Thanks to Soul Suckers Radio for the mention of the "Drenched Lands" tape.
Small Doses may have some of these tapes left.
Also, thanks to Audiodrome for mentioning "Territories" to the Italian world.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Heathen Harvest Review of "Rain of Ashes" Tape
Monday, February 01 2010 @ 02:00 AM PST
Contributed by: Vargr Wulf
Artist: Locrian 
Title: Rain of Ashes
Label: Fan Death Records
Genre:Experimental Rock/Electronic Drone
Track Listing:
01 Rain Of Ashes
02 Sehsa Fo Niar
Brilliant work from this heretofore unknown-to-me duo from Chicago. Fantastic improvisational dream music that lay somewhere between the vibes of Earth, Conrad Schnitzler, and Burzum. Judging from the beautiful live photograph accompanying this release, this is a duo consisting of a guitarist and a keyboardist with a fair amount of effects. This release consists of a single live track (on the illustrious WMUC no less) from this past summer forward on one side and backward on the other side. This release has really beautiful artwork on the front depicting a nightmarish swampy power grid surrounded by leafless trees. Locrian plays very atmospheric music with firm, metal-influenced guitar and all-encompassing keyboards, which build up and swell into violent crescendos that fade back into the mist as rapidly as they appear.
Music is performed improvisationally at a snail's pace ala the recent work of Dylan Carlson/Earth and the group named after the Sunn amps.
Grunting noise keyboards blend seamlessly with the guitar work in a particularly tense moment near the end of this release. The only vocals are of the screamed and tortured variety, and they pop in and out of the composition at will. Locrian blends a fair amount of power electronics sounds with and drone/black metal vibe, but along with these eerie and frightening sounds are ethereally beautiful stretches of otherworldly synthesizers that could have emerged from a Fripp and Eno record. And would you believe it, the whole thing sounds even better backwards, which is how it is presented on the B-side.
These guys have an LP coming out on Mark Solotroff's Bloodlust! label, that should be pretty magnificent. I am curious to hear the studio work of this project, as the musicianship on this live recording is exemplary. I have to say that both sides are fantastic, but that the backwards side is my personal favorite. Almost anything sounds better backwards, but in this stuff it really brings out a quality of mystical otherworldliness. Live music that you don't "have to be there" to enjoy, as there is much to get out of this fantastic recording. Fan Death Records could not have put together a nicer presentation for this amazing work from Locrian, whom I look forward to hearing more from.
New Locrian Interivew at Transmission
Locrian interview in the first issue of Transmission, a beautifully produced on-line publication from Portugal.
The issue is free too.
Also interviews with Black Sun, P.H.O.B.O.S., Wolfskin, Steel Hook Prostheses, and Sparagmos.
Thanks to André at Transmission for doing such a nice job on this.
Locrian/Harpoon 7" Review from 7inches Only
Locrian / Harpoon split on He Who Corrupts INC records
The image above hardly reproduces the embossed letter pressed sleeve, black ink on heavy black card stock. It's split in the middle on the reverse so you open both sides from the center, with both bands titles on either side of the cut, it's a really fitting heavy handmade object for these two ear splitters.
Unfamiliar with Harpoon I went to that side first which launches right in with tight speed grindcore...like I really know what that is...screamy evil vocals mixed loud, it's ridiculously complex and fast, could this be sampled and repeated? I doubt it, they are machinelike. But then, wait a minute, everything slows down a minute to work on the heavy side something like Pelican which makes the vocals come off even more evil...a lot of darkness, the faceless amputees/their wretched jubilee...that's an actual lyric. I won't be fucking with those guys anytime soon.
The Locrian side opens with a muted sliver of static, probably just the sound of the amps at 11 under the strain of the lines of pedals. Until a guitar heavily distorted and delayed breaks in. It's really epic, accessible even... melodic. They have a great vocal quality here, it's piled under tons of effects, that truly tortured feel, it's far back in an underground prison, echoing off the walls. It's a monstrosity of guitar noise, but really held back, deliberate...concentrated.
Andrew Sherer from Velnias is here heavily complicating the drums, but also holding back in all the right places. Even though this has been in the works for a while it sounds like it goes right along with their latest out in March, 'Territories', where they collaborated with a bunch of different noise/metal artists, hope that makes it to vinyl.
It gets right to the point, even at 33, they're compressing the epic landscape to the limit on this side.
I love the photos they've been including with all their releases, giant overgrown decayed factories, I love those places, I just want to get in there...at night. Completely abandoned. It's what I think Detroit must be like after all the fabricating companies all left. It's almost an alien landscape, you can't imagine what they were like when they functioned, it's like square footage porn for someone from Brooklyn. I would just go squat in that thing and build an ark...or get a generator and have Locrian play.
Get it from HeWhoCorruptsINC records, because sadly this is their last physical release. Haven't they heard? Vinyl is back!
I get it, this packaging, the puke swirl off green vinyl, the color insert, they aren't pulling any punches, this is so beautiful it probably emptied the accounts. This just is such a complete package, it's a loss for the object obsessed.
"A well executed mash up of two of Chicago’s more notable enterprises of loudness – the long coming Locrian / Harpoon split 7” is finally complete. The vinyl portion of the release includes one song each by both bands. The accompanying digital card provides additional bonus material. This is Harpoon’s first release with a bass player. As well, Locrian collaborates with Andrew Sherer of Velnias. The release is limited to 300 copies on marble green vinyl with full color double sided insert and letter pressed cover. This is our final physical release which has been in the works for quite some time."
The image above hardly reproduces the embossed letter pressed sleeve, black ink on heavy black card stock. It's split in the middle on the reverse so you open both sides from the center, with both bands titles on either side of the cut, it's a really fitting heavy handmade object for these two ear splitters.
Unfamiliar with Harpoon I went to that side first which launches right in with tight speed grindcore...like I really know what that is...screamy evil vocals mixed loud, it's ridiculously complex and fast, could this be sampled and repeated? I doubt it, they are machinelike. But then, wait a minute, everything slows down a minute to work on the heavy side something like Pelican which makes the vocals come off even more evil...a lot of darkness, the faceless amputees/their wretched jubilee...that's an actual lyric. I won't be fucking with those guys anytime soon.
The Locrian side opens with a muted sliver of static, probably just the sound of the amps at 11 under the strain of the lines of pedals. Until a guitar heavily distorted and delayed breaks in. It's really epic, accessible even... melodic. They have a great vocal quality here, it's piled under tons of effects, that truly tortured feel, it's far back in an underground prison, echoing off the walls. It's a monstrosity of guitar noise, but really held back, deliberate...concentrated.
Andrew Sherer from Velnias is here heavily complicating the drums, but also holding back in all the right places. Even though this has been in the works for a while it sounds like it goes right along with their latest out in March, 'Territories', where they collaborated with a bunch of different noise/metal artists, hope that makes it to vinyl.
It gets right to the point, even at 33, they're compressing the epic landscape to the limit on this side.
I love the photos they've been including with all their releases, giant overgrown decayed factories, I love those places, I just want to get in there...at night. Completely abandoned. It's what I think Detroit must be like after all the fabricating companies all left. It's almost an alien landscape, you can't imagine what they were like when they functioned, it's like square footage porn for someone from Brooklyn. I would just go squat in that thing and build an ark...or get a generator and have Locrian play.
Get it from HeWhoCorruptsINC records, because sadly this is their last physical release. Haven't they heard? Vinyl is back!
I get it, this packaging, the puke swirl off green vinyl, the color insert, they aren't pulling any punches, this is so beautiful it probably emptied the accounts. This just is such a complete package, it's a loss for the object obsessed.
"A well executed mash up of two of Chicago’s more notable enterprises of loudness – the long coming Locrian / Harpoon split 7” is finally complete. The vinyl portion of the release includes one song each by both bands. The accompanying digital card provides additional bonus material. This is Harpoon’s first release with a bass player. As well, Locrian collaborates with Andrew Sherer of Velnias. The release is limited to 300 copies on marble green vinyl with full color double sided insert and letter pressed cover. This is our final physical release which has been in the works for quite some time."
Locrian at Scenepointblank
Locrain's track "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism" has been posted online here. The group features Blake Judd from Nachtmystium on guitars, Bruce Lamont from Yakuza on saxaphone, Mark Solotroff from Bloodyminded on vocals, and Andrew Scherer from Velnias on drums. The song is taken from the band's release, Territories.
Link here.
Link here.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Land of Decay Related: BLACK ARTS zine by T. HANNUM
For those of you who so graciously picked up Terence's zine New Rites we released last month here is his most recent effort Black Arts fresh off of the blackened press...
BLACK ARTS /
zine of new drawings and photos by Terence Hannum
20 black pages, with a xeroxed black vellum cover in a black envelope sealed with black wax.
Edition of 50.
8.5" x 5.5"
$7ppd (US) / $9ppd (World)
PayPal: unluckyatlas (at) gmail (dot) com
if you are interested.
20 black pages, with a xeroxed black vellum cover in a black envelope sealed with black wax.
Edition of 50.
8.5" x 5.5"
$7ppd (US) / $9ppd (World)
PayPal: unluckyatlas (at) gmail (dot) com
if you are interested.
(Also check out his new video-art piece Offering.)
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