can get more. Nice cover art too!

THUJA / MY CAT IS AN ALIEN From The Earth To The Spheres Split Series Vol. 2 (Very Friendly) cd 14.98
Here's the cd version of volume two of My Cat Is An Alien's split series with artists they like. This time that Italian drone duo shares disc space with a band we really like as well, our pals Thuja. A good match for sure. Thuja's track "The Magma Is The Brother Of The Stone" (great title guys!) is an 18 minute improv that segues almost imperceptably into MCIAA's equally lengthy "When The Earth Whispered Your Name". Both are narcotic and nocturnal-sounding, with Thuja's seeming closer to the Earth while MCIAA's drones down from space. Highly recommended to fans of either band!!
MPEG Stream: THUJA "The Magma Is The Brother Of The Stone"
MPEG Stream: MY CAT IS AN ALIEN "When The Earth Whispered Your Name"

TIDES / GIANT split (Level-Plane) lp 13.98

MPEG Stream: TIDES "The Invisible"
MPEG Stream: GIANT "Horned And Blind"

TIGERSHARK / APESHIT! split (Molsook) lp 9.98
We went a little nuts for the is Richmond, VA outfit a while back, when we reviewed their demo tape. So now they're back, and they still totally kick our ass, with their modern take on sludgy chaotic Amrep style mathy noise rock. Everything we loved on the tape is here in full effect, heavy, crushing drumming, huge chugging bass, ultra tangled riffery, with grooves buried amidst the murk and crush, lots of distortion, howled vocals, crumbling downtuned guitars, it's a sound we miss a lot and so few bands are able to pull it off, but these guys can, BIG TIME. Amrep, Dazzling Killmen, Drive Like Jehu, if that stuff pushes your buttons, you gotta get this (and the tape while you're at it).
On the flipside, Brooklyn combo Apeshit also channel some retro sounds, but their sound is yet another one we've been missing like crazy, and hardly any bands can manage anymore. That super spastic, over the top Gravity style screamo, think Heroin, Orchid, Mohinder.... short furious bursts of damaged thrash chaos, loads of feedback, thick swaths of scrape and grind, super lo-fi but still crazy heavy, tons of tempo changes, super dynamic with killer bits of epic drama and speaker shredding blasts of white hot howl and buzz.
Together these two bands sound like they must destroy live, the sort of show you crawl from, bruised and bloody, deaf and drenched in sweat, and dying for more. The ultimate noise-rock / screamo tagteam matchup...
Gorgeous full color cover, printed insert with liner notes and lyrics, pressed on transparent lavender vinyl. And as all things like this, crazy limited!

TIMBALAND Timbaland Present: Shock Value (Blackground) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Bounce (Feat. Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott & Justin Timberlake)"
MPEG Stream: "One And Only (feat. Fallout Boy)"
MPEG Stream: "Throw It On Me (Feat. The Hives)"

TIPSY Remix Party! (Asphodel) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This new Tipsy cd is so appropriately titled! The lively festivities feature some fabulous reworkings of their playful trip hop tracks by a bunch of AQ faves from around the globe: Matmos (SF), People Like Us (Kent), Bran Flakes (Seattle), and Optiganally Yours (San Diego), as well as World Standard (Tokyo), High Llamas (London), Curd Duca (Vienna) and nine others. With nutty collage cover art (guinea pigs! green slime! shag carpet!) that'd be just as suited on a cd by Stock, Hausen & Walkman or the aforementioned People Like Us. Very bubbly and fun, for people who don't take electronica without a dose of bubblegum.
RealAudio clip: HIGH LLAMAS "Sweet Cinnamon Punch"
RealAudio clip: PEOPLE LIKE US "Reverse Cowgirl"