Scatology

Coil's first album, Scatology, was my introduction to the seminal electro-cult genius of this important band. To this day it remains the one item in their vast catalogue that I return to most frequently. I always imagine Scatology as a building standing alone in a desolate dreamscape, each track is a room bearing its own atmosphere. To listen to the album is to methodically explore each room, and to be haunted by what may have occurred there in some not too distant past. One room is lonely, another full of anguish, others are bathed in blinding light, while some remain in an impenetrable darkness. Even stranger is the fact that even after 25 years the structure remains as haunting and bleak as it ever did. This record is the place I visit in my nightmares.

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The Exordium

Crematory is my favorite of the lesser-known early Swedish death pioneers. Their brand of brutality was extremely raw and ugly as demonstrated by their second demo The Exordium. Sadly, these Scandinatheists never managed to get a proper full-length record out there, just a series of amazing demos, and an EP called Denial. Some bootlegs and half-assed reissues have surfaced since the band's demise, but none that have really done the putrid genius of Crematory any amount of justice.

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Brigade Internationale

The French synth-wave lust continues here on the Hearse. Brigade Internationale were a rather sullen bunch of art students who managed to release this one and only cassette, Regard Extreme, before disappearing into obsolescence like the keyboards and samplers used to make this recording. Now that cold wave is all cool again, maybe this will resurface as a reissue, but until that day comes you will have to settle for these tiny shrunken digital files.

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Stitch

Another one of my favorite relics of Swedish steel, and this one is absolutely mandatory. Stitch were a young ambitious bunch of bangers from the bullshit town of Södertälje, a town best known for its famous tennis robot, the Bjorn Borg. This single contains (sadly) only two songs, but they drip with a peppy exuberance and a sheer joy of just being young, Scandinavian, and most importantly...METAL!!! This falls into that "If you don't love this something is really wrong with you" category. So good, and maybe exactly what the doctor ordered after posts about people we like leaving the earth.

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R.I.P. Mahk Daniels

Cosmic Hearse never likes to be the bearer of tragic news, but I woke to a phone call from my friend John Clancy telling me that the band Early Graves had been in a horrible van accident that took the life of singer Mahk Daniels. I only met Mahk recently when we did the Streetwise piece for Decibel but in that afternoon it became abundantly clear that Mahk was the real deal. A furious frontman while also being a really genuine and nice dude. I had looked forward to seeing this new friend around the hood, now I guess I never will. This sucks.

Äpärät

Häiriköt Tulee, the first and only real release by Finnish punkers Äpärät was unleashed in 1985, and it remains one of the greatest Finnish punk records of all time. Like many of their contemporaries from the land of cell-phones and reindeer, Äpärät add rather depressive melodic quality to their punk/hardcore hybrid. You won't understand the lyrics about anarchy and the scourge of religion, but what does that matter, you already know that Reagan is a dick.

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Sputum Lunae

Sputum Lunae were a short lived NSBM/dark ambient band from Quebec. The defunct Autistiartili Records released this very limited tape (100 copies) in 2001, titled Quo Usque Tamdem Abutere Patientia Nostra? It displays Sputum Lunae's more mellow side with three tracks of creepy, solemn organ. This one will most likely bore anyone looking for the harsh scraping black noise usually associated with the Quebecois haters, others may opt to dim the lights and enjoy this with some fine wine and misanthropy.

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R.I.P. Derf Scratch

Derf Scratch aka Frederick Milner III, the original bass player of FEAR has passed away. He didn't care about you. Fuck you.

Ruth

Ruth was a strong contender for the title of best thing about the BIPPP comp posted some time back, so I thought my dear readers would enjoy hearing more from this early French synth wave trio of Thierry Muller, Phillipe Doray, and Ruth Ellyeri. Their LP Polaroid/Roman/Photo contains some hook-laden, ultra-cold, future-of-the -80s pop muzik filtered through the French psyche, especially the title track, which may well be one of the greatest songs of the decade. Some questionable bits along the way ("Mabelle") but the album closes with the epic "Tu M'ennuies," and you feel sated.

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Elu of the Nine

Elu of the Nine is another blackened doom/drone void abyss from the prolific folks of Woodsmoke productions. I get a lot of emails requesting more from these individuals and I am happy to oblige. These young men from Salem Oregon make some of the most interesting home recordings out these days, but painfully hard for the general public to get a hold of, I am very kvlt and have my ways. Now I pass it on to you.

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Confuse 1983 Demo

Therefore when you note, fuckface, now you understand the outer space Hearse' love Confuse. Noise central attack of sexual nucleus spazz seems like the thing which has the hydrochloric acid methamphetamine of Japanese porno directly poured to your dickhole. Youth rebellion of the jacket and hair where the tip of Kyushu becomes pointed spike. As for the corrosive demonstration cassette from 1983... there is here... It ended your world!

騒音

Inmitten Des Waldes vs. Mortualia

Not so much a bout but rather a sad-off between two Black Metal bands favoring a more sorrowful and somnambulant style of kvlt and nekro. Already I come into this with a serious bias, Inmitten Des Waldes is the work of N. Schner (Valium, Namelezz Projekt,) who I believe to be one of the more interesting characters in the South American scene. However Mortualia's Shatraug is no slouch. With an impressive resume including Horna, Sargeist, and Behexen (among others), I was eager to hear Mortualia. Inmitten Des Waldes start off with a fluttering melancholic piano intro and then lurch into the track "Supreme Tragedy of All the Times." The band follows a more crawling Burzum approach, not terribly unlike fellow countryman and Hearse favorite, Draugurz. Mortualia also prefer the more lethargic tempos, but while Inmitten are depressed and forlorn, Mortualia is just plain snapped. Weird desperate shreiks over menacing, meandering riffs. This one is almost too close to call, both bands are simply mesmerizing, but I might have to give it to Mortualia for their closing track "Paine Sortie..." which makes me want to cut my wrists in a bath tub full of breast milk.

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Stylish God

Tepid and loping rockabilly from 1965 made utterly fascinating by the big booming lesbian voice of sixteen-year-old Isabel Baker, as she sings of blood and hell with as much conviction as Jeff Becerra. She digs God, and can't wait to die so she can meet him. Very little information exists on this pious platter, but it has been repressed as a CD and has appeared on many blogs before. Get some Jesus on you with this weird record.

Jesus!

Crud Wizard

Here's a shameless plug. Ezra, my nine year old son now has his own blog, CRUD WIZARD. I am helping him with the back end layout stuff but the writing and content is 100% his own choosing. You might want to start following it now, it shows promise. Yeah, I know I am biased. Support young writers!!!

Alverna Gunn

Alverna Gunn were one of many hard rocking bunches of Anglo youngsters immersed in the NWOBHM scene. Being from the bullshit town of Lowestoft in Suffolk county, Alverna Gunn didn't enjoy the notoriety of some of their peers, despite being quite a good band. Here I present Alverna Gunn's 1982 demo. The first two tracks are strong typical NWOBHM rockers. The final track, "Once Bitten Twice Shy" is the sort of throwaway AC/DCish bit o' pub band tripe that mars so many otherwise perfect NWOBHM demos and singles. This demo is worth it for "Mad Dog" alone.

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Atavistic

Atavistic were a little known UK anarcho-crust band from Kent who released two great 7" EPs and a somewhat forgettable LP before calling it quits in 1991. Here is the second of those EPs titled Equilibrium, it was released in 1988. This is like Amebix taken to its noisiest extreme. Quite pummeling and dark. One of my favorite little records from that nebulous time between hardcore and post-hardcore.

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Isolation

For those of you paying attention, Lascowiec is an extremely mysterious and amazingly talented Black Metal band based out of San Francisco. They released two brilliant cassettes through my former label The Funeral Agency. The few copies of Gesamkunstwerk and Gunshots Ring Out Over Vinland Streets were scooped up fast, and were both extremely well-received when they were featured here on The Hearse. This is Lascowiec's third demo, the as of yet unreleased Isolation, and it is perhaps their most compelling work yet. Fuck, I love this band.

Isolate

Mecano

Here's a fantastically maudlin album that you may have missed unless you're Dutch and over 30. Mecano were pretty well known in Holland but the rest of the world would remain wholly ignorant to their dour Post-Punk that is reminiscent of early Cure and Savage Republic. On the band's ambitious debut, Autoportrait, a wide variety of instrumentation and textures were employed, it's quite a piece of work that shouldn't rot in obscurity. Perhaps it was that lame cover, perhaps it is because, despite this album being received well, the band dissolved shortly after it's release. However, Mecano reformed in 1995, and again in 2005 and remains active today. Autoportrait is one of those uncommon records that takes you on a journey and drops you off feeling sated. Recommended.

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Mythos

Mythos hailed from Finland, played crushing primitive Death Metal, and in 1993 they vomited forth this repugnant demo titled Moulded in Clay. The band self released 250 copies and caught the attention of Evil Omen records who released a few of these tracks on a four-way split with Expulsion (Sweden,) Mysthical (Spain,) and Unexpected (Holland.) Moulded in Clay is easily one of the best non-Swedish early Death Metal relics. Monstrous. They went on to release a few disappointing records, but I don't mind, this rules.

Moulded

Southern Elite Circle

Like the BMIA, the Black Twilight Circle, and Blazebirth Hall, The Southern Elite Circle is yet another alliance of like-minded Black Metal bands that share members and hail from a particular region, this time Argentina. Oddly enough the bands associated with the SEC promote a nationalist socialist agenda that may offend some of you more sensitive readers. This lengthy compilation showcases the bands with each band delivering two tracks. First up is the extremely harsh Argenraza (who were featured on the Hearse here.) Argentum's acoustic guitar and flute folk metal track "La Tierra Blanco" sounds pretty tame after Argenraza, and their second track "Jose Antonio" is a corny darkwave number with lazy samples of some speech, presumably by canonized Spanish Fascist, Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. Campo de Mayo's first track is rather bland generic Black Metal, but their second is a more primitive sounding repetitive piece that is far more interesting. Furor's first track is just layers of hypnotic guitars, it works much better than the second track, which is rather base poorly recorded Black Metal. Nachtgeblut are clearly the most proficient band of the group, but this doesn't mean they are the most enjoyable. They turn in a rather plain Black Metal song and a hokey keyboard piece. Permafrost has cool guitar tones and simple robotic riffs, at first the obvious drum machine and generic vocals were a distraction but I found myself liking the band by the end of their two songs. The compilation wraps up with Ulfhethnar who aren't terribly original but their no frills blasting chaotic Black Metal is enjoyable just the same. Argenraza and Permafrost are the real standouts here, but from front to back the Southern Elite Circle compilation is a dynamic and consistently interesting listen, even if the bands aren't spectacular on their own.

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