NDOX ELECTRIQUE – ‘TËDD AK MAME COUMBA LAMBA AK MAME COUMBA MBANG’

François Cambuzat and Gianna Greco are specialists in building bridges between worlds. Having cut their teeth fronting art noise provocateurs Putan Club, the duo journeyed to the Djerid desert in south-western Tunisia and forged an unlikely alliance with performers of the indigenous Banga ritual, an adorcism which invites, rather than seeks to reverse, spiritual possession. The two albums which resulted, both released under the monicker Ifriqqya Electrique, were fervid fusions of glowering industrial post-punk, transcendental chant-singing and frenetic hand percussion that stand amongst the most startlingly original cross-cultural collaborations ever brought to fruition. Upping the ante yet further, Cambuzat and Greco’s latest project relocates their theatre of off-grid operations to the isolated Cap-Vert peninsula in western Senegal. A joint enterprise with members of the resident Lebu community, Ndox Electrique capitalises on an uncanny symbiosis between brawny avant-rock and the polyrhythmic cacophony of the mystical n’doëp ceremony to create an electrfying hybrid, the ultimate in sonic polarity inversions. Crucially, it’s the paths Ndox Electrique DON’T tread that make ‘Tëdd Ak Mame’ such a formidable proposition. There are no concessions here to the pappy dietary requirements of the mainstream, nor does fusion equate to dilution. This is dissident, soul-stirring music that thrives on a commonality of intent, banger following cathartic banger in an uncompromising onslaught. Marshalled by lead vocalist Rokhaya “Madame” Diéne and featuring a trio of indefatigable percussionists, the band’s Lebu contingent generate onrushing waves of ritualistic rhythm and rhyme to which Cambuzat and Greco apply a treacherous undertow: scything, doom metal-heavy guitar riffs and an interlocking matrix of saw-toothed bass and electronics. Social media is cluttered with proclamations from the cloth-eared that there’s nothing new under the sun. For those of us who take a contrary position, Ndox Electrique have just delivered a motherfucker of a citation. Essential.

Les Disques Bongo Jo

TRICHOMONIASIS – ‘HARVEST OF THE KILLING FIELDS’

Trichomoniasis’ second album released this year, the follow up to the preposterously dense full length ‘Makeshift Crematoria’, which somehow slightly supersedes that formidable effrontery in scope, scale and deformity, if not in length. An abstruse putrefaction of non-linear extra-terrestrial esoteric Brutal Death Metal power, a perplexing grinding riddle of gore soaked ‘free death’ akin to supereon acts such as Encenathrakh, Enmity and Effluence, which abstracts Slamming Death Metal beyond the event horizon of the logical into something entirely volatilely o t h e r, closer to Gorenoise in its impenetrability. Pulsating waves of impossible DETH crash irregularly upon the shores of shattered objectivity, grinding diagonal slamming ‘riff’ spires coil, lurch, drag and burst in impossibly severe oblique patterns, drumming an imperceivable terminal velocity vortex of complex virtuosic brutality, impetuous low(er) vocal tempest like fractal disembodied primal scream, dotted with absurdist samples depicting politically managed biological/ecological malfunction and resultant death, a theme continued from their previous album. My limits of expression are truly tested here – I’m unable to understand what is going on and I can’t help but listen repeatedly. The annihilation of cognition by means of pinch harmonics and hyper ping snare, a practically fucking extra-sensory experience. Terrifyingly stressful, sweat-soaked, face-tripping ego extermination.

Bandcamp

BOXGUTS – ‘DA’BICH​$​’BAJINA’DAWG’ BOXGUTS MIXTAPE #2

Corrupted, morally ambivalent ill Hip Hop from beneath the sewers. A fucking masterful mixtape, culling and cutting from all sordid corners of the Boxgut’s collective discography, with tracks pulled from a slew of producers and vocal appearances from Sebrox, Jak Progresso and more, each exhaling vile bars of insanely lyrical/lyrically insane wickedness with unique flows over shadowy and brash productions. Disturbed and distorted sampling pulled from all over the fucking map, mercurial ambient loops, lurking violence abstractions, potent poetic expressions of the outside perspective equally ignorant and eloquent, one eye crookedly looking backwards to rugged backpack Rap heyday and old skool minimalism, and the other farsighting future crimes against the mainstream of acceptable Hip Hop with hawkeyed esotericism. Each of the Boxguts mixtapes hosted on Grindcore Karaoke are worth your attention, but this one is my favourite. Scope their bandcamp page here.

Bandcamp

GK#134

THIRDORGAN – ‘SPACE CADILLAC’

Thirdorgan’s ‘Space Cadilac’, released on Akihiro-san’s own Alienation digital label. Science Fiction radiowave signal hi-jack and abuse, experimental prototypical technology, surging modulated waves of sound slapped silly, punched and probed wickedly. Wiggling waving sample exploration mangling and fomentation of frothing digi sound process creates waves of electronics seasickness, swollen volume pitch spikes, building migraine sweats and ominous salivary response – I’m going to fucking hurl! Howling blown out alarms crest and eat their tails, panning left and right to bewilder and irritate the objective mind.  An interesting detour from purely Harsh sound from Thirdorgan into something more akin to soundscape work or Musique Concrete, albeit shot through a malign, bruised, psychedelic slow rolling cut up lens, cockeyed and bizarre, broiling harsh digital tones rising from the sampling like the surges of eye peeling nausea and vertiginous terror. Excellently difficult.

Bandcamp

C.O.F.F.I.N. – ‘AUSTRALIA STOPS’

The latest full length album from Children Of Finland Fighting In Norway. C.O.F.F.I.N plays a firebrand shitstorm of Garage Rock, Punk, Hardcore and Rock & Roll, potent beyond decency and seriously combustible. They combine these elements with masterly drunken aplomb, songs careening through Oi stomp to Blues to dusty ol’ piano Glam and back, presenting a cohesive boogie bogan gumbo of redneck power! Catchy as fuck, bright and burning Guitars with wicked licks, impressive and dare I say subtle Bass work imbuing power and harmony to the already greasy gorgeous axe work, and hard as fukk workhorse drumming with loads of swagger, topped with throaty and gruffly melodious vocal delights, a brash bastardry of all manner of hard rock styles resulting in toothless grinning mayhem. Ultra Posi, ultra pissed up and ready to dance or fight, your choice cunt. My mind is far too disordered to usually commit to a best of the year type deal, but I can fucken tell yous now that ‘Cut You Off’ is the best single I’ve heard this year, and probably last year too. Oath.

Bad Vibrations Records

EXTERMINATED – ‘THE GENESIS OF GENOCIDE’

Philippine one man death squad Exterminated’s first full length record, released by Comatose Music. Extremely violent Brutal Death metal castigation, a festival of inhumanity and degradation riddled with classic Death Metal riffing and a breathtaking fluidity in the song structures, shockingly catchy and coherent for this kind of din, so much so that I’ve elsewhere seen the word ‘progessive’ used when referring to this horror. Personally I wouldn’t stretch so far, but I can certainly see where that sentiment arises from. Exceptionally low, sickening brutal vocal commands the tumult of Death Metal riffs and Brutal Death Metal atonal timbral chord bludgeoning amassed with vitriolic bass sound, programmed drums careen through unyielding blast beats detailed with ludicrous fills and lurching grooves. Linear, brusque and face-pulping aggressive. The fukked up perverse prison artwork style cover, depicting the grotesqueries of genocide that define and inspire Exterminated’s ouvre, really adds the finishing touch to a disgusting work of anti-human hatred. Superbly malignant.

Comatose Music

TSALAL – ‘צָלַל’

Shadowy, fiendish and chaotic Noise Black Metal, reeking black incense, rehearsal room ritual provocation ambience, echo-laden guttural djinn vocal gibbering, summoned eruption of random guitar solos striking from the dark in obscene and unknowable forms, grinding bass noise, unwieldy blasting drums. Hallucinatory and bizarre. Black Ambient, Harsh Noise and Power Electronics, Noisecore, Black Metal warped into a hideous and incorrigible form of primitivist rite. A merciless, perverse and perplexing black lightning bolt of total chaos maelstrom – otherworldly, extremely disharmonious Black Noisecore to silence the Gods, wielding profane erect phallus and thousands of severed heads.

Larval Productions

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METRORRHAGIA SELF TITLED

Metrorrhagia is a now-ceased project from Gore&Noise purveyor Zach Fogle, also of Morgue Tar, Shotgun Cock, Basic Torture Procedure and I’m sure others. Pustulated, sub grooving, hostile Goregrind with a perfect execution of snare ping blast, wall of tar bass and guitars and roaring subhuman terror gore vocal – it slams and fucking blasts in derisive gory insanity, each D Beat transition to blast part and desecrated, mangled chord crafted to just smash you to gurgling pulp. it’s absolutely fucking diabolically noisy, repugnant and nasty. Gore for true freaks only, zero subtly or digestible riffs, just sicko outsider art raw Goregrind, Autophagia or Last Days Of Humanity style, hand crafted to salivary head crushing perfection. A cultural nadir of prurience and brutal audial niche savagery. Rotten beyond recognition! Get one from the awesome Breathing Problem Productions or contact Metrorrhagia on their Facebook page for a CD copy (Update – reissued on CD by Reality Fade in Ukraine).

Bandcamp – REDACTED

Horrendous Manifestation

Reality Fade

TOLLUND MEN – ‘DEDICATED TO P.F. LACENAIRE’

One of the scant few Tollund Men releases hosted on Bandcamp, available from the excellent label Total Black. Singular, seedy and disconcerting, Tollund Men create a world of sound drawn from an 80’s psychogeography, a sonic mass of ultra lo-fi Post Punk, Dark Wave and Industrial, casting a ruined landscape of the perverse and insane topography of man’s innerspace. These four tracks sound like Throbbing Gristle covering Soft Cell, lacquered black Bass pulses and crunchy click percussion slathered in echo distortion working a slow to mid-paced rhythmic dirge, vocal groaning and whispering, jizzing into the vantablack, with gloriously fuzzy synths swelling and swaying with ambient, haunting, downcast melodies, glistening with in-the-red bleeding noise. The final track abandons melody entirely and we exit with a foul, moody trudge of swollen minimal synth noise and thumping kicks. Dreamy, anguished, shadowswept, darkside horny. Dig it.

Total Black

CAULIFLOWER ASS AND BOB – ‘IF MY LIFE GOT ANY BETTER IT WOULD BE IN THE TOILET’

Cauliflower Ass and Bob’s 2020 full length album ‘If My Life Got Any Better It Would Be In The Toilet’ will have you questioning your sanity, sanctity and sobriety. Two pissed outlaws wailing out that despairingly misérables drunk country Tardcore music, touchingly artless and hilariously toilet worthy. Tuneless noise trumpets and extremely loose strumming, warbling vocal that wants you to be totally pissed up all the time and wasted sad miserable, seething with a steaming misanthropy, a bit like Brainbombs via very early (read-good) Beck. I first heard Cauliflower Ass and Bob on Mortville Noise’s seminal Small Doses compilation, for which I will always be grateful to Andy for creating. That comp is one of the best ever, fit to burst with weirdo shit like this, and even amongst such estimable company their contribution, entitled ‘Drink Myself to Death’, stuck out like a fucked thumb. I was perversely compelled to seek out more recordings, and I’m rather glad I did. Mercilessly inept.

Imploding Sounds

HYDROCELE DISCOGRAPHY

Heretic Impalement Records presents the complete (and completely painfully brief) discography of Russian Watergrind freaks Hydrocele, with both member’s priors a dizzying list of gory grinding noise atrocity, including the indominable Inopexia and the massively overlooked G/T virus abomination Menometrorrhagia. Soaked, drowned, hand-hewn Gorenoise insanity, taking the ‘Putrefaction in Progress’ formula to a disgusting devotional nadir. Hydrocele grinds with insane aplomb, maximalist blasting Drums providing relentlessly dense power and eyeball-drying velocity, slooshing nuclear bleachtide Guitars conceal mean grind riffs beneath a slime of ear infected digital distortion, dripping with utterly festering pitch shift vocal vomit. Each session has a slightly different density of production, with the 2017 and 2020 EP tracks providing my favourite fukked up sounds in the collection. No Slam, no groove – grisly, grotesque, grinding Gorenoise perfection.

Heretic Impalement Records

NAEGLERIA FOWLERI – ‘DISSOLVED IN SUBSTANCE’

Excellently executed Gorenoise meatgrinder, bulldozing body-shaking Gore of terrifying heft and abstracted Brutal Death Metal stature and bludgeon. Ultra-blasting drums form the ‘structure’ of Noisecore/Gorenoise within, surprisingly complex and dexterous, hellacious super heavy bass drum in particular hammering dents in your chest plate with pinging snare insanity to balance, grinding mush of mechanically separated Bass distortion noise enmangled beneath the chopping blasts, gurgling corpse vocal sloshing about atop the surface like some sort of plasmic scum. There’s enough production dynamics here to match the intensity of the noise within, giving the Bass frequencies a swinging axehead bottom-end that it’s worth accounting for in playback for super hefty and weighty results. Abstract as fukk but still totally headbanging. Trenchantly heavy, starkly intense and dynamic, deeply unmusical. Gruesome shit.

Pathologically Explicit

Bednoiseroom Records

Heretic Impalement Records

TYRANNUS – ‘SERPENTSLAYER’ EP

Tyrannus’ 2018 EP ‘Serpentslayer’, three odes to Summoning and Darrell K Sweet. Prideful, dusky no MIDI/VST Dungeon Synth from the Pagoda Mast sect, now no longer active. Dedicated to heroes lost in bloodshed battling wyverns, I presume. Meditative, rousing Synth patch sounds, sparse beats plodding beneath, mournful yearning for the strength to topple evil and bury it’s seed deep in the heaving earth… iconoclasm and high fantasy balefully rendered in spectral Synths. Pagoda Mast having fallen fallow, Phantom Spire now playing host to Tyrannus Einhorn’s works in Black Metal and Dungeon Synth (I’m not certain he still works with Harsh Noise Walls). Pass these mossy graves and pay respects.

Pagoda Mast

UŠUMGAL – DEMO MMXXII

Ušumgal is a newer project from Washington D.C, sharing members with the excellent Genocide Pact and Goetia, among others. Their 2022 demo presents 3 blood drenched screeds of War Metal atrocity, a contamination of barbed, barbarous Death Metal, tar black War Metal dark as burning pitch. The guitars are brutish, unyielding and scalding, coiled tightly around torqued up blast-stacked Drums and a rumble of ravening Bass, driven war command vocal in a reek of smoldering creosote. There’s a cruel, crude streak of crust influence in the thumping storming drumming, ravenously switching tempos beneath the Guitar and Bass work to maximize skull crushing damage. Intense and vitriolic shit. Fans of War Metal regressionists Caveman Cult or Death Metal dumbells Torture Rack, take heed and take up your axes! These apes are full to burst with war-like cunning and vulgar promise.

Bandcamp

RUHAIL QAISAR – ‘FATIMA’

Ruhail Qaisar expands and transmutes his work as previous Harsh Noise entity SISTER into a rumbling, fearsome, semiotic Dark Ambient noise engine on ‘Fatima’, applying an alchemical aesthetic with supremely impressive results. The album yawns open with ephemeral, disturbing spoken word poetry (a drugged voice from Thee End Commune…?) atop lingering Bass pulses like gently threatening Power Electronics in menacing audial feedback. Tension mounts through layering synthesis and a vast array of inert earthy sampling, spatially muddled to obfuscate, bucolic and bubonic, adorned with futuristic science fiction drones and sparse geysers of sulfuric Harsh Noise burst, restrained ambient textures grow and envelop in calming exhalation, mellifluous expanses of abandoned melody… an expression of restless human landscapes draped in fear and violence, at once confrontational and powerful, yet soft and yielding, like a predatory animal purring in an urban darkness, fire reflected in it’s azure feline eyes. Mesmeric and frightening Ambient beyond convenient classification.

Danse Noire