GATE The Mono Lake (Table Of The Elements) cd 16.98
Michael Morley of NZ's Dead C's newest solo, in a similar style. Ends with a fine noisy cover of "Jennifer" from Faust IV.

GATE The Wisher Table (Precious Metal) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another record we've been trying to list for a while but we were never able to get enough... until now. This is the newest record from the Dead C's Michael Morley, and while it was only released recently on his own Precious Metal label, it was actually recorded back in 1997. Morley's Gate obviously shares many similarities to his full time 'rock' combo, but Gate is less about deconstructing rock and free improvisation and more about skewed pop songs, dismantled and buried in murk and scree. Clattery percussion, buzzing guitars, squealing feeback, all form a tangly prickly web of noise for Morley to sing over, in his ultra-distorted mumble. Quite reminiscent of local boys Iran actually, with gorgeous melodies, hidden and tangled up in sheets of barbed wire guitar and throbbing, lo-fi percussive splatter. Think Ira from Yo La Tengo or Lou from Sebadoh fronting Harry Pussy or (duh) the Dead C. Easily the best Gate record since their 'pop' masterpiece 'The Dew Line' or their gorgeous noise record 'Golden' from a few years back.
RealAudio clip: "Center"
RealAudio clip: "Wail"
RealAudio clip: "Dark"

GATEKEEPER Giza (Merok) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yet another band trafficking in creepy electronic Carpenter / Goblin / Zombi style Euro-horror retro futuristic soundtrackery, and like those others, Gatekeeper definitely have their own spin on it, with a sound way more danceable, and with loads more samples, adding to the whole cinematic vibe, the opening track alone pretty much sums it up, the revving of a motorcycle engine, pulsing electronics, symphonic stabs, samples of a terrorized woman, from some seventies horror flick most likely, the sound a driving propulsive fusion of old school techno, and electronic krautrock, laced with cheesy electronic drums, swirling spaced out effects, fuzzy bass, and buzzing synths, deep creepy vox add to the drama and tension, it's pretty impossible not to envision some futuristic chase scene or some occultic ritual gone wrong and the resulting pursuit through the forest. Total techno electro-kraut futurist kosmische sci-fi new wave.
The rest of the tracks follow suit, with big pulsing slabs of buzzing synth, fuzzy eighties basslines, programmed drums, new agey ambience, loads of samples, strange voices and sound effects, but unlike the others, the sound of Gatekeeper seems to be more dramatic, more intense, with the songs often building to seriously epic and freaked out climaxes, but just as often locking into mesmerizing minimal electro grooves, but always slightly ominous, haunting, otherworldly and seriously dramatic and cinematic. Think Majeure, Innercity, Oneohtrix, Nightsatan, Umberto but somehow more over the top. Which of course means WAY recommended.

GATES OF SLUMBER The Ice Worm's Lair (Slumbering Souls/Superhero) 12" 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
These Midwestern doom kings unleash a limited edition, vinyl-only 4-song 12" ep, boasting a cool, creepy, splattery cover painting of the titular Ice Worm. The A-side consists of the track "Ice Worm" from their recent Conqueror opus, natch, plus a new song called "Something You Can Never Know", also an uber-heavy number solidly in GoS's tradition of old school, "Conan crushing doom" metal.
Another GoS tradition is doing worshipful covers of songs by bands that have influenced them, such as St. Vitus, Manilla Road and Samhain. So, the B-side here features two kick ass cover tunes reflecting GoS's deep respect for their slightly less underground metallic forefathers from back in the '80s - they do "Flight Of Icarus" by Iron Maiden and "Egypt (The Chains Are On)" by Dio!! Way cool.
LIMITED to 500 copies.

GATES OF SLUMBER, THE Conqueror (Profound Lore) cd 14.98
Indiana's The Gates Of Slumber, by dint of sheer old school "trueness" are quickly becoming the most happenin' American traditional doom metal band around, with a weighty onslaught of releases, this latest coming our way via Canada's equally happenin' Profound Lore label. It's another slab of sludgy yet melodic heavy metal in the downer-psych tradition of St. Vitus and Reverend Bizarre... with all the usual ye olde cult metal and pulpy literary influences. What makes 'em so true is that they play for a very defined audience of likeminded souls, caring more about doing their doom RIGHT than any other more conventional measure of rock n' roll success (radio play? magazine covers? groupies? no, definitely not, this is way too geeky). It's almost emo that way. So serious and sincere.
Vocally this has got strains of Wino (Spirit Caravan, The Obsessed, you know), and lyrically TGOS are inspired mainly by Swords & Sorcery fiction, though topical subjects like the genocide in Darfur are also addressed. The album's grand finale is a 16 and a half minute long "Dark Valley Suite" dedicated to Conan creator Robert E. Howard, even including a section with words taken from a Howard poem... we like that the song is really more about Howard the tragically mortal human being, and is not simply another celebration of his mighty and barbaric fictional hero.
The cd booklet is interesting, in addition to lyrics for every song, a detailed track-by-track commentary is provided, almost making review-writing redundant when the band's vocalist/guitarist is describing each song as having certain influences or whatnot. For instance, talking about the track "Ice Worm", he says "the riff reminds me of Orodruin and Cirith Ungol fighting with Budgie and Quartz... Ross The Boss steps in playing a Dio hook for the chorus"... well that's all of course too good to be true but still if you know and care about the artists he mentions there, then there's a good chance you're gonna dig The Gates Of Slumber!! Likewise, if you're into R.E. Howard & Conan and stuff like that...
MPEG Stream: "Trapped In The Web"
MPEG Stream: "Children Of Satan"

GATES OF SLUMBER, THE Hymns Of Blood And Thunder (Rise Above / Metal Blade) cd 14.98
Much as their biggest literary inspiration, Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian, rose from mere vagabond thief and freebooter to command armies and then become King, Midwestern underground doom sensations Gates Of Slumber seem to be set unerringly upon the path of glory, treading the jeweled thrones of Earth under their sandaled feet. Bigger labels, more press, they do seem way more popular than when we first encountered their obscure, import-only debut some years back. This new cd release even boasts a slipcase. And while their rise in popularity is well deserved and awesome (couldn't happen to a doomier bunch of guys), it's also a bit of a surprise... who knew that there was such a healthy demand for their brand of true doom? Well there is, and The Gates Of Slumber deliver, overtly influenced as always by old school heavy metal, and metal-related things like weird pulp fiction and Frank Frazetta fantasy artwork (the song "Death Dealer" here is actually ABOUT a Frank Frazetta painting as a matter of fact).
Perhaps the sheer sincerity of these guys won people over. Plus for a heavy band into barbarian muscle-metal, they're remarkably emotional and sensitive seeming, their music often quite melodic and full of gloomy atmosphere. Also, they rock. The one-two punch of opening tracks "Chaos Calling", followed by "Death Dealer", is a bit of a shocker. Were Gates Of Slumber ever this speedy before? They almost sound like High On Fire, or Early Man. A killer NWOBHM/thrash mash. But, then, "Beneath The Eyes Of Mars" slows things down and gets way doomier, more like we were expecting, throwing in some subtle Dr. Who synths to boot, and that's when anyone new to TGOS can begin to appreciate the moody side to this band.
Their long standing allegiance to Saint Vitus is most evident on the Lovecraftian epic "Descent Into Madness" (the longest track here), while elsewhere they get into prog and folk just a bit, no really, there's even some female vocals on the penultimate track "The Mist In The Mourning", shades of Hammers Of Misfortune.
Don't worry, though this album has its acoustic interludes, and all-instrumental tangents, and sad singing and sweet soloing, they sound plenty tough too, ferinstance "The Bringer Of War" is a brute. And you gotta love "Iron Hammer", reprised from an early out of print ep, it's of those songs paying tribute to their influences with lyrics entirely composed of the titles to their favorite classic metal songs and albums.
Further pumped up with solid, Sanford Parker production, this is HEAVY metal that cannot be denied. Maybe we will see 'em on a (metal) magazine cover yet - Decibel did just make this album of the month in their new issue, with a 9/10 rating! And we can certainly see fans of High On Fire and The Sword enjoying this just as much as those into the more underground likes of Reverend Bizarre and Electric Wizard.
MPEG Stream: "Chaos Calling"
MPEG Stream: "Beneath The Eyes Of Mars"
MPEG Stream: "Iron Hammer"

GATES OF SLUMBER, THE Hymns of Blood and Thunder (Rise Above) 2lp 34.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now also on (import) gatefold vinyl!!
Much as their biggest literary inspiration, Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian, rose from mere vagabond thief and freebooter to command armies and then become King, Midwestern underground doom sensations Gates Of Slumber seem to be set unerringly upon the path of glory, treading the jeweled thrones of Earth under their sandaled feet. Bigger labels, more press, they do seem way more popular than when we first encountered their obscure, import-only debut some years back. And while their rise in popularity is well deserved and awesome (couldn't happen to a doomier bunch of guys), it's also a bit of a surprise... who knew that there was such a healthy demand for their brand of true doom? Well there is, and The Gates Of Slumber deliver, overtly influenced as always by old school heavy metal, and metal-related things like weird pulp fiction and Frank Frazetta fantasy artwork (the song "Death Dealer" here is actually ABOUT a Frank Frazetta painting as a matter of fact).
Perhaps the sheer sincerity of these guys won people over. Plus for a heavy band into barbarian muscle-metal, they're remarkably emotional and sensitive seeming, their music often quite melodic and full of gloomy atmosphere. Also, they rock. The one-two punch of opening tracks "Chaos Calling", followed by "Death Dealer", is a bit of a shocker. Were Gates Of Slumber ever this speedy before? They almost sound like High On Fire, or Early Man. A killer NWOBHM/thrash mash. But, then, "Beneath The Eyes Of Mars" slows things down and gets way doomier, more like we were expecting, throwing in some subtle Dr. Who synths to boot, and that's when anyone new to TGOS can begin to appreciate the moody side to this band.
Their long standing allegiance to Saint Vitus is most evident on the Lovecraftian epic "Descent Into Madness" (the longest track here), while elsewhere they get into prog and folk just a bit, no really, there's even some female vocals on the penultimate track "The Mist In The Mourning", shades of Hammers Of Misfortune.
Don't worry, though this album has its acoustic interludes, and all-instrumental tangents, and sad singing and sweet soloing, they sound plenty tough too, ferinstance "The Bringer Of War" is a brute. And you gotta love "Iron Hammer", reprised from an early out of print ep, it's of those songs paying tribute to their influences with lyrics entirely composed of the titles to their favorite classic metal songs and albums.
Further pumped up with solid, Sanford Parker production, this is HEAVY metal that cannot be denied. Maybe we will see 'em on a (metal) magazine cover yet - Decibel did just make this album of the month in their new issue, with a 9/10 rating! And we can certainly see fans of High On Fire and The Sword enjoying this just as much as those into the more underground likes of Reverend Bizarre and Electric Wizard.
MPEG Stream: "Chaos Calling"
MPEG Stream: "Beneath The Eyes Of Mars"
MPEG Stream: "Iron Hammer"

GATES OF SLUMBER, THE Like A Plague Upon The Land (Hellride Music) cd ep 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From Indiana, USA, here's a doom metal band for those who like their doom old school, Saint Vitus style. That is, like Black Sabbath but dragged down deeper into the mire. This ostensibly five-track ep (it's longer than that, due to several hidden bonus tracks) has got all the depressive atmosphere, widdly solos, guitar effects, anguished Wino-like vocals, and sledgehammer heaviness you desire. These guys are obviously dedicated doom fans first and foremost, and like their Finnish brethren Reverend Bizarre they do their influences proud, and they make it pretty obvious who those influences are. There's a cover of "Ask No More" by Pentagram, and one of the hidden tracks is a version of St. Vitus' "War Is Our Destiny"... And if this disc turns you into a fan of The Gates Of Slumber, they've helpfully provided a bonus embroidered TGOS patch for your denim vest! We'll be wearing ours proudly.
MPEG Stream: "Iron Hammer"
MPEG Stream: "The Leech"

GATES OF SLUMBER, THE Suffer No Guilt (I Hate Records) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Axe smashing, bare chested, mega muscled, mighty thewed, old school DOOM metal here! Just take one glance at Ken Kelly's Frank Frazetta-styled cover painting and one listen to the opening attack "Angel Of Death" (no, not a Slayer cover, it's more like a Cirith Ungol track!) and you'll know this third cd from Indiana doom trio The Gates Of Slumber is one for cultish, denim n' leather garbed fans of Saint Vitus, Reverend Bizarre, Manowar, Electric Wizard, and of course ye olde Black Sabbath -- especially if you're a reader of Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft. If you are, perhaps you knew that "Suffer No Guilt Ye Who Wield This In The Name Of Crom" is the motto inscribed in runes on the sword that belonged to the father of Howard's famed Swords & Sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian? And Conan of Cimmeria is indeed the subject of this album's 14 minute long title track. But TGOS also take this "Suffer No Guilt" theme further elsewhere on the album, in the lyrics to the 20 minute long (!) "God Wills It" tying the idea of not suffering guilt for the sins of one's culture's past to their views on the (historical) Crusades and the current "clash of civilizations" that some see as occurring in this age of War on Terror, War in Iraq and sundry other Middle Eastern conflict. So, some deep thoughts here... but also plenty of blood and thunder entertainment, in the form of heavy riffing and psychedelic soloing, with pulpy escapism as its purpose.
By the way, Allan saw these guys this past summer at the Alehorn Of Power festival in Chicago. They were the opening band for a bill that included Bible Of The Devil, Twisted Tower Dire, The Lord Weird Slough Feg, and freakin' Manilla Road! TGOS definitely set the "heaviness bar" pretty high for the night.
MPEG Stream: "Suffer No Guilt"
MPEG Stream: "Riders Of Doom"

GATES OF SLUMBER, THE The Awakening (Final Chapter) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Debut full length from these St. Vitus style doomsters. For fans of Reverend Bizarre.

GATES OF SLUMBER, THE The Wretch (Rise Above / Metal Blade) cd 13.98
Egads. What's that rumbling, lumbering sound? The Gates Of Slumber, of course. The Midwestern true doom stalwarts return with their 2nd slipcased album for Rise Above/Metal Blade, at least their fourth full-length release overall. If you like your metal HEAVY then you know these guys already. Traditionalists at heart, they don't mess much with their basic modus operandi, once more this is barbaric thud that Conan himself would enjoy blasting on his stereo, if they had such technology in the ancient Hyborian Age...
Snail's pace opening track "Bastards Born" is VERY Vitus-y, the influence of '80s Sabbath disciples Saint Vitus always having been a big part of TGOS's sound, but here really taken to an extreme of emulation, it could easily be a track left off of final (for now) Vitus masterpiece Die Healing. Except that the vocals by TGOS guitarist Karl Simon aren't quite so godly as those of Scott Reagers. He's a bit more "wretched" sounding (natch, this album is titled The Wretch after all) and comes closer to sounding like the other significant Vitus vocalist, Wino.
Heck we're preaching to the choir here, making references to Die Healing and Reagers and Wino... if those names mean anything to you, you probably already know if you're interested in TGOS's latest or not. In any case, we can't imagine that TGOS weren't thinking of this as their "Die Healing" song when they were writing it.
As an statement of purpose, "Bastards Born" says: "Sludge". And sludge they do, as the rest of the album oozes forth. But some tracks ooze faster. Track two "The Scourge Of Drunkenness" is one such relatively uptempo rocker... Later on "Coven Of Cain" conjures up the high spirits of the NWOBHM, while conversely "Castle Of The Devil", another mid-album number, takes things in a relaxed, almost artily atmospheric direction, a nice breather amidst the more crushing cuts.
TGOS's true doom devotion to sheer lamentation and misery is utterly fulfilled by the end of the album, with the epic - and even more epic - tracks "The Wretch" (8:18) and "Iron And Fire" (12:14) both slo-mo, sorrowfully emo trudges to leave you suicidally spent, when all's said and doomed.
Pretty darn good, though you kinda have to be in that "doomed" mood. So if we admitted that, right at the moment, we'd rather be listening to those reissues by Alaskan '80s metal band Pandemonium that we made Record(s) Of The Week, we don't think the TGOS guys would be at all offended. After all, they're nothing if not worshipful of their heavy metal forebears themselves, the cd booklets to most previous releases usually featuring Karl Simon's analysis/admissions of each song's musical inspirations (whereas here, his liner notes are all about how this time, they got more "personal" rather than "fantastic" in terms of lyrics and mood, hence titles like "The Scourge Of Drunkenness", presumably).
MPEG Stream: "Bastards Born"
MPEG Stream: "Coven Of Cain"
MPEG Stream: "Iron And Fire"

GATES OF SLUMBER, THE The Wretch (Rise Above ) 2lp 39.00
NOW ON IMPORT GATEFOLD VINYL!!!
Egads. What's that rumbling, lumbering sound? The Gates Of Slumber, of course. The Midwestern true doom stalwarts return with their 2nd slipcased album for Rise Above/Metal Blade, at least their fourth full-length release overall. If you like your metal HEAVY then you know these guys already. Traditionalists at heart, they don't mess much with their basic modus operandi, once more this is barbaric thud that Conan himself would enjoy blasting on his stereo, if they had such technology in the ancient Hyborian Age...
Snail's pace opening track "Bastards Born" is VERY Vitus-y, the influence of '80s Sabbath disciples Saint Vitus always having been a big part of TGOS's sound, but here really taken to an extreme of emulation, it could easily be a track left off of final (for now) Vitus masterpiece Die Healing. Except that the vocals by TGOS guitarist Karl Simon aren't quite so godly as those of Scott Reagers. He's a bit more "wretched" sounding (natch, this album is titled The Wretch after all) and comes closer to sounding like the other significant Vitus vocalist, Wino.
Heck we're preaching to the choir here, making references to Die Healing and Reagers and Wino... if those names mean anything to you, you probably already know if you're interested in TGOS's latest or not. In any case, we can't imagine that TGOS weren't thinking of this as their "Die Healing" song when they were writing it.
As an statement of purpose, "Bastards Born" says: "Sludge". And sludge they do, as the rest of the album oozes forth. But some tracks ooze faster. Track two "The Scourge Of Drunkenness" is one such relatively uptempo rocker... Later on "Coven Of Cain" conjures up the high spirits of the NWOBHM, while conversely "Castle Of The Devil", another mid-album number, takes things in a relaxed, almost artily atmospheric direction, a nice breather amidst the more crushing cuts.
TGOS's true doom devotion to sheer lamentation and misery is utterly fulfilled by the end of the album, with the epic - and even more epic - tracks "The Wretch" (8:18) and "Iron And Fire" (12:14) both slo-mo, sorrowfully emo trudges to leave you suicidally spent, when all's said and doomed.
MPEG Stream: "Bastards Born"
MPEG Stream: "Coven Of Cain"
MPEG Stream: "Iron And Fire"

GATES OF SLUMBER, THE Villain, Villain (Metal Supremacy) 2cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Circle Of True Doom standard bearers The Gates Of Slumber just rumbled through town a couple weeks ago, on tour with Slough Feg. They stopped into the store, and we snagged a couple copies of their hard to find Villain, Villain double cd collection from 2007. Really, just a couple. So we're not gonna spend much time on this review! For those who might be interested, Villain, Villain (which of course takes its title and cover concept from Judas Priest's Hero, Hero) brings together a 16 early demo tracks, alternate versions, reedits, live songs, covers (no less than 3 of 'em songs by their heroes Saint Vitus!), etc. etc.
Obviously, this is for mega TGOS fans only, and you might already have -some- of this stuff in one form or other. But probably not all of it, especially if you missed out on some of their earlier, now out of print releases. You know how to use Encyclopedia Metallum, you can figure out what this has got that you do not, eh?
The cd booklet, in typical TGOS tradition, features notes on each and every track (except their Samhain and Manilla Road covers, for some reason) by guitarist/bandleader Karl Simon. Who, by the way, is a very cool guy, with a definite sense of humor for one so doomy.
MPEG Stream: "The Awakening"
MPEG Stream: "To Walk The Night (Samhain cover)"

GATES, REBECCA Ruby Series (Badman) cd 13.98
Rebecca Gates was previously in The Spinanes from Portland, Oregon. She has since moved to Chicago and created this album, her first "solo" recording, with the help of John McEntire (of Tortoise and the Sea and Cake), Noel Kupersmith (of The Chicago Underground Quartet), and Brian Deck (of Califone, Red Red Meat and Modest Mouse), among others. Her songs vary from sweet folk to more driving songs, but always led by her vocal swagger and languorous guitar strum and backed by that Chicago post-rock sound (i.e. lots of marimba and adult-contemporary use of electronica breakbeats).
RealAudio clip: "Lure And Cast"

GAUHAERT Ygwaet Gwyr Gwynn Novi (Goatowarex) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sure, we've all heard plenty of viking metal. Every black metal dude somehow miraculously has that Norse warrior blood flowing hot through their veins. "Sure, we're from Idaho, but OUR ANCESTORS WERE MIGHTY VIKINGS!!" Blah blah blah, longboats, funeral pyres, horned helmets, whatever, now it's time for some RAW CELTIC FOLK METAL!! And not just any sort of raw Celtic folk metal, no this is totally deranged and demented and damaged folky buzzy Celtic black metal. Think Benighted Leams, Urfaust and the like, but flavored with a heap of Celtic fiddles and jaunty folk rhythms.
The riffs and melodies are distinctly Celtic for sure, but they are drenched in tinny buzz, wrapped in a warm cloak of blackness, a folky black blast, not all that strange on their own, but then the vocals come in and all bets are off. The vocals are of course of the chanting, sing songy, sea shanty, steins hoisted variety, but the way they're recorded transforms them, and this whole record into something completely different. A soaring dramatic croon, a cross between Urfaust's over the top Ethel Merman-ish warble (Gauhaert does indeed include at least one member of Urfaust!), Circle's Mika Ratto and an anguished black metal moan, but they sound like they were recorded at the bottom of a 10 million gallon iron cistern, a dense cloud of reverb and overtones, the vocals soar and reverberate, until they are a huge swirl that overtakes the music completely, when the vocals stop briefly, the music re-emerges as if stepping out of a fog bank, before the vocals kick back in and the song becomes a dense grey hued swirling smear of sound. There are also a couple of ambient tracks, dark dreamy rumbles, with strange chordal swells and wheezing organs, mournful horns, mysterious and elegiac in its sorrowful trudge. But those are brief respites amidst the dizzying flurries of wild and bizarre Celtic blackness. So weird, but really fucking cool.
MPEG Stream: "Blaasbalg Der Zwijnen"
MPEG Stream: "Bealach Na' Marbh"

GAULT, THE Even As All Before Us (Amortout) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally back in stock!! It's been a bit of an ordeal too. The original pressing on Flood The Earth was defective, so we managed to get a bunch that the band had pressed themselves and listed those a while back, unfortunately those quickly ran out and tons of folks missed out. Now after a brief spell of unavailability, we finally managed to get copies of the European version, identical to the original version, only this time released solely by Amortout, the label run by the guys in Diamatregon! Phew, a lot of trouble maybe, but well worth it we think once you hear the dark brooding beauty that is the Gault. Here's what we had to say first time around:
By now everyone should be familiar with SF black metal legends Weakling. A brief existence, a handful of shows, and a single amazing record (released on Andee's tUMULt label, we should mention). Members of Weakling played in and/or went on to play in Amber Asylum, the Champs, Drunk Horse, Asunder, Sangre Amado, Saros and the short lived but now totally cult blackened gothic doom outfit The Gault. Recorded way back in 1999 by Tim Green, The Gault's Even As All Before Us languished for years before the band finally agreed on a mix and a label, and now five years later this mighty slab of depressive doom finally sees the light of day. Some of you may be wondering why we're only getting around to reviewing this now, since it was released a few months ago... and, the entire first pressing is already sold out. So what's the deal? Well, bad news for any of you who already picked up a copy somewhere else. The ENTIRE first pressing was, in fact, defective. But not defective enough apparently for the label to care, as they refused to repress it and continued to sell the defective copies anyway. To our ears though, the harsh digital glitches inadvertently inserted between every track totally detracted from the gorgeously bleak and harrowing ambience. So the band took it upon themselves to have corrected copies pressed themselves, and thus we finally have the Gault record the way it was meant to be heard. Imagine those Weakling riffs, slowed down and wrapped in dense '80s-ish reverb, smeared and stretched into serpentine minor key melodies, throbbing and pulsing and slithering through midtempo dronescapes of shimmering guitar buzz, creeping basslines, ghostlike female vocals, crashing steady drumming all cloaked in a rich blackened haze, suffocating and claustrophobic, but somehow completely epic at the same time. Think a black metal Joy Division and you might be close, due in no small part to vocalist Ed Kunakemakorn's distinctive wail. Equal parts Ian Curtis, Interpol's Paul Banks and weirdly enough, Dutch weirdo black metallers Urfaust, a soaring mournful croon, rich and velvety and quite haunting. Each track is a twisting complex doomscape of fuzzed out drones, pounding downtuned riffage, swirling psychedelic ambience, slow motion crawl and creep, building and building into massive black swells. A gorgeously creepy collection of heaving, lurching, dark and delicate, doomy and dense epics. So emotional and so totally and completely intense!
MPEG Stream: "Obliscence"
MPEG Stream: "Bright White Blind"

GAULT, THE Even As All Before Us (Van) 2lp 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now available on vinyl! Deluxe, double lp in a gatefold sleeve with a patch!!!
Here's what we had to say about this AQ fave:
By now everyone should be familiar with SF black metal legends Weakling. A brief existence, a handful of shows, and a single amazing record (released on Andee's tUMULt label, we should mention). Members of Weakling played in and/or went on to play in Amber Asylum, the Champs, Drunk Horse, Asunder, Sangre Amado, Saros and the short lived but now totally cult blackened gothic doom outfit The Gault. Recorded way back in 1999 by Tim Green, The Gault's Even As All Before Us languished for years before the band finally agreed on a mix and a label, and now five years later this mighty slab of depressive doom finally sees the light of day.
Imagine those Weakling riffs, slowed down and wrapped in dense '80s-ish reverb, smeared and stretched into serpentine minor key melodies, throbbing and pulsing and slithering through midtempo dronescapes of shimmering guitar buzz, creeping basslines, ghostlike female vocals, crashing steady drumming all cloaked in a rich blackened haze, suffocating and claustrophobic, but somehow completely epic at the same time. Think a black metal Joy Division and you might be close, due in no small part to vocalist Ed Kunakemakorn's distinctive wail. Equal parts Ian Curtis, Interpol's Paul Banks and weirdly enough, Dutch weirdo black metallers Urfaust, a soaring mournful croon, rich and velvety and quite haunting. Each track is a twisting complex doomscape of fuzzed out drones, pounding downtuned riffage, swirling psychedelic ambience, slow motion crawl and creep, building and building into massive black swells. A gorgeously creepy collection of heaving, lurching, dark and delicate, doomy and dense epics. So emotional and so totally and completely intense!
MPEG Stream: "Obliscence"
MPEG Stream: "Bright White Blind"

GAUNTLET HAIR Out...Don't (Mexican Summer) 7" 5.98
After a handful of super limited tracks, including a now out of print 7", this here is the first record from these guys we've managed to get for the store, and it's a doozy. Gauntlet Hair are a duo from Colorado, who specialize in distorted jangly bombastic pop, falling somewhere between Animal Collective and The Big Pink, stirring in some programmed beats, some moody noisepop jangle into their hypnotic, soaring druggy psych pop crunch.
This new single will most likely have folks finally freaking out over these guys, not only is it on the uber hip Mexican Summer label, but it totally rules, definitely owing a huge debt to Animal Collective, with tribal rhythms, jagged bits of guitar crunch, and dramatic reverbed vox, but here, that stuff is augmented by handclaps, programmed beats, epic Big Country like guitar jangle, super distorted drums, effects drenched vocals that swing wildly from speaker to speaker, a thick gorgeously gauzy production, not to mention hooks galore, the chorus super catchy, as are the verses, the song a slow build to a super distorted blown out psychedelic noise pop climax. Definitely a new fave, and these two jams have us hankering big time for the forthcoming full length.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!!
MPEG Stream: "Out...Don't"

GAUNTLET HAIR s/t (Dead Oceans) cd 13.98
Gauntlet Hair's OutÉ Don't single on Mexican Summer might just be the best slab of post Animal Collective pop we've heard. Certainly our favorite. If any band spawned a million wannabes, it's Animal Collective, but few of those wannabes managed to take that sound and make it their own, unlike this duo from Colorado, who somehow feel more like a band that just happens to share some of the same influences, more than a band who wants to be AC. That single was pretty much prefect, a barrage of echo drenched noise pop, super reverbed soaring vocals, tribal rhythms, programmed beats, weird convoluted, almost proggy arrangements, hand claps, tripped out production, crazy hooks, fuzzy bass, chiming crystalline guitars, all of that stuff is still present here on the full length, the band expanding their sound to be even more hazy and druggy and dreamy, from the opening track, the blissfully propulsive "Keep Time", whose sound is so dense and layered that it takes headphones to hear everything that's going on, all the weird bits of skitter, the subtle harmonies, the music sounds like one of those photos when you shoot right into the sun, all shimmering sunspots and prismatic glimmer, this is total alien summer dream pop, and the more we listen to it, the less it seems to have any connection to the Animal Collective. "Top Bunk" wraps spiraling melodies around a dirgey groove, the multiple vocals all tangled up, the main riff twisted and swirly, the song like some sonic popsicle melting in the sun, warm and sweet, gorgeously warped and woozily washed out, "Mop It Up" adds some heft to the sound the vocals effortlessly slipping into a dreamy falsetto, a driving big beat, and some thick ropy basslines underneath soaring Big Country like guitars, all blurred and smeared into another stretch of sun dappled psychedelic outsider poppiness that we can't get enough of. Thankfully there's plenty more where that came from. New pop fave big time!
MPEG Stream: "Keep Time"
MPEG Stream: "Top Bunk"
MPEG Stream: "Mop It Up"

GAUNTLET HAIR s/t (Dead Oceans) lp 14.98
Gauntlet Hair's OutÉ Don't single on Mexican Summer might just be the best slab of post Animal Collective pop we've heard. Certainly our favorite. If any band spawned a million wannabes, it's Animal Collective, but few of those wannabes managed to take that sound and make it their own, unlike this duo from Colorado, who somehow feel more like a band that just happens to share some of the same influences, more than a band who wants to be AC. That single was pretty much prefect, a barrage of echo drenched noise pop, super reverbed soaring vocals, tribal rhythms, programmed beats, weird convoluted, almost proggy arrangements, hand claps, tripped out production, crazy hooks, fuzzy bass, chiming crystalline guitars, all of that stuff is still present here on the full length, the band expanding their sound to be even more hazy and druggy and dreamy, from the opening track, the blissfully propulsive "Keep Time", whose sound is so dense and layered that it takes headphones to hear everything that's going on, all the weird bits of skitter, the subtle harmonies, the music sounds like one of those photos when you shoot right into the sun, all shimmering sunspots and prismatic glimmer, this is total alien summer dream pop, and the more we listen to it, the less it seems to have any connection to the Animal Collective. "Top Bunk" wraps spiraling melodies around a dirgey groove, the multiple vocals all tangled up, the main riff twisted and swirly, the song like some sonic popsicle melting in the sun, warm and sweet, gorgeously warped and woozily washed out, "Mop It Up" adds some heft to the sound the vocals effortlessly slipping into a dreamy falsetto, a driving big beat, and some thick ropy basslines underneath soaring Big Country like guitars, all blurred and smeared into another stretch of sun dappled psychedelic outsider poppiness that we can't get enough of. Thankfully there's plenty more where that came from. New pop fave big time!
MPEG Stream: "Keep Time"
MPEG Stream: "Top Bunk"
MPEG Stream: "Mop It Up"

GAY BEAST Disrobics (DNT) lp 9.98

GAY, THE You Know The Rules (Mint) cd 13.98
What's the deal with Canadian bands? All too frequently you find a fine band from up north has gone and made a truly odd and questionable decision -- cover art, band name, whathaveyou -- that messes with the whole picture. It's almost like they're willfully trying to make things harder for themselves. Case in point, this new band, The Gay. Contrary to what almost everyone who has encountered the band's moniker has thought, they are not a joke band! And contrary to their long, sullen faces on the album cover, their music is decidedly upbeat and sunny (i.e. gay). They are in fact another Vancouver supergroup of sorts starring Tobey Black (former bandmate of Neko Case in the feisty girl trio Maow) Keith Parry (Scratch Records head honcho and former member of the awesome rock battalion Superconductor), Sara Lapsley (formerly of Superconductor's female counterpart Kreviss), Maija Martin and CoCo Culbertson (of sweet-twang combo Tennessee Twin). So introductions aside, let's get down to the music of You Know The Rules. It's a spritely sugar-pop blend with all members taking turns on lead and backing vocals - sorta like the Partridge Family inviting Fleetwood Mac and the Throwing Muses over for a pajama party. Swingin' sing-a-long harmonies, snappy drumbeats, playful interplay between the guitars, keyboards, accordion, piano, and bass. Produced by their New Pornographer pal Kurt Dahle.
MPEG Stream: "Critics"
MPEG Stream: "Palace"

GAYE, MARVIN I Want You (Rareties Edition) (Universal) cd 13.98

GAYE, MARVIN Trouble Man OST (Motown) cd 5.98
This is not only one of our favorite blaxploitation soundtracks, it may also be one our favorite Marvin Gaye Record too (though I Want You may be a close second). While the movie itself might be rather unremarkable, the soundtrack stands apart from its more well known contemporaries, like SuperFly and Shaft by focusing less on a hard hitting urban funk grit and more on a cool detached noir vibe that somehow feels more menacing. Mostly everything is performed and arranged by Gaye, with Moog synths, piano and saxophone being the main instruments. There is of course some wah wah-ed guitar in the theme, but its low-key laid back swing seems to illustrate a more plausible reality for the title character, one of reserved violence as opposed to say, Isaac Hayes' uptempo go-get-'em macho swagger for Shaft. Still, there is plenty of urban grit. The tense set-ups of "'T' Stands for Trouble" and "The Break In", the pensive ambiance of "Deep-In-It", the love themes tinged with sadness, and the troubled vocal harmonies of "Cleo's Apartment" and "Life Is A Gamble". But the topper of them all is "'T' Plays It Cool", a stone cold groove that is deadly as it is funky. All killer, No filler! So happy it's now been reissued on vinyl - and we got the bargain-priced cd version in stock as well.
MPEG Stream: "Trouble Man"
MPEG Stream: "'T' Plays It Cool"
MPEG Stream: "'T' Stands For Trouble"
MPEG Stream: "The Break In (Police Shoot Big)"

GAYE, MARVIN Trouble Man OST (Motown) lp 12.98
This is not only one of our favorite blaxploitation soundtracks, it may also be one our favorite Marvin Gaye Record too (though I Want You may be a close second). While the movie itself might be rather unremarkable, the soundtrack stands apart from its more well known contemporaries, like SuperFly and Shaft by focusing less on a hard hitting urban funk grit and more on a cool detached noir vibe that somehow feels more menacing. Mostly everything is performed and arranged by Gaye, with Moog synths, piano and saxophone being the main instruments. There is of course some wah wah-ed guitar in the theme, but its low-key laid back swing seems to illustrate a more plausible reality for the title character, one of reserved violence as opposed to say, Isaac Hayes' uptempo go-get-'em macho swagger for Shaft. Still, there is plenty of urban grit. The tense set-ups of "'T' Stands for Trouble" and "The Break In", the pensive ambiance of "Deep-In-It", the love themes tinged with sadness, and the troubled vocal harmonies of "Cleo's Apartment" and "Life Is A Gamble". But the topper of them all is "'T' Plays It Cool", a stone cold groove that is deadly as it is funky. All killer, No filler! So happy it's now been reissued on vinyl - and we got the bargain-priced cd version in stock as well.
MPEG Stream: "Trouble Man"
MPEG Stream: "'T' Plays It Cool"
MPEG Stream: "'T' Stands For Trouble"
MPEG Stream: "The Break In (Police Shoot Big)"

GAYE, MARVIN What's Going On (Vinyl Lovers) lp 31.00
Deluxe vinyl reissue of one of the greatest albums of all time!

GAYLE, CHARLES Ancient Of Days (Knitting Factory Works) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NYC free-jazz saxophonist Charles Gayle's latest. As always, intense, spiritual stuff.

GAYLE, CHARLES Jazz Solo Piano (Knitting Factory) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As you may have already guessed, this is a disc of solo jazz piano by Charles Gayle, a NYC free jazz musician much better known for his saxophone playing. And, perhaps surprising given his propensity for way-out sax squalls, his piano playing is remarkably melodic, although quiet kinetic and restless. It sounds like someone tickling the ivories at a cheesy jazz piano bar getting bored with the same old standards and starting to go a bit nutty.

GAYLE, CHARLES More Live At The Knitting Factory: February, 1993 (Knitting Factory Works) 2cd 27.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

GAYLE, CHARLES Testaments (Knitting Factory Works) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

GAYLE, CHARLES / WILLIAM PARKER / RASHIED ALI Touchin' On Trane (FMP) cd 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

GAYLE, CHARLES, QUARTET Delivered (2.13.61) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Free jazz spirituals from this heir to Coltrane and Ayler.

GAYLETTES FEATURING JUDY MOWATT, THE We Shall Sing (Demon / Westside) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

GAZE Gaze 2 (Two Thousand Tapes) cassette 5.00

GAZE Mitsumeru (K) cd 13.98
The dreamy debut from this Vancouver sugar girl-pop trio. Features the notable presence of Ms Softie Rose Melberg behind the drumkit! Yes, super-sweet pop melodies sure to make your molars tingle and your heart go all a-flutter. For the girly-girl in us all. Sigh.

GAZE Shake The Pounce (K) cd 13.98
If Miko, Megan and Rose (yes, of Softies, Tiger Trap, etc) were to craft a knit version of their music, it'd most definitely be the loveliest of warm fuzzy sweaters. The angora kind with crocheted blossoms and mother of pearl buttons. Alternately romping and dreamy. If you like any music from Amelia Fletcher (Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research) or Rose Melberg (see above), Gaze will surely please.

GAZHEART (RITA ACKERMAN / DAVE NUSS) s/t (Locust) lp 15.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
A gorgeous and mysterious one sided lp from GazHeart, a duo made up of artist Rita Ackerman, and No Neck Blues Band's Dave Nuss. The two played together in Angelblood as well, but these recordings were made after the breakup of that band, on the duo's annual trip to visit Ackerman's family in Budapest. During late nights in the backyard, with Nuss beating on coffee cans and broken bottles, Ackerman sang lyrics she had created using automatic, unmeditated writing. The results are beautiful, innocent, playful, haunting and very mysterious.
This consists of a series of short tracks, each with a slightly different tribal rhythmic component beneath Ackerman's vocals, which range from ghostly chantlike recitations, to sweet cooing, to wild wailing. The record drifts from tripped out FX drenched clang and clank beneath childlike gurgling, to campfire handdrums and sweetly almost whispered vocals, to hypnotic almost looped sounding tribal drums tangled up with breathy ethereal hum, to Casio style drum machine pitted against manic vocalizing and buzzy synth melodies, to the final track, the percussion super abstract, with chimes and bells, the vocals sung by a little girl, very cute and innocent, but also quite haunting.
Fans of Deerhoof, OOIOO, Tenniscoats and obviously No Neck and Angelblood will definitely dig.
Pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Housed in a thick sleeve, with Ackerman drawings on both sides, each the opposite/negative of the other, printed on nice thick paper, the lp is one sides, the flipside has an original Ackerman etching. Cool.

GBN Wild & Frantic! Rock'n'Roll Special!!! (H.G.fact) 7" 6.98

GCTTCATT AmpErase (Mego) cd 17.98
Recorded live in 2000, this is the new collaborative project of Martin Ng and Mathias Gmachl (Farmers Manual, Fuckhead). As GCTTCATT, Gmachl digitally manipulates, via "realtime data processing", sounds run through Ng's turntables and cd player. I really like the sounds contained in this disc, but ultimately all it is, is two men really, really stoned, and screwing around on some really high end audio equipment. Don't try and tell us otherwise. C'mon, Mego, give us something a little more challenging, or at least more interesting.
RealAudio clip: "Konto 9000"

GEDO s/t (Erebus) cd 21.00
Another one of the Japrocksampler's Top 50 makes it to cd, this reissue via the same label who brought us Melting Glass Box a little while back. Unlike the more gentle folk-psych of MGB, power trio Gedo were counter-cultural hard rockers, beloved of bikers. As aficionados of both '70s heaviness and Japanese psych, we've been curious to hear 'em for a long time, never finding a complete album reissued until now. This, their 1973 debut, is a live record that finds 'em kicking out the jams in front of an appreciative festival audience, with all their clapping, cheering and laughter kept intact, none of it edited out. In fact, tracks 4 and 11 are ALL applause. How'd they get the crowd so excited? Well, Gedo mainly deal in an energetic brand of hectic hard rock action, with a few surprising mellow, melodic, melancholic detours (such as track 12, "Tender Betrayal"). They're sort of a Japanese mixture, maybe, of Steppenwolf and the Pink Fairies, some Eddie Cochran too, Gedo keeping it simple stupid, with a clear '50s rock n' roll lineage (which you can hear most overtly on the excellently-titled track "Rock 'n' Roll Stupid"). With big distorted riffs, raucous vocals, and even the sound of revving motorcycle engines (comprising the album's final track, as Gedo perhaps leaving the stage to go and recreate the cover of the first Flower Travellin Band album), this is proto-metal and/or proto-punk (we could imagine kids pogoing to a lot of this). Definitely "proto", as in raw.
Not understanding the Japanese language, let alone being a participant in the counterculture scene within which Gedo flourished, means you're not gonna "get" some of this. On the other hand, "getting" Gedo on such frantic tracks as "Scent" is not an issue!
This limited edition digipack reish comes with helpful liner notes in English, revealing that Gedo once upon a time not only jammed with members of Mountain and the New York Dolls, but also even played a concert with the cast of (the stage production of?) the Rocky Horror Picture Show!
MPEG Stream: "Scent"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Run Away"

GEEEZ 'N' GOSH My Life With Jesus (Mille Plateaux) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Atom Heart's life has taken him to Chile, where he's been doing his Senor Coconut and Atom and Tea Time things (tricked out salsa Kraftwerk covers, Latin glitch-rap). His life with Jesus is quite a different party -- with house grooves that shuffle alongside laptop clickery, plus requisite religious imagery.

GEEEZ 'N' GOSH Nobody Knows (Mille Plateaux) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second record of silly tech-house madness from Mr. Atom Heart (aka Senor Coconut, Los Samplers, etc.). Like Matmos on speed, and even more so like Drew Daniels' The Soft Pink Truth. House rhythms and diva vocalisations are sliced, diced and restructured into a hiccuping tizzy.
RealAudio clip: "Mother Showed Me (The Way To Go)"

GEHEIMNIS Das Negras Montanhas (Gungnir Productions) cassette 4.50
Another flood of new tapes, all black and very mysterious, this one from the strangely named Geheimnis. Das Negras Montanhas begins with long drawn out drones and monk like chants before the band launches into its ultra lo-fi black metal buzz. The drums way down in the mix, never blasting really, just sort of pounding away, the guitars way up front, cycling through fuzzy black riffs, very hypnotic, the vocals buried in the mix, a sort of rumbling grumbling gurgle, the strangest part of this tape are the non-metal interludes, fading in and our fairly abruptly, the chanting, the sound of surf crashing, winds and insects, often fading out after only a few seconds, sometimes going on for minutes, eventually the black buzz returns, fading in and lurching into action, another midtempo lope through droning black forests and wide open expanses of bleak black soundscapes. The sound is hissy and lo-fi, but very motorik, sometimes almost sounding like a black metal Circle. Riffs repeating over and over, occasionally slipping into some strange upper register filigree before returning to its glorious black trudge.

GEHENNA Murder (Moonfog) cd 17.98

GEHENNA WW (Moonfog) cd 14.98

GEISHA Mondo Dell' Orrore (Crucial Blast) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "How To Kill A Career"
MPEG Stream: "Accidents"

GEIST Galeere (Lupus Lounge) cd 14.98
Geist are a German black metal horde that features the rhythm section of another BM band we reviewed a while back, Funeral Procession, and Geist, much like FP, offer up the same sort of classic Nordic sounding grim black buzz, right out of the gate, their cold atmospheric black metal reminding us of Satyricon, the production tight and slick, but the band have a definite flair for the ambience, creating dark creepy intros and outros, but unlike the usual wolves or wind or rain, it sounds like a seaside, or a harbor, the sound of lapping water, distant foghorns, deem rumbling tones, laid over what sound like field recordings, evoking some serious haunting dread before exploding in a frenzy of lurching super dynamic, mathy start / stop black blasting. Other tracks introduce what sounds like recordings from beneath the surface, a gurgling shimmer wrapped around rumbling pianos, and distant drones, again leading directly into some amazing blasting blackness, tight and heavy and epic, as much as we love raw and primitive and lo-fi, hearing a band this fast and furious sound this tight and heavy never gets old, and these guys DESTROY. Total depressive melodic black buzz majesty.
The record finishes off with a 16 minute sprawl of awesomely complex, gnarled, drone laced doomic black metal, that shifts from lurching crunch and stutter, to loping almost sea sick waltz, peppered with mysterious samples, totally intense and mysterious, eventually drifting into a soundscape of creaking ropes, plucked steel strings, the sound of waves and wind, a mournful seaside lament, the haunting sounds of sea and sky and storm.
MPEG Stream: "Galeere"
MPEG Stream: "Einen Winter Auf See"

GEIST, MORGAN Unclassics (Environ) cd 16.98

GEISTUS s/t (The Funeral Agency) cassette 3.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
An absolutely killer slab of ultra raw, filthy and primitive lo-fi murky black metal. Lots of crusty riffing, blasting drums buried in reverb and tape hiss, bizarre grunted vocal spew, guitars that buzz and warble, and go from insectoid shrillness to tarpit filthiness often in the same song, and loads of low end bassy throb and other bits of random lo-fi 4 track production weirdness that make this freaky and fucked up.
While on the surface this sounds like classic old school minimal buzz and blast black metal, stripped down and blown out, Bone Awl, Beherit, Von, Abruptum... The weird thing is, and maybe this is supposed to be a secret, but we're pretty sure that the man behind Geistus is in fact a former member of doomlords Yob! Hard to believe, but true! You won't hear that much Sabbathy sludge here although once in a while the songs slow down into a gorgeously doomy tarpit trudge, but it's never long before the band lurch back into action, and resume their harsh minimal pummel. So fucking great, the perfect balance of true kvlt blackness and slightly off kilter weirdness.
For fans of all things simple and sludgy and brutal and black and crusty and filthy and EVIL!!!!

GEL eVidenZ (Gooom) cd ep 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.