Blut Aus Nord Ethereal Horizons
- Debemur Morti Productions
- Black metal, Experimental, Industrial, Metal
"I've learned over the years that, when it comes to my own musical creativity, the truth of today is rarely the truth of tomorrow." Vindsval The wonderful 16th album from legendary Avant Black Metal paragons BLUT AUS NORD is the culmination of a 30-year vision - as mainman Vindsval connects each element of the band’s history to launch yet another intrepid exploratory evolution. "Ethereal Horizons" is BLUT AUS NORD fully realised: richer, deeper, grander, more enigmatic and simultaneously more human than ever. Intermeshing the earthen and the futuristic as a vessel for the dark dreamer, soaring and ascending to vivid realms. After spending the preceding few years immersed in the wyrd and uneasy world of Lovecraft, this guitars-forward and melodious new album feels more akin to the organic, intoxicating terrain of 2014’s "Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry" or 2019's "Hallucinogen" - a cosmic and consonant antidote to our incessant psychic battering from the bleak, cacophonous biosphere in which we reside. "Ethereal Horizons" incorporates otherworldliness from all eras of BAN - traces of churning dissonance, subtle industrialised elements, the weeping of celestial leads, V's spectral & subliminal snarl - but brings in a suite of new and more grounded feels too. Far -reaching melodic themes turn inward and outward, frequently resolving into the swing of classic, prog and post rock. The warmth of swirling psych-organ and expanses of kosmische synth provide a bed for emotive themes to build and release into full-throttle ruthlessness. Vocal stylings are wide-ranging as ever, utilising the distinctive cloudbusting cleans and choirs, but this time with a lazer-focus on wistful transcendent melodies, refrains and even out-and-out hooks. Essential.
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Neil Young Tonight's the Night (50th Anniversary)
- Reprise
- Rock, Folk Rock, Classic Rock
In 1975, Neil Young released Tonight’s The Night, an album that is widely regarded as one of the masterpieces in his catalog. The album was recorded in 1973, following the major success of his album Harvest, but it was not released for two more years. Tonight’s The Night 50th Anniversary Deluxe limited edition is released on vinyl and CD with a newly expanded tracklisting that includes 6 bonus tracks along with an unreleased original version of Lookout Joe recorded during the original 1973 album sessions at S.I.R. in Los Angeles. It replaces the original released album version that was recorded at Young’s Broken Arrow Studio and subsequently included in Tonight’s the Night original release. Among the bonus tracks there is Walk On, also recorded in the 1973 S.I.R. sessions, and Tonight’s The Night (Take 3) which have both never been released. Everybody’s Alone, Raised on Robbery (featuring Joni Mitchell), and Speakin’ Out Jam appeared in Neil Young Archives Vol II, while the unreleased TTN version of Wonderin’ from the same sessions has only ever been available to stream on NYA. This is the first time all six bonus tracks from the original sessions have been available on vinyl, making this the most cohesive and true version of Tonight’s The Night. The original artwork has been creatively reimagined for this limited edition release.
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Plosivs Yell At Cloud
- Swami Records
Over four years in the making, Yell At Cloud is the follow up to the Plosivs critically hailed debut (RollingStone. Biz said "best new release of the week" in 2021). Why so long between releases, you ask? Nov. 2020 the band was invited to be the first guinea pigs at No Fun Club recording studio in Winnipeg, Canada and baptize the brand new facility. The band would live and record in the studio and be densely immersed in the forming of this new record. It was still during the days of COVID lockdowns and the earliest stages of permitted, international travel. Producer, engineer and studio designer Mike Bridavsky (Deerhoof, Magnolia Electric Co. , The Cowboys, Durand Jones & The Indications, Half Japanese, The Residents) welcomed us with open arms and helmed the controls. Unfortunately, a massive Arctic storm (even by Winnipeg standards) descended. The compound was without power for the first five days. Using generators running on diesel and heat powered by sheep tallow, the band had to resort to using as little electricity as possible. Most of what you hear on Yell At Cloud was recorded in the dark or by candlelight in below freezing conditions. It wasn't as romantic as it sounds. Due to Canada's regulations for foreign travelers during the pandemic, we had to forge out on foot once a day in blizzard-like conditions to a clinic a mile away where we had to be swabbed nasally, between the toes and in the groin area in order to be tested for COVID so we could be allowed to stay in the country for another 24 hours. Imagine a band trying making a record in John Carpenter's The Thing. This had a massive influence on the material and the way it was captured to tape. Finally the sessions became so intense the band members could no longer sustain focus to completion and decided to return home to finish the record at a later date. Months turned to years. Drummer Atom Willard was now the full time member of the Alkaline Trio. Guitarist John Reis focused on Hot Snakes and his solo recordings and shows with Swami John Reis. Singer and guitarist Rob Crow continued with Pinback and a myriad of projects both musical and visual. Bassist Jordan Clark reconnected with his band The Frights and began touring and recording with them once again. There was such a massive emotional dust cloud kicked up during the recording of Yell At Cloud that it took four years to settle. Finally, Ben Moore (who recorded and mixed the bands debut) stepped in and mixed Yell At Cloud. In order to a create seamless continuity with the original tracks, Ben mixed the majority of these files in the dark with the brightness of his screen turned to the lowest setting. The result is a claustrophobic album that searches for an oasis within. From lurching dissonance to uplifting harmonic convergences Yell At Cloud is a stark, black and white departure from their debut.
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