Showing posts with label true sheffield black psychedelia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label true sheffield black psychedelia. Show all posts

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Ice Bound Majesty - A Tomb To Erect (2008)

Again, True Sheffield. This one coming from the other half of Skultroll (the one not Black Vomit), with his own work, Ice Bound Majesty. This one, like Black Vomit strays from the more straight, punk sound of Skultroll, again throwing around samples and varying styles of music at will. Starting with the usual dark ambiance, slowing working into an acoustic folk-esque section, entering flute (or some other small woodwind), and then to a thick, ugly drone, all within the first two minutes of this ~35 minute EP. It really has no concern for expansion. While mostly contained within the usual dark atmosphere, somewhat dungeonesque, it variates into doomy ambient passages, into furious blasts, into a cleaner drone into a heavy electronic sound, and back in a manner both smooth and jarring.

That "dungeonesque" sound doesn't always permeate, however. It's occasionally somewhat angelic, as with the "choir" starting and jumping within Wardragon Bones, it's sometimes modern, and mechanical, the drone sometimes takes a sharp, electronic sound, and it's occasionally, unabashedly beautiful. Bright, again almost angelic passages, rise from the grit (again, much like the Black Vomit I posted earlier), doing it's best to warp the listener's mind. There is really no way to prepare for what happens next, no mood one can set oneself into to "fit" the record. It's a twisted universe.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Skultroll - Skultroll (2007)

More True Sheffield. Although one shouldn't expect the outlandish range of the Black Vomit I posted earlier, this group, a side-project from the mind behind Black Vomit (or perhaps the other way around), this is a particularly good example of the general sound that ties this scene together. Guitar shreiks with a "blender" of effects, spiking and droning from one second to the next, and the drums again making a thunderous presence. No heavy use of samples and classical instruments, no lengthy ambient passages, this is much more of a punk-ish interpretation of the True Sheffield sound.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Black Vomit - Jungle Death (2009)

It starts with a premonition. A Premonition of Inevitable Doom; the title track as well as a literary signal. It's enough to clue you in to what's going on, and listening to it makes it more apparent. A thick fuzz, a synthy drone submerged within and mystical sounding samples echo in and out of the foreground. And as soon as premonition sounds, it blends right into the doom. That deep bass fuzz turns into an incredibly sharp guitar and madness spews from the constant clang of symbols and snares with incredibly tense blasts.

But even if you don't start the album, there are plenty of signals from even the album cover alone. Much like the Amocoma cover, a black border contains all. Seemingly a gesture at that same fuzz and atmosphere that permeates nearly all contained with the album. It's a dirty beast within. The font, remeniscent of Bathory, cues a medieval feel. Deep in the dungeons and that. And beyond those the few keywords we get do their own.
"Black" is an easy one. Fuzz is everywhere, pounding drums are everywhere, much of this album is a bleak nightmare. "Vomit" comes at a much more abstract view, however. It comes as one of the trademarks of this sound, though, the "True Sheffield Black Psychedelia" scene. Vomit, as an amalgamation of what has come to one before, does work somewhat well in regards to this sound. Despite what I have said before, this isn't all black. Thrown in with those long dungeon walks, are small shafts of light. Dispersed with the fuzz are bright synthy passages, reminiscent of something the "Aguirre" soundtrack. But even in the blackness cues some amalgamation. The drums aren't always typical blasts, sometimes they reveal more as tribal war drums, sometimes revealing more as wild, somewhat linear assaults, coming off as more of a "man-made" breakcore. And within even that, sampling is prevalent. In context it sounds more of the inner ramblings of a schizophrenic. Ramblings of preachers, doctors, and lovers, perhaps whirling through a distraught mind, cutting in and out and constantly warped it some manner.

"Jungle Death" as well seems to have some meaning through all this. Death should be as obvious as "black" by now. There's a menacing demeanor behind much of this. The jungle is obscure, though. Possibly read in terms of the drumming, going into it's breakcore, DnB sort of flair, recalling the genre of music called "jungle". Or perhaps it's a part of the atmosphere itself. An uninviting den with beasts roaming.

Lastly the picture. DMT crystals. Not only a heavy psychedelic, but also speculated to be the cause of the Near-Death Experience phenomena, it's a perfect compliment to the music themselves. Even in just the three songs set from Repositioning Chrome to Dark Beloved Cloud, you get an almost rockish psychedelic sound, leading to a strings and choral arrangement in "Konna Yume Wo Mite (Such Dreams I Have Dreamed)", which falls into a pure aural assault of flailing drums, thick fuzz and an assortment of mutated samples. This album is certainly a trip.

Buy (also, I think you can buy it here, which also has a small sample from Dark Beloved Cloud... you might want to turn your speakers down)