Brainwashed Reviews Ithi Tape

Link here. Following up their acclaimed debut LP The Persistence of Meaning, this Brooklyn duo of Joshua Convey and Luke Krnkr serve up another release of dark, mysterious murk that channels krautrock as much as harsh noise. With an A side that goes for more musical elements, and a harsher, disjointed B side, the combination works wonderfully. Land of Decay The A side begins with "Go Forth and Die," initially a slow, brittle drum machine pulse and barely controlled sharp, high end feedback that may or may not be a heavily treated guitar. Buried, almost hidden vocals eventually arise, reshaping the piece with subtle, but noticeable changes. The track perfectly segues into "Roses in the Snow", which is a more ambient piece collected from the disintegrated fragments of the previous one. With its looped, mantra-like structure and continued oddly treated guitar, there's definitely more than a passing resemblance to mid-period Main, with a few extra layers of grime added. On the flip side, the long "NoWhere" shows its dissonant character immediately, with what sounds like a looped computer data tape run through distortion. Slowly, the rhythmic loop becomes more and more complex, with a buzzsaw guitar line and harsher, abstract noise piled atop. It’s a wall of chaotic, glorious noise that stretches out for nearly 15 minutes, while never losing that pulsing lurch below it. With the first half of this tape demonstrating the duo's more musical exploits, and the other letting the feedback and noise fly, the balance between the two is perfectly struck. The first two tracks especially come across brilliantly with its obscured vocals and melodic throb, but the noisier piece is no slouch either. For a project that's still relatively young, Ithi has already proven themselves quite ably.

Locrian & Mamiffer "BTTCY" Japan CD

We have a few copies of the Japanese CD version of the Locrian & Mamiffer album.

This is the Profound Lore version in a plastic bag with a sticker with Japanese writing on it. There is also an additional insert in the CD with a Japanese description of the release and some additional information about the two projects.

This was released by Daymare Recordings.

We have a few copies here.

The Inarguable on LOD April Releases

Link here.

Brainwashed also reviewed the Eolomea and Kwaidan tapes here.

OMG Vinyl on New LOD Releases

Link here.

"Land of Decay has got 4 new tapes up for sale in their webstore, along with two Locrian-related tapes that you definitely need to pay some mind. Newly minted on the LOD imprint are Ithi, Number None, The Fortieth Day/Terence Hannum/Sshe Sshe Retina Stimulants and Wraiths. The release of this batch pushes the catalog numbers firmly into the 20s, and the overall din and aesthetic feels much like a label hitting their stride. I won’t go into great detail about each release, they deserve exploration, but if you care to dig deeper, Hammer Smashed Sound did a pretty fantastic writeup of these last week, and you can stream a song from each tape below. Also up in the LOD distro are new tapes from Eolomea and Kwaidan, both featuring Andre Foisy from Locrian; and both equally worthy of your attention. So peck around a little, find something you like, but if we had one suggestion for you: it would be to just go ahead and buy all six of these tapes at landofdecay.bigcartel.com."

Old Photos of André Foisy Performing With Number None (The Number None)

I found these old photos of when I performed with Number None at the Fugue State festival a few years ago.







These tapes are selling steadily! Get one here while you can.

Adhoc.fm on Wraiths

You'd better be quick if you want one of these tapes because they are going fast.

I was barely able to get on the el today with all of the orders going out.

Thanks for everyone for your support.

Link here.

Oh yeah: Locrian Sale

We also put some Locrian releases on sale in our webstore:

http://www.landofdecay.bigcartel.com

This stuff will only be on sale until Saturday.

Land of Decay April 2012 Update

Artist: Wraiths
Title: Edinburgh/Glasgow
Format: Cassette
Catalog Number: LOD 020
Edition Size: 100 Copies
Release Date: Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

Track Titles:

Side A) Edinburgh

Side B) Glasgow

I first heard of Wraiths in 2009, after they released their beautifully packages “The Grey Emperor” CD on At War With False Noise. It was amazing to hear the range of sounds on the recording give the fact that they only use found and restructured equipment, location acoustics, and human vocals to make their music. Apparently, during their live sets, Wraiths wear monastic robes and identity cloaking masks. According to them, all of their recordings are made live as well.

This release is made up of two live sets: Edinburgh, and Glasgow. These recordings are disturbing, bleak, and hypnotic. This is improvised, experimental music made by masters of their craft. The dynamics in the release let the group lure the listener in just enough to Pierce You From Within (to quote the title of my favorite Suffocation album). This release is cold and murky. Wraiths are masters at their craft.

















Artist: Number None
Title: Strategies Against Agriculture
Format: Cassette
Catalog Number: LOD 023
Edition Size: 100 Copies
Release Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Track Titles [Program Repeats on Both Sides]:

1) Vile Gnarl
2) Viagra/Lunesta
3) ID-Vision
4) KKKamera

Number None is a duo of Chris Miller and Noah Opponent. This group were some of Locrian’s early supporters and we were particularly inspired by their performances when they played regularly around Chicago. This recording was originally scheduled to be released on the now defunct American Grizzly label (in 2007/2008, I think). We were elated to find out that this amazing group had some material remaining in their vaults.

Using many instruments (analog synthesizers, violin, harmonium, found sounds, and other sources) processed through myriad effects pedals and digital patches, the group created sounds that Scott McKeating, one of the music critics that we highly respect, described as “where even open-ended words like ‘free’ and ‘drone’ are limiting.”

I will never forget walking into one of the Free Monday night shows at the Empty Bottle in Chicago in mid-2005 on a whim. I walked in and saw two guys with instruments and pedals sprawled over the stage making sounds that were mesmerizing. Some of these sounds much more punishing and interesting than any of the metal that I was listening to at the time. Watching Number None on this night was a musical turning point for me that helped to inspire the two of us to start Locrian and now, the Land of Decay label. For that reason, we can’t tell you how excited we are to release this tape.

The title of the release pays a tongue-in-cheek homage to Einstürzende Neubauten’s Strategies Against Architecture and also points to the social inequalities and human caused environmental destruction that were brought about by the Neolithic Revolution, or when humans started growing our own food. [For more information on this, check out John Zerzan’s “Agriculture: Demon Engine of Civilization."] Although humans have lived as hunter-gatherers for most of our existence as a species, fewer and fewer people in the world are able to live this way. At the same time, there are more and more of us—7 billion and snowballing. [Get it? The population of hunter-gatherers tends to increase very slowly over time and the population of agricultural and industrial agricultural societies tends to increase rapidly over time.] Since the end of World War II, humans have used up more of the planet’s resources than all of humanity before that time! “Strategies Against Agriculture” is a testament to the limits of our civilization and the world that we live in.

To me, this album is one of the most inspiring and thought provoking that we have released on our label. The problem of our time is a cultural problem and there is no simple solution. “Strategies Against Agriculture” helps to put the problem of our epoch into perspective, but it provides no solutions, and that’s what makes it so unsettling.

You can pick up some of Number None’s older releases here.




















Artist: Ithi
Title: Within
Format: Cassette
Catalog Number: LOD 024
Edition Size: 100 Copies
Artwork/Design: Shawn Convey
Release Date: Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

Track Titles :

Side A) Go Forth and Die, Roses in the Snow

Side B) NoWHere

When I first heard that Luck Krnkr of Servile Sect and Joshua Convey, two of my favorite musicians around, had started the Ithi project last year, I tried not to expect anything from them. Certainly, I would be let down if I were to expect anything. Their album “The Persistence of Meaning” (Utech Records 2011) was one of the releases that I listened to most frequently. Demian Johnston called it a “huge chunk of grim, belligerent krautrock.” Sadly, this release didn’t get the attention that it deserved last year.

Even since this first release, Ithi have moved on to really embody their voice. This album is really intense, but entirely listenable. The release is cold, dark, and distant. It’s definitely some of the strongest stuff that I’ve heard from these artists. The synths create loops that are harsh, yet soothing and Krnkr’s chanted vocals are distant, ethereal and drenched in reverb. Oh and the group covers “Roses in the Snow” from Nico’s “The Marble Index” album. How can you go wrong here?

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that Ithi will be the band to watch in 2012/2013. Don’t miss this release!

















Artist: The Fortieth Day/Sshe Sshe Retina Stimulants/Terence Hannum
Title: S/t
Format: Cassette
Catalog Number: LOD 027
Edition Size: 100 Copies
Release Date: Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
Art& Design: Terence Hannum

Track Titles:

1) Surveillance
2) Efficiency
3) Ectomorph
4) Surface
5) Intermodal
6) Transportation

This release marks the rare, one-time only, collaboration of The Fortieth Day, the Chicago duo of Mark Solotroff and Isidro Reyes (also of influential power-electronics group Bloodyminded), Sshe Sshe Retina Stimulants (the solo project of P.NG5361.B, or Paolo Bandera, a founding member of Sigillum S), and Terence Hannum. The recording took place during a late night session at WLUW on Loyola University’s campus for Phil von Zweck’s “Something Else” radio show on November 29th, 2009.

The group created these six tracks live using guitar, bass, synthesizers, and vocals. The live recordings were then processed in Milan, Italy by P.NG5361.B. The group uses these instruments to create burned out industrial drones made up of looped feedback, percussion throbs and the sounds of machines dying. Hypnotizing repeating layers tactfully shift into blasts of angular high-pitched mechanical frenzy. There are implicit melodies in the chaos. Strong material from this unique collaboration.

LOD 020: Wraiths (excerpt)

Here's another excerpt of one of the tapes that we'll have out tomorrow. We're really excited for this batch!

Excerpt from LOD 023: Number None

Coming on Tuesday!

Foxy Digitalis on LOD 022: Servile Sect

There are a few more copies of this tape available here.


"Servile Sect has expressed a number of very varied incantations, but have you ever wondered where they got their start? Land of Decay has been gracious enough to offer us a sampling of their beginnings with this unheard re-release of their demos from six to seven years back. Side A is entitled “Manifesting Starships to Destroy the Vatican.” It is exactly what it’s called, a sci-fi/horror soundtrack. The entrance is an eerie psy-fi drone that leads into a slow funeral dirge of black metal amplified ambiance. The slow riffs churn with a hate cloud of reverb and feedback. Long syllabic shrill vocals harshly hit the ears. It’s like Sunn O))) with fiery utterances. It all settles down with some amped-out drones that seem to pulsate and quiver at a snail’s pace like a cadaver hooked up to some voltage played at slo-mo. It’s like a calm after the storm. Side B picks up with “Nouranihar,” an intense black metal excursion that borders on psych with its trance-worthy repetitive riffage and astral effects. All that fades for some guitar that beckons toward the night with a howling series of chords. You can just feel the shadows envelop you. The second half of the track is “Kings of Saturn.” This mostly consists of some gobbledly-gook transmission that has been broken down into audible snow. I can just imagine this manifested visually into little cubes with various rapidly-shifting lights and motions displayed within each box. It sounds like some kind of communication from the beyond that is roughly coming through. Overall, it makes for an uncomfortable atmosphere. A setting of high-pitched guitar loop substitutes and steps into place. It creates its own broadcast as though responding back to the cosmic message.

I feel as though I have entered even further into the enigma that is Servile Sect. They are undoubtedly a one-of-a-kind duo that puzzlingly originate their own sound and style. Sure, they have obvious influences and cues, but they reinvent themselves and the genres in which they work time and time again. Penetrating further into their mystery has only left me scratching my head again. How do these boys do it? A great tape that is the missing link between what these guys have been doing and every other artist that works in black metal, noise, psych, and drone. We can hear how they got to where they are now. These demos aren’t too far from where they are now at all, but they aren’t quite as developed as their later releases will be. Servile Sect will always be one of the most exciting experiments today, partially because of their aura of unsolvable mystery.

Their inscrutable nature pulls through even in the presentation of this tape. Kevin Gan Yuen (Sutekh Hexen) is the brain behind the art and design. He also put together the art on their LP, “Trvth.” He has done a marvelous job on both releases. They each have very menacing and evil artwork that are tamed by the psychedelic colors and shapes as well as intergalactic imagery. The sinister and the prismatic that are hybridized in song are carried into the splashed illustrations. The tape is a pretty awesome green with gold imprinting that continues the honeycombed pattern found in the art. Limited to 100. Seriously, this is a must!"
-Dave Miller

Regarding the New Land of Decay Releases and Fortieth Day/Sshe Sshe Retina Stimulants/Terence Hannum Streaming

Our next batch of tapes will be out next Tuesday.

You can check out a track from the Terence Hannum/Fortieth Day/Sshe Sshe Retina collaboration below:



This track is called "Surveillance."

We have set aside a limited number of these releases for distributors. Please get in touch if you would like to get copies of this release, or our upcoming releases (Ithi, Number None, and Wraiths) for distribution.

Get in touch here: landofdecay@gmail.com

Pictures of Locrian Performing in Toronto

Thanks to Bryan Bray from Gates for the images!

Coming Tuesday April 10th!

This is the best looking batch of Land of Decay tapes so far!