Cerca:obscura

Mit Communication veröffentlicht Karl Bartos sein visionäres Soloalbum aus dem Jahr 2003 erneut - und trifft damit den Nerv der Zeit. Als prägendes Mitglied von Kraftwerk war Bartos maßgeblich an Klassikern wie "The Model", "The Robots" und "Numbers" beteiligt. Nach seinem Ausstieg 1990 setzte er mit Communication seine musikalische Reise fort - nun mit einem kritischen Blick auf die digitale Medienwelt. Das Album ist eine klanglich präzise und inhaltlich scharfsinnige Auseinandersetzung mit Themen wie Bildüberflutung, Identitätskonstruktion und der Fragmentierung von Realität. Was damals wie ein Blick in die Zukunft wirkte, ist heute aktueller denn je: Smartphones, soziale Medien und algorithmische Manipulation bestimmen unseren Alltag. Bartos gelingt es, elektronische Popmusik mit gesellschaftlicher Reflexion zu verbinden - ein seltenes Zusammenspiel von Klangfreude und Medienkritik. Die Neuauflage auf Bureau B ist keine nostalgische Rückschau, sondern ein Statement zur Gegenwart. "Wir leben in einer Zeit massiver Verhaltensmanipulation", sagt Bartos. "Kybernetik, künstliche Intelligenz - das ist eine große Herausforderung für die Menschheit."

In der schottischen Musikszene der frühen 2000er Jahre, aus der Camera Obscura, Arab Strap und Belle and Sebastian hervorgingen, waren Tacoma Radar die stillen Erfolgreichen. Ihr einziges Album, No One Waved Goodbye - eine faszinierende Sammlung leiser Melancholie - wird heute als Kultklassiker gefeiert. Dieses Deluxe-Doppelalbum erscheint zum ersten Mal neu und enthält No One Waved Goodbye, beide 7"-Singles sowie das bisher unveröffentlichte Live From the 13th Note.

In der schottischen Musikszene der frühen 2000er Jahre, aus der Camera Obscura, Arab Strap und Belle and Sebastian hervorgingen, waren Tacoma Radar die stillen Erfolgreichen. Ihr einziges Album, No One Waved Goodbye - eine faszinierende Sammlung leiser Melancholie - wird heute als Kultklassiker gefeiert. Dieses Deluxe-Doppelalbum erscheint zum ersten Mal neu und enthält No One Waved Goodbye, beide 7"-Singles sowie das bisher unveröffentlichte Live From the 13th Note.

Carrying on the long tradition of sentimental jangle pop songwriters, Lightheaded distil decades of lovelorn tunes into sounds for modern softies. They have the sunshine sparkle of The Left Banke and Margo Guryan, the C86 charm of Dolly Mixture and Would-Be-Goods, and the cinematic swell of Belle & Sebastian and Camera Obscura. Formed on the shore of New Jersey in 2017 by Cynthia Rittenbach and Stephen Stec, Lightheaded took time to hone their sound with a rotating crew of drummers, guitarists and backup vocalists. They found a community of like-minded bands in a vast but tight-knit international indie pop scene, which eventually led them to the iconic California label Slumberland Records. Their debut cassette EP Good Good Great!, a collection of five perfect pop songs, landed in 2023, followed by the full-length Combustible Gems in 2024. A European tour and gigs opening for bands like Heavenly, The Softies and The Ladybug Transistor rounded out their breakout year. Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming is their most collaborative and earnest release to date. A side of five brand new songs is combined with the five tracks from Good Good Great!, now available on vinyl for the first time. Recorded bi-coastally with Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor) and Alicia Vanden Heuvel (The Aislers Set, Poundsign) and drenched in lush reverb on tape by Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me), the new songs are rendered in a dreamy soft focus that perfectly suits their starry-eyed themes. Adding to all the fun are the cameos and contributions from the new generation of New York indie pop goodness, featuring members of Starcleaner Reunion and Trinket, pushing the songs on this record to a high point in the young band's discography. There is something unusual about this band - something truly special.

*People Like Us, the project of artist Vicki Bennet returns to Discrepant with a special vinyl release of "COPIA". This album marks the first new musical material since "The Mirror" in 2018, delving into the profound realms of existential collage and sampling, celebrating these forms as expressions of timeless connectivity.
* The title "COPIA," meaning 'abundance' and 'copy,' reflects the essence of collage and sampling - art created not in isolation, but as a connective thread through time and space, linking ideas across generations in a seamless tapestry.
* By reconfiguring preexisting sounds and images, Bennet highlights the non-dual nature of creation — where distinctions between past, present, and future possibilities blur, revealing a shared foundation beneath. The album marks a return to not just solo works but collaborations with notable artists.
* Drawing from the new People Like Us live AV performance, "The Library of Babel," sampling and edited sound collage, electronic music, combined with Ergo Phizmiz's lyrics and melodies, "COPIA" weaves and recombines a timeless blend of diverse elements that transcends traditional musical boundaries. This creative process unfolded through the exchange of multitracks across both water and ether. Collaborating with the voices, instruments and editing timelines of Matmos, Hearty White, Gwilly Edmondez, Lotte Bowater, Buttress O’Kneel, Douglas Benford, Irene Moon, Jon Leidecker, and Matt Warwick, the work evolved exquisite corpse-style.

“Bennett has proven herself an alchemist of popular music, able to push her source material into fresh and engaging places. Where some artists hack existing instruments and technologies to create their new sounds, Bennet has circuit-bent the songs themselves.” - Spenser Tomson, The Wire Magazine

2024 Reissue

"Ellipses dans l"harmonie - Lights in the dark" is the last work released by Teho Teardo on his imprint Specula Records. This work is entirely inspired by the music contained in the pages of one of the iconic texts of the 18th century, the Encyclopédie by Diderot and D"Alembert, the original copy of which is kept in the archives of the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation, which produced and commissioned the album. This is the first time the Foundation has produced a musical work. In "Ellipses dans l"harmonie", there is not only a homage to the Encyclopédie, but also a political connection to the spirit of the Enlightenment that guided the genesis of the work and the current need for light in the face of the new obscurantism. At the origins of the Encyclopaedia"s cultural enterprise are three roots: memory, reason and imagination. They are three dimensions that draw attention to three needs that still interrogate us today: to know the past in order to understand the origins of the problems we face today; to exercise rational criticism in order to orient ourselves in reality without taking refuge in bewilderment in the face of the complex challenges it poses to us; to continue to think about different balances in order to want to design a different world.

Die aus den eisigen Landschaften Norwegens stammenden 1349 haben dem Black Metal ihren Stempel aufgedrückt, indem sie ihre Instrumente wie Kriegsäxte in der Vorhut des unerbittlichen Angriffs des Genres schwangen. Mit einem Vermächtnis, das mit dem Blut der akustischen Extreme getränkt ist, sind sie zu den Vorreitern der unerbittlichen akustischen Kriegsführung geworden, unermüdlich in ihrem Streben nach den dunklen Künsten.

"The Wolf and The King" - der neueste Kataklysmus, den 1349 entfesseln. Eine stürmische Odyssee durch acht Tracks reinen, unverfälschten Black Metals, der die Fähigkeiten der Band in Sachen Chaos und Gemetzel makellos unter Beweis stellt. Vom unersättlichen Ansturm von The God Devourer bis zu den düsteren Tiefen von Fatalist ist jeder Track ein Portal in ein Reich, in dem Schatten regieren und die Luft dick ist vom Gestank des Verfalls. Ash of Ages vermischt Thrash-Einflüsse mit extremen Black-Metal-Elementen zu einer Reise durch das Herz der Finsternis, während Shadow Point und Inferior Pathways ein eisernes Rückgrat aus klassischen Headbanger-Riffs und unerbittlichem Groove formen. Mit The Wolf and The King erweitern 1349 die Grenzen des Genres, indem sie ihre unerbittlichen Blastbeats und sengenden Gitarren mit einer Atmosphäre apokalyptischer Eleganz versehen.

FFO: Marduk, Gorgoroth, Mayhem, Immortal

Die aus den eisigen Landschaften Norwegens stammenden 1349 haben dem Black Metal ihren Stempel aufgedrückt, indem sie ihre Instrumente wie Kriegsäxte in der Vorhut des unerbittlichen Angriffs des Genres schwangen. Mit einem Vermächtnis, das mit dem Blut der akustischen Extreme getränkt ist, sind sie zu den Vorreitern der unerbittlichen akustischen Kriegsführung geworden, unermüdlich in ihrem Streben nach den dunklen Künsten.

"The Wolf and The King" - der neueste Kataklysmus, den 1349 entfesseln. Eine stürmische Odyssee durch acht Tracks reinen, unverfälschten Black Metals, der die Fähigkeiten der Band in Sachen Chaos und Gemetzel makellos unter Beweis stellt. Vom unersättlichen Ansturm von The God Devourer bis zu den düsteren Tiefen von Fatalist ist jeder Track ein Portal in ein Reich, in dem Schatten regieren und die Luft dick ist vom Gestank des Verfalls. Ash of Ages vermischt Thrash-Einflüsse mit extremen Black-Metal-Elementen zu einer Reise durch das Herz der Finsternis, während Shadow Point und Inferior Pathways ein eisernes Rückgrat aus klassischen Headbanger-Riffs und unerbittlichem Groove formen. Mit The Wolf and The King erweitern 1349 die Grenzen des Genres, indem sie ihre unerbittlichen Blastbeats und sengenden Gitarren mit einer Atmosphäre apokalyptischer Eleganz versehen.

FFO: Marduk, Gorgoroth, Mayhem, Immortal

Kannon is an album which was composed in the aftershadow of SUNN O)))’s most recent successes in immersive collaboration (the group worked with Scott Walker on Soused, Ulver on Terrestrials in 2013 and 2014) and also from the broad and influential wake of their epitimous Monolith’s & Dimensions . Kannon emerged both independently as a conceptual entity and with roots in the legacies of those projects, yet was fully realised years later, in 2015. The album is 36 minutes in length and consists of three pieces of a triadic whole : Kannon 1, 2 and 3.

The album celebrates many SUNN O))) traditions ; Kannon was recorded and mixed with SUNN O)))’s close colleague and coproducer Randall Dunn in Seattle, in Studio Litho, Aleph and Avast! ; and the LP includes performances by long term allies and collaborators Attila Csihar, Oren Ambarchi, Rex Ritter, Steve Moore and others. And at the core the composition centers around the dynamic and intense guitar and bass interplay of SUNN O)))’s founders : Stephen O’Malley & Greg Anderson.

It’s possibly the most figurative album SUNN O))) has created, which is unusual as they usually dwell in layers of abstraction and subjectivity. On the other hand the album is the most outright “metal” in years, drawing personal associations and memories of cherished albums like Panzerfaust and Twilight of the Gods again to the forefront of consciousness. At the third time it is very close to the cyclical character of mantra which the band has evolved into as a living creature, the enormity of intense sensate detail and manifestation of the live in concert face of SUNN O))), the organism that has flourished, metamorphosed and transcended tremendously over the past ten years.

The literal representation of Kannon is as an aspect of Buddha : specifically “goddess of mercy” or “Perceiving the Sounds (or Cries) of the World”. She is also sometimes commonly known as the Guanyin Bodhisattva (Chinese: 觀音菩薩) amongst a plurality of other forms. There is a rich lineage behind this idea tracing back through many asian belief systems, with as many names and cultural personifications of the idea .

SUNN O))) commissioned critical theorist Aliza Shvartz to write a text / liner notes around these ideas and topics. She also explores the relations and perceptions to their approach to these ideas via the metonym of music and SUNN O)))’s place/approach within the framework of music and metal overall.

SUNN O))) also commissioned Swiss designer/artist Angela LaFont Bollinger to create the cover artwork, an abstracted sculpture of vision of Kannon, and the French photographer Estelle Hanania to capture portraits of the core trio (Csihar, Anderson, O’Malley) in the impressive and obscurant Emanuel Vingeland mausoleum in Oslo.

The LP is packaged in immaculate tip on gatefold sleeve by our long time comrades Stoughton Printing, and pressed at Cascade in Portland, Oregon. CD, download and coloured vinyl versions are also available

'The Animation Of Entomology' is an EP by American supergroup Blotted Science, originally released in 2011. Like on their 2007 debut album 'The Machinations Of Dementia', these instrumental songs are a product of the union of Watchtower guitarist Ray Jarzombek and
Cannibal Corpse bassist Alex Webster's imaginations, this time with former Obscura and current Triptykon drummer Hannes Grossmann behind the kit. Once again, the trio embark on unusual and unpredictable compositions, as crazy as their titles seem to indicate.
Virtuosity goes hand in hand with extremity and experimentation for an unforgettable, unrepeatable experience.

"All seven tracks on this EP are beautifully written and could be praised for hours" - No Clean Singing
"a real progressive metal tour-de-force" - Sea Of Tranquillity

'The Animation Of Entomology' is an EP by American supergroup Blotted Science, originally released in 2011. Like on their 2007 debut album 'The Machinations Of Dementia', these instrumental songs are a product of the union of Watchtower guitarist Ray Jarzombek and
Cannibal Corpse bassist Alex Webster's imaginations, this time with former Obscura and current Triptykon drummer Hannes Grossmann behind the kit. Once again, the trio embark on unusual and unpredictable compositions, as crazy as their titles seem to indicate.
Virtuosity goes hand in hand with extremity and experimentation for an unforgettable, unrepeatable experience.

"All seven tracks on this EP are beautifully written and could be praised for hours" - No Clean Singing
"a real progressive metal tour-de-force" - Sea Of Tranquillity

2024 Repress

"Communication", das erste, wirkliche Soloalbum des Ex-Kraftwerkers Karl Bartos, kam 2003 in die Läden und damit 13 Jahre nach Bartos" Ausstieg bei den Düsseldorfer Elektronikern. 2016, und damit wiederum 13 Jahre später, erscheint das Album, komplett remastert und mit dem Bonustrack "Camera Obscura", erneut. "Communication" ist jedoch keine bloße Wiederveröffentlichung. Es ist der Reload eines Pop-Klassikers, der heute thematisch aktueller ist denn je. ""Communication" handelt davon, wie Bilder unsere Sicht auf die Welt bestimmen und wie sich durch elektronische Medien die Inhalte unserer Kultur verändern", so Bartos anlässlich der Veröffentlichung im Jahr 2003. 2016 hat dieses Thema an Dringlichkeit und Wahrhaftigkeit nichts eingebüßt. Ganz im Gegenteil. Heute ist die Medienwelt, die das Album beschreibt, so alltäglich geworden, dass ihre Wirkmächtigkeit gar nicht mehr wahrgenommen wird. Spannend: Obwohl zehn Jahre früher erschienen, kann "Communication" energetisch nahtlos an Bartos" gefeiertes letztes Album "Off The Record" (2013) anschließen.

Zwischen bezaubernder Zärtlichkeit und Brutalität, zwischen den Feuern der Unterwelt und den kältesten Dämpfen des Nordens, das ist das Wesen, das WINTERHORDE genannt wird. Gegründet im Jahr 2002 in Nordisrael, hat sich die Progressive Extreme Metal Gruppe weiterentwickelt und versucht, mit jedem Akkord, den sie spielen und aufnehmen, etwas Größeres zu werden. Nur der Himmel ist die Grenze. Ob durch die uralten Künste des geschwärzten Metal bis hin zu den Juwelen der Progression, WINTERHORDE sind auf dem Weg, das nächste Ding der artikulierten Extremität zu sein.

WINTERHORDE hatten das große Vergnügen und das Privileg, mit einigen der größten Bands des Metal wie JUDAS PRIEST, BEHEMOTH, ACCEPT, W. A. S. P, DIMMU BORGIR, KEEP OF KALESSIN, AMORPHIS, SATYRICON und vielen mehr auf den Bühnen verschiedener europäischer Festivals wie "Metal Days", "Rockstadt Extreme Fest", "OST Mountain Fest", "Metalhead Meeting", "Maximum Rock" und "Metal yard" aufzutreten.

WINTERHORDE bahnten ihren Weg in den progressiven Manierismus des Extreme Metal und veröffentlichten ihr Debüt "Nebula" (2006, Burning Star Records), dem eine komplette Europatour mit den finnischen Black Metalern CATAMENIA folgte. Das zweite Album "Underwatermoon" (2010, Twilight Vertrieb) wurde von V. Santura (DARK FORTRESS, OBSCURA, PARADOX, TRYPTIKON) aufgenommen und produziert. Anfang 2016 vollendete WINTERHORDE eines ihrer abenteuerlichen und höchst geheimnisvollen Epos, "Maestro" (Vicisolum Productions) wurde erneut von V. Santura produziert und von Jens Bogren gemastert. Kritiker und Fans begrüßten das dritte Studioalbum "Maestro", das im Mai 2016 veröffentlicht wurde.

Sechs Jahre später, und WINTERHORDE sind wieder bereit für die nächste Herausforderung. Voller Energie und einer neuen, überwältigenden Besetzung haben WINTERHORDE die Arbeit an ihrem neuen, vierten Studioalbum "Neptunian" geschafft.
Im Juni 2022 wurde die Single "The Greatest Plague of Earth" veröffentlicht.

Metal Temple zine:
"This is an expression of extreme passion, through a whirlwind, and a strong character. Winterhorde is back different, but preserving their miraculous nature"

Winterhorde's bassist and founder, Alexander Latman, comments on "The Spirit Of Freedom"
"This song deals with the unbreakable spirit of simple people, who are ready to die for keeping their land free. We wanted to show this spirit, not only in the warrior himself but also in his family members who are filled with pride of their fallen loved one. The simple people are those who sacrifice their lives for unnecessary wars waged by rich people's games. They die, but never give up their freedom and identity. The conflict of life versus freedom at any cost".

Sales Info:
- PR-Kampagne über die deutsche Agentur ALL NOIR für Print / Presse / Radio in der EU + O'Donnell Medien für PR in den USA
- frühere Musikvideos haben jeweils 5-stellige Ansichten auf YT erreicht
- neues Album gemischt und gemastert von Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Paradise Lost, Insomnium, Moonspell)
- Feat. Künstler auf Album: Kobi Farhi von Orphaned Land und Davidavi Dolev von Subterranean Masquerade

Statiqbloom's new album "Kain" is embodying the true essence of industrial music, going beyond just a particular sound and encapsulating an outlook on the world. The fusion of forward-thinking, dystopian sounds, pulsating basslines, and mid-tempo rhythmic beats, all of which contribute to a masterfully crafted industrial techno experience.

Exocrine verschiebt weiterhin die Grenzen des Extrem- und Präzisionsspiels und schlägt die Brücke zwischen der Wildheit von Archspire und Cryptopsy und den kraftvollen progressiven Tendenzen von Obscura und Gorod. Auf ihrem neuen Album „Legend“ strebte die Band noch mehr danach, technischer und schneller zu werden, legte aber auch Wert auf die Epik ihrer Musik und erhöhte diese. Damit haben Exocrine ihrer Musik einen noch grandioseren Sound verliehen.
FFO: Archspire, Gorod, Fallujah

Exocrine verschiebt weiterhin die Grenzen des Extrem- und Präzisionsspiels und schlägt die Brücke zwischen der Wildheit von Archspire und Cryptopsy und den kraftvollen progressiven Tendenzen von Obscura und Gorod. Auf ihrem neuen Album „Legend“ strebte die Band noch mehr danach, technischer und schneller zu werden, legte aber auch Wert auf die Epik ihrer Musik und erhöhte diese. Damit haben Exocrine ihrer Musik einen noch grandioseren Sound verliehen.
FFO: Archspire, Gorod, Fallujah

Phét is a Tibetan syllable that means to cut through. Through concepts & obscurations. Through anything in the mind that stands as an obstacle to our direct engagement of the present. Such tempting distractions! Phét says: RIGHT NOW. As Phét does: RIGHT NOW.

That Jarrett Gilgore named his project after this mantra—Phét Phét Phét—underscores his interest in music as a form of awakening. Music as presence, manifestation, & channeling, more than as ornamentation or description of experience. This is no vessel for preconceived notions, but a record of musicians opening themselves to discovery & encounter through play. Through each other’s company. Phét Phét Phét says: Say farewell to what you’ve known. Say hello to everything you feel now, & to all the things that feel through you.

You've always been able to hear the West Coast in Monocoastal, but it's particularly present when you shut your eyes after 12 months of lockdown stopping you from visiting the region. Less active L.A., and more observing in Oregon, Fischer's career didn't end with this in 2011 and the multi-disciplinary artist has produced great things since, but the album is certainly one of turning points in terms of reputation and note.

The idea of slowly watching time unfold in un-rushed places is also highly appropriate. Among the washes of tape and the waves of refrain that make up this beautiful, meditative outing, you'll hear takes and half-harmonies from found instruments including a piano and xylophone. Overall, it feels like a place removed from linearity. A liminal masterpiece, if you are that way inclined.

Repress!

Debut single by 'TURBO Q 3000', a project by Turbo Sonidero (Grupo Jejeje / Kumbia Net) & Principe Q (Kumbia All Stars / Royal Highness)

Turbo Sonidero is a music producer and record collector from San Jose, CA who blends Cumbia Sonidera (sound system) with Rap. He is a co-founder of Grupo Jejeje and also the-founder of Kumbia Net/Kumbia Obscura, a collective that promotes new and up-and-coming cumbia producers from Mexico and beyond. Turbo Sonidero is a pioneer who continues to lead the reemergence of cumbia globally. He has been featured in Vogue MX, The New Yorker, Fader, Vice MX, Afropop Worldwide, KQED, and XLR8R, among others.

Music producer/DJ Svani Quintanilla (aka Principe Q) is noted as the creator of "Screwmbia", pioneered by his duo Royal Highness (with DJ King Louie). "Screwmbia" is his modern take on cumbia, blending trap drums with slowed down cumbia rhythms. Bringing cumbia in to the modern times is an homage to his aunt, Selena Quintanilla-Perez, who also did so in the 80's and 90's. He is the oldest son of Kumbia All Star founder A.B. Quintanilla III and has recently joined the band as a percussionist.

Limited to 500 7" copies
Exclusive artwork by Jaime Ruelas

Die indische Tech Death Metal Formation Demonstealer präsentiert ihren 4. Longplayer 'The Propaganda Machine'! Klingt wie Obscura, Blood Red Throne, Hour of Penance, Vital Remains, Kataklysm oder Fleshgod Apocalypse.

Numen ist das dritte Album von ALKALOID, und es enthält einige der kompliziertesten, nachdenklichsten, aber auch komplett verrückten Ideen der Band. Das Album wird aus der gottähnlichen Perspektive eines uralten Außerirdischen erzählt, der mit seinem dämonischen Grunzen die gesamte Galaxie umgestalten kann.

ALKALOID sind immer noch durch ihre Liebe zum Death Metal verbunden. Schließlich handelt es sich um eine Supergroup, die aus Gründungsmitgliedern von OBSCURA, DARK FORTRESS und SPAWN OF POSESSION besteht. Das feurige, mit den Fingern getippte Solo, das sich nach der Hälfte von "Clusterfuck" herauskristallisiert, wird wie eine Ameise unter einem Drop-D-Hammersturm zerquetscht.

Aber auf "Numen" spielt die bayerische Band auch mit allen möglichen Genre-Experimenten. "The Cambrian Explosion" stellt den Tech-Death mit verführerischen Anflügen von Jazz und Flamenco auf den Kopf.
ALKALOID sind die verrückten Wissenschaftler des Metal. Mit "Numen" haben sie eine weitere explosive Mischung aus progressivem Death Metal geschaffen!

FFO: OBSCURA, BEYOND CREATION, FRACTAL UNIVERSE

Numen ist das dritte Album von ALKALOID, und es enthält einige der kompliziertesten, nachdenklichsten, aber auch komplett verrückten Ideen der Band. Das Album wird aus der gottähnlichen Perspektive eines uralten Außerirdischen erzählt, der mit seinem dämonischen Grunzen die gesamte Galaxie umgestalten kann.

ALKALOID sind immer noch durch ihre Liebe zum Death Metal verbunden. Schließlich handelt es sich um eine Supergroup, die aus Gründungsmitgliedern von OBSCURA, DARK FORTRESS und SPAWN OF POSESSION besteht. Das feurige, mit den Fingern getippte Solo, das sich nach der Hälfte von "Clusterfuck" herauskristallisiert, wird wie eine Ameise unter einem Drop-D-Hammersturm zerquetscht.

Aber auf "Numen" spielt die bayerische Band auch mit allen möglichen Genre-Experimenten. "The Cambrian Explosion" stellt den Tech-Death mit verführerischen Anflügen von Jazz und Flamenco auf den Kopf.
ALKALOID sind die verrückten Wissenschaftler des Metal. Mit "Numen" haben sie eine weitere explosive Mischung aus progressivem Death Metal geschaffen!

FFO: OBSCURA, BEYOND CREATION, FRACTAL UNIVERSE

-one of the absolute German Metal top rarities for the first time as a re-release

-audio transfer by Patrick Engel, remaster by Neudi

-LP with printed Inlay (incl. exclusive interview)

-first official re-release after several illegal CD-pressings in bad quality

In recent years many labels have tried to get the cult album „To The Top“ by the Augsburg band OVERDOSE from 1985 for a re-release - without success. Also at Golden Core the research took over a year (!) until they finally got in contact with the original member „Coco“ who agreed to a re-release.

The group was only active for about three years and neither before nor after the LP there were no further recordings.
Instead of a demo, they invested in a self-pressing. The rest is history and sheer horror for collectors who want an original of this rarity. The varied Heavy Metal, from the fast opener and title song „To The Top“ to the closing gutter hit „Rockfever“ is just not only rare, but also rousing and simply good.

The re-release on Golden Core has to do without bonus tracks this time, but the inlay offers an interview with the original member „Coco“, which finally brings light into the darkness. The audio transfer was done by Patrick Engel from an unplayed (!!) LP, the remastering was done by Neudi afterwards. Of course, a separate master was made for vinyl.

„To The Top“ is a journey back in time to the first half of the eighties and offers a metal aesthetic that no retro band can manage today.

The truly one-of-a-kind Mathew Jonson treats us to a sonic journey like no other with his latest record INTO THE 5D.

This record is the latest gem from an illustrious tapestry of releases from the Vancouver-born producer. With a career spanning over 20 years, releasing music on legendary labels such as Hypercolour, Crosstown Rebels, Obscura and his own imprint Wagon Repair. Now residing in Berlin, Mathew has a busy summer ahead with his sought-after live sets locked in for Gottwood, Houghton & Sumdayz festival amongst club appearances at KOKO and DC-10.

The analogue legend presents a two-track vinyl release on visionary Mexico-born label Kilometro 4.5; a record that perfectly captures the label's ethos of seamlessly intertwining the realms of sound and nature.

A solitary reverberating synth blip opens Into The 5D, evoking visions of raindrops falling into a moonlit pool. Lush synths slowly cascade all around, as the atmosphere builds in intensity giving way to a driving beat that leads the listener deeper into the undergrowth. The B-side Into The 5D (Space Dub) takes these evocative elements and presents a darker and more intense dub destined for a forest rave. Close your eyes and float as Into The 5D takes you through the portal.

THULCANDRA’s rise to power ignited when the Germany-based outfit unleashed their debut album, Fallen Angel’s Dominion, upon metaldom in 2010. The group, fronted by founding member and visionary Steffen Kummerer (also of Obscura fame), have tightened their hibernal grip on blackened death metal since. The desolate melodic emanations in follow-up studio records Under a Frozen Sun (2011), Ascension Lost (2015), and the chart-topping, 2021-album A Dying Wish, dedicated to the late drummer Chris Kratzer, solidified THULCANDRA as a superior force, expertly thrusting the magic and mystery of mid-’90s melodic black-death metal into the modern era. Their fifth attack, entitled Hail the Abyss, sees THULCANDRA prove yet again why they’re atop death metal’s malefic vedette! Fierce tracks such as "As I Walk Through The Gateway", or the uber-brutal "Blood Of Slaves", showcase the band‘s affinity for dark, aggressive, and mellifluous metal while the album title track and the epic, mid-tempo rager "On The Wings Of Cosmic Fire" rip and terrorize with the intensity of hell. As always, THULCANDRA's about a vibe - there's a distinct "feel" to the band's latest album that's distinctly old-school but without the tired trappings of it. The hotly-anticipated Hail the Abyss is slated for release on May 19, 2023 via Napalm Records. Cooperation with renowned producer Dan Swanö (Dissection, Opeth, Katatonia), who handled the crushing album mix, was compulsory, as was the re-invitation to cover-master Lochner. Don’t fear the reaper—fear the majestic might of THULCANDRA, as Hail the Abyss will see them ultimately rise to full power!

Auch auf dem vierten Album von Motor!k konzentriert sich die belgischen Avant-garde Künstler Joeri Dobbeleir (Gitarre/ Synthies), Dirk Ivens (Guitar/FX) und Dries D‘Hollander (Drums) auf das Wesentliche: Hypnotische Bassläufe, rhythmusgebende Drums und repetitive Gitarrenschleifen sind die Essenz, aus der psychedelische Retro-Träume entstehen. Erneut ohne Gesang setzen Motor!k auf ihren schon traditionellen sechs Tracks eine Dynamik frei, die komplett aus dem temporeichen Zusammenspiel der drei Protagonisten erwächst und das Gefühl einer spontanen Jamsession aufkommen lässt. Pulsierende Krautrock-Vibes at its best!

Limited colour variant "battlefield aftermath with blood & dirt swirl" Following their 2020 debut, Ruin, FORETOKEN's latest album sees the group expand upon their foundations of meticulously lofty soundscapes, mythological narratives, and elaborate musicianship. Utilizing traditional narratives of myths, legends, and folklore from a wide range of Western and Middle Eastern origins, Triumphs examines the ignored collateral damage of the cost of victory through these established mythos. Taking musical inspiration from melodic and tech death metal, as well as power, folk and black metal, Foretoken's core sound on Triumphs is bolstered by subtle and captivating use of traditionally Scandinavian, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern instruments for atmospheric depth. Reunited once again with Hannes Grossmann (Hate Eternal, Alkaloid, Obscura, Necrophagist, Blotted Science, and Triptykon) on drums and boasting a guest guitar appearance by The Black Dahlia Murder's Brandon Ellis, FORETOKEN's technical prowess shines through without overpowering any of the nine songs' rhythmic charge. Triumphs was penned throughout 2021 by both Steve Redmond (guitar and orchestration) and Dan Cooley (vocals), with the pair settling on eight original compositions and a cover of Naglfar's I Am Vengeance. Grossmann then commenced drum tracking at his own studio, Mordor Sounds, with guitars recorded by Redmond himself and vocals captured at Trepan Studios by Tony Petrocelly, before mixing and mastering duties were placed in the accomplished hands of Jacob Hansen (Arch Enemy, Fleshgod Apocalypse, The Black Dahlia Murder, and more) at Hansen Studios. Visually tied together by portrait artist Tomas Honz's detailed cover painting, depicting a protagonist's journey in the aftermath of battle, Triumphs aesthetic component is a symbolic embodiment of the duo's enduring fascination with historial consequence via a folkloric lens. Taking fables and fantasy to extreme sonic heights, FORETOKEN's Triumphs is as lofty in ambition as it is accomplished in its musicianship and songcraft.

The Zephyrs release their brand new album “For Sapphire Needle” on January 27th 2023 alongside Spanish comrades Acuarela, their first since 2010. With only 2018’s double A-side single “The Witches” and “The Crown Prince of Lies” in between, this represents their first collection of new songs in 13 years: from short and tightly constructed country-folk introspections to sprawling, spaced-out psychedelia, including a couple of extremely sharp pop glimmers and a killer Morricone-like instrumental. Originally conceived of as a series of 4 track EPs based on the seasons in which they were created, the recordings spanned into a patchwork of sessions with long-time collaborator and producer Michael Brennan at his Substation studio, neighboring a naval port in Rosyth. The ongoing recording sessions were made possible with the kind support of Robert Dillam, drummer for The Zephyrs and ex-guitarist for Creation band Adorable. With songs ranging from short and tightly constructed country-folk introspections to sprawling, spaced-out psychedelia, what resulted was an album near to double length. The collection presented as “For Sapphire Needle” is a cut-down selection of these songs. The record opens with “Leatherback”, a Crazy Horse inspired wall of distorted guitars drawing on lyrics from The Zephyr’s first album and pre-history, followed by the four songs earmarked for the first of the seasonal EPs – Winter – whose artwork was photographed in the alley behind Traceyann Campbell’s (Camera Obscura) house in Glasgow. Elsewhere on the album, “I tell you what” had much of its writing and recording initiated in a wooden shack near Aviemore and “Bolder” tells the story of overheard bar-side conversations and delayed flights in Denver airport, where lizard people live underground and some say the new world order lays dormant. The domestic depression of “How have you been today” precedes closing opus “Aliens”, inspired in equal measures by the maturation as social control science fiction of The Tripods and the schlock b-movie imagery of Rocky Erickson’s The Evil One. The album is the work of older and more consistent The Zephyrs. Stuart, David and Robert joined by collaborators: guitarist John Brennan and keyboardist Will Bates. The songs and sounds are sculpted out of slabs of time with friends at the Substation, a de facto weekly youth club for musicians who refuse to grow old. The triple bridges of Queensferry, the shipbuilding cranes of Rosyth docks and Babcock's shop - one of the few places in Scotland you can buy a real periscope over the counter - are just some of the backdrops as the Zephyrs rehearse for nobody but themselves. Yet, ever since Jean-Luc Picard himself told us that "this is not a holiday", it has become a unique and unbeatable way of peering up above the waterline, reinventing themselves and returning to the scene. Indeed with 10 songs in 46 minutes which wade across Gram Parsons and Big Star, Slowdive and spaghetti Western: folk, rock and shoegaze… as if they were trying to shorten the path to the California sky passing through Scotland and then Almería in Spain.

The killer debut by Belgium’s best kept secret: Slaughter the Giant. Intense melodic Death Metal for those who slaughter the soul! Slaughter The Giant ready to release their debut album “Depravity” in October 2022. A melodic intense Death Metal attack not hear before from Belgian soil. Slaughter The Giant was formed in 2018 and released their 5-track debut EP “Asylum of the Damned” in 2019 and it received good reviews worldwide. The year 2022 marks a new post-Covid start with the release of their first full-length album entitled “Depravity”, on Hammerheart Records. Slaughter the Giant performs intense melodic Death Metal that will appeal to fans of The Black Dahlia Murder and At The Gates. Hammerheart Records heard the album and was convinced of its quality and a deal was made. “Depravity” is a giant leap when compared to their EP, and acts on a whole different level. The brutality and melodic side have been pushed to new boundaries, while not losing the “good song” idea as a first must. The influences are still heard, but are now just that; influences. In the track “Co-ed Butcher” we find a kind of Obscura-esque approch that clashes into Flesh God Apocalypse alike symphony sounds, and album highlight “The Undead” is not a single and video without a reason, featuring excellent solo work on the guitar. The over all level is high and consistent throughout the album, and makes one replay after finishing.

OBISIOUS sind mit ihrem Debütalbum "Iconic" führend in der modernen Evolution des progressiven und technischen Metals. Die Band, bestehend aus Linus Klausenitzer (Bass), Rafael Trujillo (Gitarre), Sebastian Lanser (Schlagzeug) und Sänger Javi Perera (Gesang), hat ihre Wurzeln in Obscura, Alkaloid, Eternity's End und Juggernaut. Obsidious sind jedoch eine ganz andere Kreatur. Iconic ist technisch, aber nicht aufdringlich. Das Album atmet Intensität, baut sie aber mit sanftem Geschick weiter aus. Bei Obsidious gibt es immer eine Hook. Iconic baut auf einem prestigeträchtigen Fundament auf, aber seine Vision ist nicht auf seine Grundsätze beschränkt.
RIYLs: OBSCURA, ALKALOID, OPHIDIAN I, ORIGIN

OBISIOUS sind mit ihrem Debütalbum "Iconic" führend in der modernen Evolution des progressiven und technischen Metals. Die Band, bestehend aus Linus Klausenitzer (Bass), Rafael Trujillo (Gitarre), Sebastian Lanser (Schlagzeug) und Sänger Javi Perera (Gesang), hat ihre Wurzeln in Obscura, Alkaloid, Eternity's End und Juggernaut. Obsidious sind jedoch eine ganz andere Kreatur. Iconic ist technisch, aber nicht aufdringlich. Das Album atmet Intensität, baut sie aber mit sanftem Geschick weiter aus. Bei Obsidious gibt es immer eine Hook. Iconic baut auf einem prestigeträchtigen Fundament auf, aber seine Vision ist nicht auf seine Grundsätze beschränkt.
RIYLs: OBSCURA, ALKALOID, OPHIDIAN I, ORIGIN

With releases already under their belt from Bilal and Deyayu and a split 12" from Alex Dima and Cristian Sarde, London's Obscura is shaping up to be one of those destined to take up position towards the top of tech house shopping lists everywhere. That said, the four tracks from Arnic have a cheekier, mor sprightly vibe than a lot of tech-house, the likes of 'Night Children' and their tribute to the Glasgow clubbing institution that is the 'Sub Club' drawing on disco and early Chicago house influences, all within the economic and stripped down framework that put a big smile on a DJ's face when they're in the mix.

The career defining fourth album from French Tech Death masters EXOCRINE - showcasing a level of musicianship that can only be described as jaw dropping, EXOCRINE are the bridge between the ferocity of ARCHSPIRE or CRYPTOPSY and the potent Progressive leanings of OBSCURA & GOROD.

IATT is pleased to once again team up with Black Lion Records for the follow up to 2019's Nomenclature; our new full length album entitled Magnum Opus. We've meticulously crafted this album to leap from where Nomenclature left us thematically.
The listener is catapulted from the 1700s (Arsenic Ways) further back in time to a much darker, older world and the esoteric sciences of Alchemy. It was in this time man aimed to harness the world around him, bending the natural elements in a quest to obtain power, knowledge, control, and even immortality itself.
Alchemy was the key to unlocking the secrets of existence and elevating one's self to the pinnacle of enlightenment through transmutation and manipulation of the earthly elements. It was only through the process of Magnum Opus (the great work) that alchemists could harness the elementals in their purest form to create the Philosopher's Stone - the key to power, enlightenment, and immortality.
Just as in alchemy itself, creating this album has been a journey of transformation for us; a period of great growth as individuals and as a unit. It's through adversity, struggles, and the forging of the elements - of literal blood, sweat, and tears - we strive to transcend and elevate to our highest selves, "the great work", Magnum Opus.

Sound Like: (Immolation, Spawn of Possession, Death, Emperor, Obscura)

Begleiten Sie Thievery Corporation-Mitbegründer Eric Hilton auf eine gechillte Reise durch den Weltraum mit seinem neuen Album Ceremony: 13 Tracks voller gefühlvoller, interstellarer Psychedelia. Zu den kosmischen Ereignissen gehören die ersten beiden Singles 'Forming Star' und 'Who Are You?' sowie das sternenklare Finale 'Fade Into Forever'. Treten Sie ein in den Groove-Nebel mit Eric Hiltons neuem Solowerk 'Ceremony'.

The Bristol-based composer and producer FFT signs to Numbers for Disturb Roqe and an album to follow in 2022.

Disturb Roqe is out on vinyl & digital on December 3rd, 2021. The EP presents three meticulous, spacious tracks that channel bass-heavy tendencies, with whirring details that showcase masterly sound design in a controlled yet aggressive delivery.

Josh Thompson has released music dispersed across a number of labels, including The Trilogy Tapes, Low End Activist’s Bruk Records, his own Super Hexagon imprint and more. Through transmitting under a series of obscurant aliases, he composed and created while leading a nomadic life between houses, cities, occupations and attractions.

His body of work demonstrates an impressive, evolving artistry, exploring harmonic and textural sounds underlined by a powerful devotion to computer-based production. It’s a focus captured by his artist name FFT, short for Fast Fourier Transform, a process by which signals can be converted from temporal or spatial to frequency domains, or in the other direction.

Endless Boogie re-joins with its fifth proper studio album. It contains and is called ADMONITIONS. Seven tracks of unrefined wisdom, mostly put to tape in improvised fashion with little to no warning. Recorded over two years and two sessions - at the pastoral tranquility of the Stockholm inland archipelago in 2018, and in the dank, cramped basement of a Fort Greene, Brooklyn studio in February 2020. Eklow on crude direction, Sweeney on stealth glamour, the obscurantist clarity of Paul Major is, as always, as ever, on full display, the fierce reality of Mike Bones is crucial, and the stoic solidity of The Harry Druzd lays beneath it all. Old pal Kurt Vile hovers over COUNTERFEITER. Full grease, delivered with ease. It is the band’s humble wish that you immerse yourself and this offering. Endless Boogie emerge from fugue state with a new double LP. Admonitions was conceived a recorded via timewarp between NYC, TX & the Stockholm archipelago. Major growls, Eklow riffs, Sweeney flavors. Mystery players appear as specters in the mirror. 100% guaranteed to drown out paranoid inner dialogue. Onward and inward. . This one goes down swinging.

THULCANDRA worship the golden age of Swedish death metal with A Dying Wish! Swedish death metal veterans THULCANDRA are back! Since its foundation in 2003 by Steffen Kummerer (mastermind of Obscura), THULCANDRA has established themselves in the European extreme metal scene. Now, the black death metal outfit is about to release their fourth studio album after six years of silence. A Dying Wish was produced, mixed and mastered at Unisound Studio by the renowned Dan Swanö (Dissection, Opeth, Bloodbath, Katatonia and more) and will be released on October 29, 2021 via Napalm Records. It’s again a journey back in time to the origins of the genre, as it was musically and visually shaped by bands like Dissection, Entombed, Sacramentum and Unanimated. On their new album, A Dying Wish, the four-piece around Steffen Kummerer once again draws the listener into dark and cold soundscapes.

wojtek the bear were formed in Glasgow in early 2016 and have been featured by Lauren Laverne, Tom Robinson (BBC 6Music), Huw Stephens (BBC Radio 1), Vic Galloway, Roddy Hart, The Afternoon Show (BBC Radio Scotland), John Kennedy & Gordon Smart (Radio X), KEXP. They have featured at numerous festivals across the UK and Europe and appeared at Belle & Sebastian’s Boaty Weekender festival in Barcelona in 2019 alongside the likes of Teenage Fanclub, Mogwai, Yo La Tengo & Camera Obscura