Earhate- Planet Killer

Earhate- Planet Killer
Smell the Stench

Earhate is the project of Ryan O’Neill hailing from Alberta, Canada. Planet Killer is Earhate’s first CD-r release by Smell the Stench Records, but appears to be a small part of an extensive discography. Planet Killer is, as the CD insert so delicately puts it, a forty-four minute wall of noise.

“Wall” might not be the best way to describe this sound, but it is close. I believe a better description would include a layer of brittle sandpaper. The sounds here are relentless, low-end/bass-filled, analogue static. The main layer of the song dominates and remains constant throughout the entire forty-four minutes. There are more subtle, higher frequency changes happening constantly throughout this track, but the listener would need to be masochistic to hear these in detail; even in low volume my cochlea is crying out for help.

Earhate’s Planet Killer goes all out on the noise side of things. Planet Killer is formless, chaotic, spiteful, and intense. This is the sound that originally attracted me to noise, and still holds a strong place in my heart. This is definitely a release for the more devout of noise lovers.

Audiocum/Occulto Digital- Corrosion Thrown Out

Audiocum/Occulto Digital- Corrosion Thrown Out
Symbolic Prod

Corrosion Thrown Out is a dual effort between Audiocum and Occulto Digital on the label Symbolic Prod. Both artists, from what I can gather, hail from France. There are seven tracks on this release, 5 of them feature both Occulto Digital and Audiocum, and two tracks are exclusively Audiocum. Two of these tracks are live recordings.

To begin, Corrosion thrown out is as pure a noise release as you can find. This is a wall of pain from beginning to end: There is rarely a moment for calm or collection. The sound here is massive and violent, the bassy analogue crunches are in a constant struggle against shrill and shrieking feedback. Occasionally a rhythm pretends to find it’s way to the front, but is quickly overpowered and thrown away, a mere fraction of itself.

Audiocum and Occulto Digital are a good match. I don’t know enough about Occulto Digital to make any statements on their part, but the sounds here push what I am used to with Audiocum into very intense and damaging new territory. Anyone that is not a pure noise lover would probably compare this album to having a migraine surgically implanted behind one eye with rusty nails. To anyone that is a pure noise lover, well, they would probably enjoy that feeling.

Ewe- Fractured and Remixed

Ewe- Fractured and Remixed
Smell the Stench

This curious release by Ewe is the first of two Fractured and Remixed albums by Zarach Baah Tharagh (ZBT). This is Ewe’s fifth release through Smell the Stench Records. Most of the thirteen tracks on this album are within one and three minutes of length. Each track is typically composed of eccentric keyboards and ghostly ambience.

Ewe’s Fractured and Remixed album maintains a consistent sound of droning, dreary ambience complimented by keyboard sounds, sometimes introverted and pretty, sometimes random and unconventional. The image I get from this album is of a haunted piano room captured at different hours of night: never a room someone would feel comfortable alone in, but some hours are more welcoming than others.

There is a good balance between music and non-music here, and the more eccentric keys throughout this album add a sense of levity. Because of the rhythmic nature of Ewe’s Fractured and Remixed album, I find my mind at ease while listening to unearthly and haunted music. I think ZBT has committed more to the tracks on this Fractured and Remixed release, but I suspect that is because these piano pieces need to be heard in full form. All in all, ZBT’s Fracture and Remix of Ewe’s Demo V is a pleasantly unexpected change of pace.

Herz Tod- Fractured and Remixed

Herz Tod- Fractured and Remixed
Smell the Stench Records

This is a review of Herz Tod’s Demo III, which was Fractured and Remixed by Zarach Baal Tharagh (ZBT). ZBT is also known for his project, Stigma Diabolicum. This is Herz Tod’s third release under Smell the Stench Records, and ZBT’s eleventh--this is also ZBT’s second Fractured and Remixed release. Both of these artists hail from Lorraine, France. There are seventeen tracks on this release, most of which are a minute long.

The sounds of Fractured and Remixed are both warped and crisp—a difficult polarity to establish. There is just enough ambience, and just enough activity, to cause the listener queasiness--much like floating down a calm river and having a nightmare of drowning at the same time. I originally chose this release for review because it was listed as “ambient.” This is ambient, but it is ambient that demands attention.

ZBT’s Fractured and Remixed version of Herz Tod’s Demo III is ambient music for people with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD). As often seen in people with ADHD, the content is always interesting and keeps the listeners on their toes, but the tracks also end abruptly—with the listener still on their toes. These tracks are definitely fractured, but not enough to detract from the quality or dynamic of the sound.

.Prodvkt.- Obsession

.Prodvkt.- Obsession
Smell the Stench Records

Obsession is a CD-r release from Smell the Stench Records, packaged in a DVD case with a black and white insert. The insert discloses nothing about the band or this album, except for a web address and a picture of Death. The album, Obsession, includes six tracks ranging from four to fifteen minutes.

.Prodvkt.’s Obsession is an incredibly visual album. It is built of extreme minimalism; deep, droning sounds float through a comforting chasm searching for some outlet or home. Electricity flows and whirrs throughout the thick astral layers of this release, echoing into the void that consumes every moment. Obsession is a very good release for meditation; even the most abrupt sounds are quickly and fluidly assimilated into the droning depths of emptiness.

I honestly know nothing at all about this band, .Prodvkt., and I did not realize how much that lack of knowledge upset me until I listened to Obsession. Obsession is the epitome of good dark ambient: Powerful, yet subdued. This release is just as unsettling as it is soothing; if Obsession could manifest itself as a physical location, I would like to go there to die. Alone.

Stirner- Incubator of Hate

Stirner- Incubator of Hate
Smell the Stench Records

Stirner is the harsh noise project of Tony Mulder of the Netherlands. Incubator of Hate is one of many releases currently available from this artist. Incubator of Hate is a four track release, two tracks are only approximately two minutes of length, and two are approximately 20 minutes long.

Incubator of Hate is brutal and painful from the very first second. High-pitched drones tear through the foreground, digging into the listener’s brain and causing what feels like a temporary form of brain damage. Warring distorted factions of aggravated noise argue and toil menacingly in the background. Throughout the album the high-pitched drones and distorted factions battle for attention, both either jumping forth or dropping out randomly, only to be replaced by other, more aggressive twists with each movement.

To say the least, this album is made for fans of noise. On that note, this is a great taste of what underground noise should be. Incubator of Hate lives up to its name. There were times that I was convinced that the noise really did not like me as a person, and was looking for a way to cause me harm. Good stuff.

Mixturizer- Exploratio -- Saturatio

Mixturizer- Exploratio -- Saturatio
Smell the Stench Records

Mixturizer is the experimental noise project of the co-owner of Spanish label, RONF Records. Exploratio – Saturatio is the first Mixturizer album to be released by Australian label, Smell the Stench. Exploratio – Saturatio is a collection of five songs, ranging between 5 and 20 minutes in length.

With Exploratio – Saturatio, Mixturizer manages to find an equilibrium between structure and chaos. The chaos, often what sounds like guitar-generated noise, becomes a dynamic voice of its own; a polar-opposite of the stability provided by the ever-churning rhythm. It is easy to fall into an uneasy trance listening to this album, only to have all peace ripped away at the slightest change in structure.

Exploratio – Saturatio takes a different angle than I have previously been exposed to in Mixturizer’s work. The sound of Exploratio – Saturatio is a mix of dominating, rhythmic layers of stability accompanied by dynamic, harsh screeching tones of chaos. Each track is writhe with sounds, densely compacted, and neatly exploding at the seams. Mixturizer’s Exploratio – Saturatio is definitely a worthwhile addition to an already worthy discography of sounds.

Black Mold Phallanx/Lacerated Tissue- Pustules of the Putrifact

Black Mold Phallanx/Lacerated Tissue- Pustules of the Putrifact
Mental Abuse Records

Black Mold Phallanx is a project from Steve Pekari, proprietor of Mental Abuse Records and Splatterfuck Tapes, two DIY labels accessible through Myspace. Pakari also heads numerous other underground Death-Crust-Grind-Metal-Noise projects. Regretfully, I don’t know anything about Lacerated Tissue, except that they are from Italy.

I think the best way to adequately describe the sound of both of these projects is by an over-generalized analogy, so here it goes: Imagine an engine that was created by sewing multiple collapsed, tar-blackened, puss-filled, rotting lungs together. The fuel: Adrenaline and old milk. The difference between Black Mold Phallanx and Lacerated Tissue, to my ears, is that someone poured too much milk into the Lacerated half. This split release is a collection of heavy guitar, rapid drums, and organic sputtering noises, peppered with smatterings of synthesizer.

The songs are all very short and are just as different as they are the same. What this release lacks in dynamics it makes up for in novelty and originality. I’ll admit, metal has never been my forte. I’m not well-advised on the current accepted modes of sound, but this is the most unique perspective I’ve ever heard.