Green Army Fraction - Chlorophyll flood (2005)

"The most central and irrational faith among people is the faith in technology and economical growth. It's priests believe until their death that material prosperity bring enjoyment and happiness - even though all the proofs in history have shown that only lack and attempt cause a life worth living, that the material prosperity doesn't bring anything else than despair. These priests believe in technology still when they choke in their gas masks."
- Pentti Linkola

Leaving this album on your coffee table for your guests to find, is a sure way to give you some confused looks, if not make them leave altogether. Ecoterrorism has never been a hot topic, or icebreaker, in my circles either. Although I'm pretty much against doctrines and isms by principle, I have no problem examining, and some times even enjoying, controversial themes and topics.

Combining concepts of radical ecology and Indo-European traditionalism with harsh electronics, and the group name being a wordplay on the Rote Armee Fraktion, this is an unforgiving fist in the face of modern society. Originally released as a limited CDr, it was remastered and released with new artwork and two additional bonus tracks by Steinklang Industries in 2005.

Like Martin stated in an interview with Plague Haus, "..the first actual recording and release of G.A.F. was the 'Chlorophyll Flood' CDr. It was of course not very good, but it has it’s charm, and in it's rereleased and remastered shape it is almost listenable."

Try it out for yourself, but remember to not get your panties in a twist. It's extremity in sound and concept.

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(95+07MB/320CBR)

The Weakener - What do you know about it? (1998)

"Holy asshat, Batman! They're aiming some kind of supersonic weapon at us!"

Although Scorn was on indefinite hiatus during the time this baby was put out, Mick Harris on the other hand just wasn't ready to kick back and relax. It was time for another project, another release and more work to keep the man sane.

Harris is ready and comes prepared. He sets the background with an arsenal of hypnotically slow beats, thick, throbbing and full of echo. On top of that, a seemingly endless variation of drones and noises work their way back and forth in the mix. Spiced up with enough low end and bass to defy, and take on, the Mariana trench, you'd better keep an eye on that subwoofer.

The album features seven tracks in, give or take, 50 minutes. If you're looking for variation, you'd better sample another album. On the other hand, if you're interested in tight beats, a menacing ambience and enough sonic boom to sink a submarine, this is a sure bet.

All work and no play doesn't seem to make Mick a dull boy. Quite the contrary, in my opinion his vision is shining brighter than ever.

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(95+15MB/320CBR)

James Plotkin - A strange, perplexing (1996)

Strange and perplexing, indeed.

Here's a collection of Plotkin's earlier ambient works, spanning from 1993 up to 1996. According to the linear notes, the only source sound used on this album is the guitar. The source material is manipulated beyond recognition, apart from a few plucked and strummed guitar melodies, present here and there, throughout the album.

This is another one of those great "room-filling" ambient records. Although the album is void of beats, there is no need for rhythm when Plotkin is at the helm. He is in total control of his processed sounds, at times harsh, other times mellow and fluffy.

The resulting album is a minimalist, at times almost meditative, journey into experimental guitar work. I am willing to bet, that when playing the fourth track, The wrong context, at high volume levels, I'm able to stop my neighbours pacemaker in it's tracks. Truely strange and perplexing, isn't it?

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(95+37MB/320CBR)

James Plotkin & Mick Harris - Collapse (1996)

Amidst all these releases with angry shouting men, it's always good to return to some isolationist ambient. On Collapse James Plotkin teams up with Mick Harris to perform an album full of beatless, ambient landscapes.

The album consists of five long instrumental pieces, which are put together with guitar loops and a ton of processed (un)natural sounds. Imagine the cold, dystopian soundscapes of Lull blended together with Plotkin's floating noisy guitar loops.

Let's summarize: Two prolific musicians combine their views on ambient music. The result is a massive cloud of sound, filled with abrasive low end rumble, heavy drones washing over the listener with some, occasional, melodic guitar plucking going on in the background. Ambient? Yes. Soothing? No. Enjoyable? Very.

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(95+51MB/320CBR)

Pitch Shifter - Desensitized (1993)

Time for my last Pitch Shifter upload (If I can be arsed later on, I'll share the Remix Wars, and perhaps even Infotainment?, but the material after that is just too "meh" for my liking (And I don't even own those buggers anyway)).

While not as downtuned and harsh as predecessors Industrial and Submit, Desensitized managed to deliver a unique blend of older material, combined with a newfound "Ministryesque" groove.

The grunting vocal style has been replaced with snarls and shouts, they are almost like commands barked at the listener. The riffs are still heavy and memorable, driving the music onward at all times. The overall mood of the album is almost hypnotic. Hypnotic in the sense of groovy, drawn out songs, "headbanging rhythm" with industrial collages layered on top of everything.

Like I stated at the beginning, in my opinion the group took a turn for the worse after this release. Although Infotainment? has it's moments, and is more diverse than previous releases, it's only good for a listen once in a while. Their later stuff featured only one or two songs which I fancied per album, and was more like a slip down the stairs towards an inevitable faceplant.

With all the hate out of my system now, I'll state the obvious: This is still an excellent album and a milestone in industrial metal. Listen to the last track, Routine, and after a long period of silence, you'll get to hear the excellent re-recording of Landfill from the Industrial-album. It's almost worth for it alone!

Enjoy!

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(95+16MB/320CBR)

Pitch Shifter - Submit (1992)

Gritter, feels like this.

A firm fan favourite, the Submit "mini LP" had Pitch Shifter moving into another direction from the Industrial-album. It was their first release on Earache after their shift from Peaceville. Even though still heavy as a ten ton slab of concrete, they started incorporating more subtle elements into their music; ideas of their own if you will.

The guitar riffs are buried among the chugging grind, with the drum machine commanding the assault. On top of the mix is a howling and yowling lead guitar, ever present and coercing the listener into submission.

If you're into flagellation through audio, this is a great place to start. Although the sound is truely pummeling, at the same time it's very groovy .. and, I really, really hate to use the term, epic. Thanks to a great production and mastering job, the album has a living and breathing sound. Massive!

Highly recommended audio pleasure. Enjoy!

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(63MB/320CBR)

Pitch Shifter - Industrial (1991)

You know, this is just one of those things. When you decide to call your album Industrial, you better fucking deliver.

And they did.

Pitch Shifter was often called the bastard child of Godflesh, but in my opinion they added much more to the scene. The monotonous grunts, deliberately stiff drum programming (Trick question: does anybody recognize which drum machine it is :), gloomy atmosphere and pummeling palm muted riffs. Although I am admittedly a huge Godflesh fanboy, I always thought Pitch Shifter was more straightforward in their approach.

This is heavy, nasty and gritty industrial metal. There's no need to look any further. Enjoy!

"I'm an American, and I killed Americans. I'm a human being, and I killed human beings, and I did it in my society"
-Ed Kemper

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(85MB/320CBR)

Godflesh - Songs of love and hate (1996)

Godflesh return to the scene two years after their previous album. The fourth full length took me completely by surprise after the slight disappointment that was Selfless.

The band added a third member, Bryan Mantia played live drums for the first time on a Godflesh record. He left before the tour, only to be replaced by Ted Parsons (Swans, Prong and later in Jesu). Although Machines had been dethroned, there were still mechanized beats incorporated into the mix.

The first track, Wake, already proves that the band is not here to fuck around. Extremely catchy, filled with hooks and extremely in your face. It's not an easy task to pull of heavy, pissed off, industrial metal with almost danceable rhythms and samples, but these guys are surely on their A-game here! Once Wake is over, you have barely time to catch your breath before Sterile prophet emerges from your speakers. Another onslaught, what is going on?

How should I sum up my feelings about Songs of love and hate? Despite being another Leonard Cohen-reference, it's easily one of my all-time favourite records. This is a biased view onto things, but I'll say it anyway: Everything that was wrong with Selfless, is fixed and reimbursed for on this album. And then there is Frail, perhaps my favourite melodic Godflesh track ever. There's a personal story attached to it, but let's not go into that. Ha, 13 or so years should be more than enough by now.

Enjoy!

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(95+33MB/320CBR)

Dead World - Thanatos descends (1996)

Dead World: part quatre.

This is the last part of our Dead World-saga, and indeed the best was saved for last. The album is laid out with a similar pattern that was present on Collusion: a song first, then a noisy interlude, song, interlude.

The interludes, titled Thanatos I-Thanatos IV, are reminiscent of Canady's work with Deathpile: industrial noise and feedback manipulations in their purest form.

Their industrial metal counterparts are like pneumatic drills: heavy and harsh, pummeling away at your senses. When you take the earlier Dead World material, add some harshness and grime, blend in some noisy interludes and effects, you get Thanatos descends, and it's crushing. Believe it or not, I love every second of it.

Too sad Jonathan Canady decided to bury the band after this release. The album is a worthy goodbye, and Deathpile is in a sense the successor and conclusion to Dead World. I'm just sad I didn't get to see where he would've taken the project from here.

Enjoy!

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(85MB/320CBR)

Dead World - Collusion (1992)

Dead World: part trois. I'll start with a word of warning: this is the most metal of all Dead World albums, if you don't like death metal, don't approach this album. Stay with the later material.

There, I've said it. If I'd be into namecalling, I'd call this an metal album with effects, intros and outros thrown in here and there for good measure. But I don't.

The Dead World threesome present us their early demos rolled into their first full length. It's clear from the beginning, that their vision hasn't been perfected yet. Although the album features great moments, my main gripe is the lack of focus. It's missing a common thread.

So why am I uploading this? Historical reasons, for the lulz, for that guy who keeps asking me about Dead World releases, for download completionists and people who'd like to broaden their musical horizons. Give it a try, it's not as bad as I made it out to be. I'm just too hooked on the good stuff.

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(83MB/320CBR)

Quoit - Properties (2001)

Here's one more album by Quoit. The familiar drum and bass-formula of the first full length has been refined even more, and out comes an album that is almost surgically stripped down to the bare necessities: drum and bass.

Like on the previous Quoit album, Harris once again dishes out enough low end and subzero bass frequencies to rupture holes into the space-time continuum. The second key aspect of this album is the thing which many artists, in any possible genre, are missing: atmosphere. The ambience and mood is reminiscent of his work with Lull, with harsh breakbeats and drilling bass layered on top.

If you happened to like the previous Quoit-album I featured, you know what you're in for. The sound is cleaned up even more, it's almost clinical in purity at times.

Those who are still struggling with the term drum and bass, give it a chance. I think this swirling mass of chaotic and mixed up rhythms, harsh and distorted beats, is purity at it's finest. This really doesn't give your eardrums much of a rest at any point, it's an sonic onslaught at all times. Be prepared for the audio artillery attacking you from every possible direction, drilling it's way into your brain with a barrage of noises and beats.

Mr. Harris, whatever you put your paws on, you never seem to disappoint. Try it, feel it, love it.

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(95+19MB/320CBR)

Godflesh - Selfless (1994)

After a long delay I'm back. We'll continue down the small path we've begun, this time the fork in the road takes us to more Godflesh. Their third full length, Selfless.

Selfless has been called Godflesh's "rock and roll"-album, even by Broadrick himself, and in my opinion it's not that far off. Although it's more accessible than their early material, it's not commercial or "selling out" by a far shot.

The album goes into the works with a familiar recipe. Although the twosome discard much of the noisy guitar tone and feedback, the hypnotic, repetitive and droning guitar riffs are still present. Green's bass is still heavy, thumping and audible in the mix. The Machines still provide the beats, always on time, always against the grain. The vocals are cleaned up more, and there's even clear singing. There is more melodious work on the album, which makes it sound almost upbeat and joyful at times, then bouncing back to some pulsating industrial grit.

In my honest opinion it's not their brightest release, and I know for a fact that I enjoy their less-polished early material more, but this is still noteworthy progression of a very diverse band. The ending track, the 20-minute Go spread your wings, is not Pure II, but it's really damn close.

What the hell, try it for yourself. Go ahead and see what you make of it. Hope you enjoy!

I see so much, burns my eyes, lift your arms up, touch the sky.

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(95+78MB/320CBR)