Link here.
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Review
by Eduardo Rivadavia
After several years of conducting one-off musical experiments, oftentimes issued in limited numbers and unconventional formats like vinyl, cassette, or CD-R (or not at all), Chicago's Locrian finally felt ready to record their debut album in 2009's Drenched Lands. But that decision hardly spelled the end of the group's restless musical shape-shifting, as evidenced by the brusque textural disconnect between each of the album's songs (and the art of seamless "sequencing" be damned), beginning with its brief, minimal, and melancholy opening gambit, "Obsolete Elegy in Effluvia and Dross," and its protracted, slowly escalating noise-drone follow-up, "Ghost Repeater." Even by post-metal standards, the pair just don't line up -- on paper -- yet they ultimately make sense in the decontextualized "anything goes" mentality displayed throughout Drenched Lands. This proceeds via always unexpected detours into atmospheric black metal ("Barren Temple Obscured by Contaminated Fogs"), church organ reverie-cum-doomy power chord misery ("Epicedium"), and assiduous feedback sculpting over tolling bells and scything guitar staccatos ("Obsolete Elegy in Cast Concrete"). Technically, Drenched Lands concludes here, but a 30-minute-long bonus offering entitled "Greyfield Shrines" (previously released on vinyl, but virtually impossible to find) reveals what Locrian can do to connect their eclectic creative interests when they choose to, and the terrifyingly cinematic results, climaxing in a mechanical primal scream, are truly awesome to behold. And, as it turned out, Locrian's virginal foray into full-length territory opened a virtual floodgate of inspiration that yielded another pair of very impressive (and largely uncategorizable) albums within a year, those being 2010's Territories and The Crystal World.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
DLSODW "No Words" Reviewed at Daed Formats
Thanks to Dead Formats for this review.
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Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words
no words
Land of Decay
9.5
Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words was brand new to me when I heard this cassette. Turns out the project is not new and the tape has been out for awhile as well. I gotta say that it's pretty damn good. Beautiful and building drones swirl and merge in a large empty room. Structured compositions with a more than just your typical melancholy feel really effect you on a deeply troubled level. I was surprised as I was expecting something a bit more grim from Land of Decay; home to Chicago doom-bringers, Locrian. If you read up on the human being behind DLSODW, Thomas Ekelund, you will read some pretty over the top stuff about his being crazy and needing to make this kind of music to keep him from eating kids or something but, to be honest, i hear it. An almost palpable amount of desperation and fear is present throughout this release. The descriptions you may read on his facebook page may sound as if David Tibet wrote them while doing a David Tibet impression but i would totally give this a listen. It's pretty spectacular, I just hope you aren't allergic to hyperbole.
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Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words
no words
Land of Decay
9.5
Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words was brand new to me when I heard this cassette. Turns out the project is not new and the tape has been out for awhile as well. I gotta say that it's pretty damn good. Beautiful and building drones swirl and merge in a large empty room. Structured compositions with a more than just your typical melancholy feel really effect you on a deeply troubled level. I was surprised as I was expecting something a bit more grim from Land of Decay; home to Chicago doom-bringers, Locrian. If you read up on the human being behind DLSODW, Thomas Ekelund, you will read some pretty over the top stuff about his being crazy and needing to make this kind of music to keep him from eating kids or something but, to be honest, i hear it. An almost palpable amount of desperation and fear is present throughout this release. The descriptions you may read on his facebook page may sound as if David Tibet wrote them while doing a David Tibet impression but i would totally give this a listen. It's pretty spectacular, I just hope you aren't allergic to hyperbole.
Land of Decay Facebook Page
We have some non-Locrian related releases coming up that we're really excited about and we decided to set up a Facebook page just for our releases related to the label.
You can check it out here.
You can check it out here.
Sun Splitter Available at Permanent Records (Chicago, IL)
You can now pick up the new Sun Splitter tape (as well as some other Land of Decay releases) at Permanent Records Chicago.
Here's a description from their webstore below:
New Tape - Sun Splitter - II - Sun Splitter is from Chicago, but we have a feeling they won't be known as a "local" band too much longer. "II" is their new tape on the Locrian-run Land of Decay label and it contains 4 fucking epic metal-gaze jammers. Fans of all things Justin Broadrick, well maybe not ALL things, but most things Broadrick (ie. Jesu, Godflesh, etc) and industrial post-metal will absolutely love Sun Splitter. Word on the street is that they kill live too. This cassette is limited to 100 and will not likely last long.
Here's a description from their webstore below:
New Tape - Sun Splitter - II - Sun Splitter is from Chicago, but we have a feeling they won't be known as a "local" band too much longer. "II" is their new tape on the Locrian-run Land of Decay label and it contains 4 fucking epic metal-gaze jammers. Fans of all things Justin Broadrick, well maybe not ALL things, but most things Broadrick (ie. Jesu, Godflesh, etc) and industrial post-metal will absolutely love Sun Splitter. Word on the street is that they kill live too. This cassette is limited to 100 and will not likely last long.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Land of Decay O12: Sun Splitter "II" Available for Order Now
Please feel free to order this release now. We'll begin shipping orders tomorrow.
Artist: Sun Splitter
Title: II
Format: Cassette
Catalog Number: LOD 012
Edition Size: 100 Copies
Release Date: Friday, January 7, 2011
Ordering Information:
Price: $7 USA/$10 Rest of World @ postage paid
Please send payment to: landofdecay@gmail.com
The tape consists of four tracks, thirty seven minutes, and RIFFS, RIFFS, RIFFS!!! Riffs that slowly build up and build up until they morph into mysterious doom-laden melodies. We can’t say enough about the intricate guitar playing on this release. The mysterious guitar melodies are complimented by vocals that are at times gnarled, chanted, and abstract. At the same time, there are electronic samples interspersed throughout the tracks that add subtle textures and filigree. Weird percussion that brings to mind Joe Preston’s drumming on Earth’s early releases accents the big riffs, making them even bigger. Dark, black, bleak, and totally engrossing.
This is forward thinking industrial metal that would appeal to fans of Godflesh, and Dead World. Sun Splitter are definitely one of the most underrated bands in Chicago and one that you’re sure to hear more about in the coming years. The cassette features original artwork from Terence Hannum. All tapes were professionally duplicated on chrome, hi-bias, tape.
PLAY THIS LOUDLY!
A1: Cairn Of Old Eyes
A2: Northern Blood Tithe
B1: Earth Burner
B2: Carrion Eater
Hear a track from the release below:
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