PETE SWASON // GREH HOLGER

The cover should be enough for those of you who know. Greh Holger (HIVE MIND, PURE GROUND, CLEANSE, BLACK SAND DESERT, Chondritic Sound) and Pete Swanson (VIOLENT MAGIC ORCHESTRA, YELLOW SWANS) combine for 20 minutes of anxiety inducing analog electronic torture. And those of you who don't know.....? Time to go to school.

DEAD INSIDE // DEAD OUTSIDE

FUNDAMENTAL

Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that you stopped publicly backing and pretending to listen to blistering ear torture distortion with light speed neanderthal beats. I guess I'll try to post some en vogue and/or currently cool things soon. You'll have to suffer through this until then. But on the up side, the THE BOYS cover here is next level awesome. 

6 SICKLY TRAX

OIL THIEF

OIL THIEF are dark and anxious, migrating from sputtering ambiance thunderous demented beats with a calculated precision, descending into disorienting mechanical psychedelia at will. Two tracks here, sixteen minutes of bliss. 

THE FIGMENT // UNDESIRE

VOLAHN

Even visitors who only casually dip their toes into the overwhelming and mind melting world of USBM will sure know the name VOLAHN. At the center of the incestuous Circle of Southern California artists who have been consistently cranking out some of the continent's most unique and compelling sounds, VOLAHN share members with countless other acts and are responsible for live performances that defy description. Epic and introspective black metal, spread out over almost 60 minutes....Aq'Ab'Al is their opus. Ancient souls and modern desires will hold you over...until there is more. 

AQ'AB'AL

In case you have any doubts....see VOLAHN in the flesh. Whenever possible. 

GENEVA JACUZZI

Blind purchase here (what's $5 to an uppity dude with a job, right?!), but the second I heard that weird digitized voice from the past pretentiously groaning something about "eating your sex"  I knew that I had made the correct decision. Lowest common denominator primitive proto-electro (techno?Italidisco? house? who knows?!?!) presented with what I can only assume is blatantly calculated precision and an aspiration for something resembling actual and real "success." My assumption here is that this outfit is highly regarded in some alternate universe (read: cocaine users in their 20s), but I confess that on more than one occasion since that blind purchase, GENEVA JACUZZI has filled my home and my earholes. Choice track: "Macho Island." You're welcome. 

TECHNOPHELIA

THE DARK

Could listen to this band endlessly. Want to listen to this band endlessly. LA's rockers THE DARK have, to date, only given us eight recorded tracks (four here and four included in this post), but ughhhhh those eight tracks are head and shoulders above just about anything. '80s Japanese punk, AMEBIX, MOTÖRHEAD....and constant drive. Listen to "Badge And Gun" and try to not clench your teeth. The shit doesn't have to be hard, y'all....it just has to be right. THE DARK is right. 

THE DARK

SHATAAN

This one got lost in my mental shuffle during the deluge of Black Twilight/Crepusculo Negro related releases during the first wave from 2009-11 or so. Thankfully, I hoard shit, so SHATAAN was waiting patiently for me last week, waiting to me to open myself to sounds of primitively reproduced and musically advanced discordant bleak metal. And I was opened. I certainly would put this in the same category as VOLAHN or GLOSSOLALIA, but there's something about the vocals and the howled desperation...it makes up for the almost casual delivery of these relatively complex tracks. Listen to the guitars, let the tracks sink in...it was worth the wait.

WAR CRY LAMENT

PURE GROUND

Rarely does modern synth driven music completely capture the warmth of The Originators. PURE GROUND does. I feel like I am stepping into the comforting arms of CABARET VOLTAIRE circa Voice Of America and it never feels contrived. 2013's Protection is a dark force, simplicity as intensity and a constant underlying buzzsaw of distorted electronics...it occurs to me with almost alarming frequency that Chondritic Sound does not seem capable of slipping up...

PROTECTION

The recent "Giftgarten" and last year's "Standard Of Living" are obviously essential once you are up to speed...but whenever possible, I like to make sure all of your bases are covered. 

STRANGERS

I've said it countless times: It doesn't have to be revolutionary....it just has to be good. Vocals that hide their own intensity behind softness, and an overwhelmingly laid back rhythm section that patiently urges the whole thing along while shamelessly swinging. Check "It's Not Alright," the most burning cut on this 2015 demo, and I challenge you not not get down. Southern Californians are fortunate to have this act in their midst....I've only seen it once in the flesh and I was a sweaty mess when they were finished.

STRANGERS

LA EQUI

Maximum energy, minimum fidelity Spanish language pogo punk is fukkn king today. 

LA EQUI

THE DARK

I wish I could describe the feeling of seeing THE DARK in Oakland a few weeks back. It was pure and exposed, like experiencing desperation in the flesh, and one quick look around the room made it clear that I wasn't the only person who felt it. Fortunately the power translates to this little plastic shell, and the four tracks you have at your fingertips right now are set to carry you away. For visitors who want something concrete to cling on to, THE DARK hit me like a perfect collision of AMEBIX and '80s Japanese punk (MASTURBATION, GHOUL, ADK Records stuff)...and I'm well aware of how high those comparisons set the bar. 

"I"

Members of CONDITION, TUBERCULOSIS and others, in case you are keeping track...

WORSHIP BLACK TWILIGHT

This is where it all started, at least for the uninformed and/or geographically challenged minions. Six offerings from the artists that made up the initial nucleus of Black Twilight Circle in Los Angeles, who would spend the ensuing years creating some of the most dissonant and interesting black metal in The Americas. One track each from ASHDAUTAS, VOLAHN, ARIZMENDA, KALLATHON, AXEMAN and KUXAN SUUM, most available on other Crepusculo Negro releases, and many previously shared on this site...Worship Black Twilight makes it clear that this force was formidable from the start.

WORSHIP BLACK TWILIGHT

ENEMIE (USA)

A hypnotic collection of minimal dub and synth/electronics recorded and mixed live during two sessions last year. Simple enough to fade into the background if you let it, but these sounds are like quicksand if you are paying attention. The five minute molasses dirge (simply labeled here as "03") was the turning point for this listener...

041615 & 042115

FUNDAMENTAL

You probably think you know what this is, but it's better. "Unhealthy" doesn't even begin to describe these trax: pure hyper speed noise pogo mania from Los Angeles. Folks responsible for this brought you CONDITION, ASPEX, THE HELPLESS and many others...and yeah, I know that sets you expectations high. 

8 UNHEALTHY TRAX

KUXAN SUUM

An early offering from the Black Twilight collective in Los Angeles, KUXAN SUUM dropped this one track of psychedelic black metal in 2009, followed it up with another in 2012, and then faded into the shadows. Long introductions and limitless ambiance, the band is haunting and distant even when they unleash...almost like you are a part of something that's incomplete. The guitars are ethereal and colossal, but still cling to a sharp, thin quality forever attached to black metal. The shit is out there, and one could surely argue that "Kinich Ahau" is merely a part of the path that took this scene to astounding heights....but sometimes getting there is the best part, you know?

KINICH AHAU

AVELLAN CROSS

I am a blatant and shameless supporter of the Chondritic Sound label. I relish each new batch of releases, and typically check out of life for a few hours when I get them into my grubby little paws. Within the (admittedly vast) realm of electronic sounds, the output is all over the map....but the quality control is strict, so I never fear blind purchases. Enter the 2013 cassette from AVELLAN CROSS - infectious, introspective, EBM-light if you will. An obvious affinity for the classics, and the combination of repetitive acid house pulsations and 20 Jazz Funk Greats styled blips and bloops on "Crosswalk" makes it clear that they know exactly what they are doing. Almost 50 minutes in total, and Stations Of... makes every minute of the journey worthwhile. I'll keep listening while I look forward to my next installment.

STATIONS OF...

BENNY & THE ROIDS

You can try to not like BENNY AND THE ROIDS if you want, but you will likely fail.  Feisty UK influenced garage/Oi! hybrid delivered on a perfectly tweaked sounding cassette. Check the solo in "Poison Boys" - if you want punk and you like to get down, then this is what you've been looking for. 

BENNY AND THE ROIDS

NO PEACE

Sometimes you like to get bashed in the face. Repeatedly. And for moments like those, I suggest listening to the NO PEACE demo. Repeatedly. The guitars alone will likely be enough to start you pounding your face into the nearest wall with maximum force. Repeatedly. But the whole package here is some UK82 punx snorting baby arm sized rails of phencyclidine. Repeatedly. NO PEACE sound so brilliantly fukkd, so horrifically pissed...and "Rat Maze" is pure filth snorting crank thats been stepped on so hard that you blow a line, immediately take a shit and then sit around wondering if you're high or not. Since you aren't sure, you do another line. And repeat. But I digress.

VOLUME 1

THE HAUNTING PRESENCE

I am not really sure how I missed this until recently, but I am here to help my fellow unenlightened. THE HAUNTING PRESENCE play absolutely sinister death/black metal, and they do so with a ferocity rarely (if ever) witnessed. Two songs here....and you are encouraged to devour more.

THE HAUNTING PRESENCE

WALKING WRECK

Hopelessly infectious no-fi garage hardcore from a crew of early '00s So Cal wingnuts. The guitar is so piercing and so gloriously shitty that it's almost hard to tell when tracks like "Big Dick Crucifix" launch into breakneck hardcore for a few seconds before they settle into their fierce and snotty groove, while the sheer chaos of "Future Cop" rivals greats like FAT DAY for discordant irreverence. The best seven minutes of your day are ahead of you, my friends.

WALKING WRECK DEMONSTRATION CASSETTE