Showing posts with label Nachtmystium. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nachtmystium. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2013
Will Lindsay Joins Anatomy Of Habit
Friday, February 04, 2011
Musique Machine on Locrian "Territories"
It is nice to see that reviews are still coming in. Here is a new one from Music Machine:
The built environment seems central to Locrian’s ‘Territories’. Track titles talk of geographical positions such as ‘Between Barrows, a ‘Ring Road’ and a ‘Columnless Arcade’, while ‘Procession of Ancestral Brutalism’ refers to the functional/industrial architectural movement of the mid-Twentieth Century. But the sound made by Chicago’s André Foisy and Terence Hannum seems to describe the decay of such structures as opposed to their construction. The monochromatic improvised interplay of Hannum’s analogue synths and organ with Foisy’s guitar feedback and fretwork has seen them aligned with the often dystopian-sided genres of noise and drone. But with ‘Territories’ they open up their sound with a selected guest list of collaborators that sees them slip in and out of their discomfort zone.
Russell Cuzner
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The built environment seems central to Locrian’s ‘Territories’. Track titles talk of geographical positions such as ‘Between Barrows, a ‘Ring Road’ and a ‘Columnless Arcade’, while ‘Procession of Ancestral Brutalism’ refers to the functional/industrial architectural movement of the mid-Twentieth Century. But the sound made by Chicago’s André Foisy and Terence Hannum seems to describe the decay of such structures as opposed to their construction. The monochromatic improvised interplay of Hannum’s analogue synths and organ with Foisy’s guitar feedback and fretwork has seen them aligned with the often dystopian-sided genres of noise and drone. But with ‘Territories’ they open up their sound with a selected guest list of collaborators that sees them slip in and out of their discomfort zone.
Mainly culled from improvised sessions, the album seems to have been prepared for vinyl, whose two sides enjoy three tracks a piece, each culminating in a black metal climax featuring Nachtmystium’s Blake Judd on guitar. This immediately recognisable genre sound, full of tinny and tensely strummed axe work, wraith-like vox plus alternating pummel and plod percussion, contrasts strongly with the outlandish experimentation that precedes each act’s finale.
Side one opens with ‘Inverted Ruins’ whose dilapidation is depicted through a repetitve, delayed and dirty bass riff, reminiscent of early TG, pitted against distorted layers from a grainy amp with winding feedback so shrill it seems designed to attract stray dogs. It feels like a meditation on abandoned houses, where injured vocals, buried in the noisy rubble, complain of the failure of traditions that has lead society to decline. But here, Locrian’s spiralling pessimism is held together by the strong rhythms of drummer Andrew Scherer (Velnias), somehow channelling the duo’s depression into an acceptance of fate.
‘Between Barrows’ continues the solemnity as a ritual of crashing cymbals punctuates a slow melodic passage of deep extended organ tones underneath the saddest of sax solos by Bruce Lamont (Yakuza). Again, a vivid sense of grieving is kept dignified through an elegant, tempered accompaniment. So, while not unenjoyable in its own right, a segueing into black metal’s more predictable ingredients disturbs the first side’s otherwise powerful atmosphere.
And the same happens on side two, but not before Territories’ bleakest track, ‘Ring Road’, winds its way around bursts and squeals, aided by power electronic stalwart Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded), encountering what sounds like a momentous avalanche all but obscuring a feral guitar on the way. While ‘Antediluvian Territory’ seeks to calm things down with a Floyd-ian delayed guitar and warm bass, the final track builds a wall of guitars for four minutes or so before heading into a powerful but standard black metal form.
‘Territories’ shows how working in collaboration can both enhance and detract from Locrian’s wildly experimental, unpredictable inclinations. But while the sequencing of the tracks seemed spell-breaking at the end of each side, most tracks taken individually are truly spell-binding, possessing a rich, resolute display of the evocative power of the sound of decay.
Russell Cuzner
Monday, November 08, 2010
Allmusic on Locrian Territories
A thoughtful review from the Allmusic (AMG) website, with sound samples:
http://allmusic.com/album/territories-r1738937/review
by Eduardo Rivadavia
Chicago's Locrian spent the second half of the ‘00s making bite-sized sonic experiments (almost two-dozen mini releases) before committing their eclectic mixture of black metal, electronics, drone, and noise rock to a full-length format for 2009's Drenched Lands and the following year's eye-opening sophomore album, Territories. Opening statement "Inverted Ruins" sets the stage (or burns it to the ground, rather) with a snail-paced post-metal grind shrouded in decayed industrial textures à la Neurosis, and capped by eardrum-rupturing feedback screeches that may have some listeners convinced their CD is defective (the same is true for the epic dronefest "Ring Road"). But no, this is quite intentional on the band's part and but one jarring facet of their discomfiting musical strategy, which also entails a thrumming, Eno-esque meditation awash with cymbal crashes and processed saxophone waves ("Between Barrows"); a modern black metal showstopper of formidable violence and layered complexity ("Procession of Ancestral Brutality"); an Isis-like collection of improbably beautiful echoed melodies and swarming atmospherics ("Antediluvian Territory"); and a hypnotizing combination of densely interwoven evil drones reminiscent of Sunn 0)))'s Black One opus ("The Columnless Arcade"). It should also be noted that Locrian's central duo of André Foisy and Steven Hess invited numerous outsiders to guest on the album, including Nachtmystium's Blake Judd, Bloodyminded's Mark Solotroff, Yakuza's Bruce Lamont, and Velnias' Andrew Scherer, and its obvious that their pooled talents and distinct visions contributed significantly to Territories' oftentimes unique, if at times perplexingly diverse material. There's never a dull moment here, that's for sure.
http://allmusic.com/album/territories-r1738937/review
by Eduardo Rivadavia
Chicago's Locrian spent the second half of the ‘00s making bite-sized sonic experiments (almost two-dozen mini releases) before committing their eclectic mixture of black metal, electronics, drone, and noise rock to a full-length format for 2009's Drenched Lands and the following year's eye-opening sophomore album, Territories. Opening statement "Inverted Ruins" sets the stage (or burns it to the ground, rather) with a snail-paced post-metal grind shrouded in decayed industrial textures à la Neurosis, and capped by eardrum-rupturing feedback screeches that may have some listeners convinced their CD is defective (the same is true for the epic dronefest "Ring Road"). But no, this is quite intentional on the band's part and but one jarring facet of their discomfiting musical strategy, which also entails a thrumming, Eno-esque meditation awash with cymbal crashes and processed saxophone waves ("Between Barrows"); a modern black metal showstopper of formidable violence and layered complexity ("Procession of Ancestral Brutality"); an Isis-like collection of improbably beautiful echoed melodies and swarming atmospherics ("Antediluvian Territory"); and a hypnotizing combination of densely interwoven evil drones reminiscent of Sunn 0)))'s Black One opus ("The Columnless Arcade"). It should also be noted that Locrian's central duo of André Foisy and Steven Hess invited numerous outsiders to guest on the album, including Nachtmystium's Blake Judd, Bloodyminded's Mark Solotroff, Yakuza's Bruce Lamont, and Velnias' Andrew Scherer, and its obvious that their pooled talents and distinct visions contributed significantly to Territories' oftentimes unique, if at times perplexingly diverse material. There's never a dull moment here, that's for sure.
Friday, October 15, 2010
BloodLust! New Release: B!157 Locrian "Territories" CD
BloodLust! New Release
Artist: Locrian
Title: "Territories"
Format: CD
Label: BloodLust! / Small Doses
Catalog Number: B!157 / DOSE89
Genre: Black Metal / Drone / Experimental / Noise / Power Electronics
BloodLust! and Small Doses are pleased to announce their co-release of "Territories," the second studio full-length from Locrian. The album was recorded in January 2009, at Phantom Manor Studios in Chicago, IL, and it features a group of collaborators including Blake Judd (Nachtmystium, Twilight), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), Andrew Scherer (Velnias), and Mark Solotroff (Anatomy of Habit, BLOODYMINDED). André Foisy and Terence Hannum have spent the last several years honing the Locrian sound and they have taken elements from noise, power-electronics, drone, and black metal to come up with a truly unique approach that reflects the sprawling urban decay that surrounds them in Chicago. After nearly two dozen releases, they have found themselves in the world of "Territories." For this release, Locrian has pulled out all of the stops and they have fleshed out the band with the help of Mark Solotroff on vocals and synthesizer, Blake Judd on guitar, Bruce Lamont on saxophone and vocals, and Andrew Scherer on drums. The results of this massive collaborative effort are apparent from the moment that the album starts. The textures run darker and deeper; the vocals -- sometimes three layers deep -- seem to be conjured from the decrepit muck of a failed civilization; the feedback takes on a more pronounced presence; and the augmented line-up allows for full-on black metal assaults that burst out of the tortured drones that Locrian have come to be known for. Truly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts, "Territories" may well be the most fully realized form of Locrian’s dystopian vision. As with their previous album, "Drenched Lands" (2009, At War With False Noise and Small Doses - CD; BloodLust! - LP), "Territories" was skillfully mastered by Jason Ward at Chicago Mastering Service, and the sound could not be more monumental. The limited edition LP version of "Territories," released in March 2010, garnered extremely strong critical attention (see selected reviews below) and we expect to reach even more ears and eyes with this new, handsome six-panel digipak compact disc edition.
Tracklisting:
1. "Inverted Ruins"
2. "Between Barrows"
3. "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism"
4. "Ring Road"
5. "Antediluvian Territory"
6. "The Columnless Arcade"
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Price: $12.00 USA/$14.00 Canada+Mexico/$16.00 Rest of World@postpaid
Please use bludlust@mindspring.com for PayPal payments
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Select reviews:
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From: Animal Psi
http://www.animalpsi.com/index.php?entry=entry100310-222717
And then they were a band. With huge contributions by Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), and Blake Judd (Nachtmystium), the pair of Foisy and Hannum are joined by drummer Andrew Scherer for three of the six tracks to fully realize the metal fetish which informs their distinct brutalism. Assembled by four labels, ‘Territories’ is not only a high watermark for Locrian but a remarkable good-faith gesture by several of the scene’s most vital patron-labels. Akin to the darkest of Coil’s private press, “Inverted Ruins” begins the disc with a single blade of head-splitting feedback quickly offset by a watery melody of synthesizer strain - the maneuver then reversed, reciprocated, cauterized into arbitrary chunks by a Whitehouse laser – and tattered, immediate percussion, all while Solotroff adds a wonderfully-dissembled John Balance sermon (lyrics included in the liner notes). Lamont’s saxophone smoothes out with sustained tones and murmuring strings in the cold-ass passage “Between Barrows”, a magnificent deception leading into the twin central peaks of “Procession of Ancestral Brutalism” and “Ring Road”: the former a deteriorating black metal of sheet-metal crash and howling vocals ala Wolves in the Throne Room, sooty with tape effects, its ten minutes are matched by the latter, a busy erasure of heat-swollen synth sequences and distorted guitar phased in trick wall of sound texture. Clean lines of guitar noir form the disc’s second interlude like a test track leading into the crackling transmissions which begin “The Columnless Arcade”, accumulating layers of noisy curtain which part midtrack to expose, like a secret less shameful than indulgent, a belligerent prog-metal of pull-offs, sustains, and woven notes - Hannum’s shredded vocals like a wraith beneath the glassy finish of whole tones of Locrian guitar and synthesizer which finally reveal themselves in full. It’s exceedingly rare to anticipate an album exploding onto the scene without some jaded sense of fluke connections or passing fancies but only by an essential power and brilliance which cannot be confused. ‘Territories’ is one of those moments, and it couldn’t happen to a more deserving outfit. And if this isn’t the moment which does it for Locrian, I’m probably not alone in feeling relief that they’ll be ours for a little longer. On black vinyl, limited to 500 copies. Highest recommendation.
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From: The One True Dead Angel
http://theonetruedeadangel.blogspot.com/2010/02/more-words-about-often-noisy-bands.html
Here we have an album so immense, so blackened, and so heavy that it required four separate labels to lift it off the ground and cram it down your throat. Part of what makes this one so heavy is the additional firepower they bring to the game -- their diabolical fusion of noise, drone, and black metal is augmented by additional sonic death courtesy of guests Andrew Scherer (Velnias) on drums, Blake Judd (Nachtmystium) on guitar, Bruce Lamont (Yakuza) on sax and vocals, and Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded, Anatomy of Habit) on electronics and guitar. With the duo of Locrian backed by a full band, the result is a sound that's louder, thicker, and goes off in more directions than ever before. The opening track, "Inverted Ruins," makes this clear from the beginning, with plodding drums, bowel-scraping noise, and a serious commitment to skin-crawling dissonance. "Between Barrows" opens with an ominous cyclotron drone that could have been lifted from one of their earlier albums, but soon it is overlaid with eerie cymbal washes straight out of the Book of Khanate and more power-electronics hum, and as the piece progresses, the drone and crackling noise are embellished by dark ambient washes and eerie feedback drones, all playing out in languid but anguished fashion, like an unsettling prelude to violence. That violence finally arrives in "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism," where -- after an uneasy introduction of vaguely atmospheric ambient noise -- a buzzing guitar, pounding drums, and pained howling swaddled in mountains of reverb usher the album firmly into pure, antagonistic black metal territory. "Ring Road" returns to the more familiar pleasures of grinding, near-industrial tones and screech-laden power electronics, a deliberately grating sound that evolves into a dark, throbbing drone made even more threatening by the alienated noises that rise and fall in the background; the song eventually dissolves into a swirl of static and devolved black metal guitar wailing, like a lost soul disappearing down a rabbit hole. "Antediluvian Territory" is not quite so sinister but every bit as eerie, with a plinking guitar figure creeping across a burnt ambient soundscape of fogged-out noise and cryptic tonal dread, while "The Columnless Arcade" ends the album with an orgy of noise fed through enormous amounts of delay and echo as huge, shuddering drone action threatens to topple the entire sonic architecture into a cold, poisoned ocean... and then the pounding drums, treble-heavy black metal guitar, and hellish vocals burst forth without warning and the sonic destruction REALLY begins. What a way to end a completely filler-free album. Heavy, heavy stuff, o my brothers and sisters, heavy stuff indeed. If you haven't been smart enough to worship Locrian yet, you really should pick this up and get with the program.
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From: Rock-A-Rolla
http://rock-a-rolla.com/
This is the point where Locrian's train picks up a shitload of devotees - the record that takes what's gone before and vaults it. The atoms of ambient, noise/drone, power electronics and black metal have been split and reconfigured in these six tracks. On Territories, the core of Andre Foisey and Terence Hannum may well be collaborating with other players, but this still feels like a truly Locrian record. Again they've scratched out a view of the world that's negative/dystopian/ugly, but infused the music with a metallic, detached sheen. Territories isn't a polished production by any stretch, but there are clean lines of Gristilised thought in amongst the jarring synths and gobbets of noise. With a handful of collaborators on drums, saxophone, guitars and vocals, it's Bloodyminded's Mark Solotroff who sounds most integral to Territories. His vocals are in turn brutal, lost, ugly and completely vital. An absolutely flooring album in an age where such things matter less and less. - Scott McKeating
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From: Stereogum
http://stereogum.com/340382/locrian-the-columnless-arcade/mp3s/
Written by: Brandon Stosuy
Locrian’s Territories ends with the torrentially uplifting “The Columnless Arcade.” The Chicago duo of André Foisy and Terence Hannum still create plenty of dark, crumbling, murky washes and spacious Prurient-on-Loren Mazzacane Connors noisescapes, but since their last collection Drenched Lands (and a handful of shorter 2009 releases), they’ve added a rock layer to the bleak ambiance. The assistance comes via a well-curated cast of Chicago-area metal/extreme music regulars: On the aforementioned closer and 11-minute mid-collection epic “Procession of Ancestral Brutalism,” the guys are joined by Nachtmystium’s Black Judd on guitars (plus vocals on “Procession”), Yakuza’s Bruce Lamont on saxophone, and Velnias‘ Andrew Scherer on drums. (Elsewhere, Bloodyminded’s Mark Solotroff shreds his vocal cords and affixes dense synth drone.) Last July I booked Locrian on an intentionally weirdo bill with three different kinds of grindcore groups (Anal Cunt, Fuck The Facts, and Compremesis) and a more straightforward progressive Opeth-style crew (Gwynbleidd). At time the time, Foisy and Hannum’s electric, spacious sheets of synthesized/looped noise and dense smoke machines created a gorgeous, religious-seeming swerve from the rest of the bill. A year later they’d still be the odd-men out, but they’d also be creating blackened anthems that’d give just about anyone a run for their blast beats. You get a bit of both worlds in “The Columnless Arcade.” Territories is out now on LP via At War with False Noise, Basses Frequences, Bloodlust!, and Small Doses. (It takes a nation.) It’ll be out on CD in August. More details on that soon. In the meantime, make room on your year-end lists.
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From: Stereokiller
http://www.stereokiller.com/newsreviews/article.cfm?Review=Locrian-Territories%20&intarticleid=9108
Eventually, it all comes back to noise. Every peak, every height, every genre inevitably gets broken down and reduced to its most primitive and minimalist essence, allowed to start anew, begin again, rise from the ashes… whatever. Proven time and time again, it’s the noise factor that allows for creative growth, its foundation suitable to build something cohesive. It makes sense, once you consider this, that the first decipherable statement to screech from the analog slump of “Inverted Ruins,” introductory track from ambient metal duo, Locrian, is “Tradition has failed.” Although more of an indictment of conventional wisdom, or the human tendency to allow habit to automatically dictate behavior, it’s also reason enough to create something unusual. Obviously. As constructors of their own brand of Avant noise metal, Locrian members André Foisy and Terence Hannum spend a lot of time fashioning aural dwellings, the amps kicking out less a form of music than a form of abstraction. Last year’s Drenched Lands was essentially a cassette playing back some nightmarish creations, bookended by six-string sorrow. Their new album, Territories, brings more music to the creepscape, “Inverted Ruins” a slow and steady blender of industrial squeal, garage percussion and synthesizer. The swelling science fiction tone of “Between Barrows” leads into “Procession of Ancestral Brutalism,” which is probably the album’s most straightforward moment. Guitars blaze, drums shatter, screams are buried under the weight of static and other obscuring noise pollutant. Stormy avalanches, industrial catastrophe, perpetual pulsations… “Ring Road” essentially breathes as guitars grind their way through the sonic murk, a hissing valve the suitable backdrop for loose guitar play in “Antediluvian Territory.” With “The Columnless Arcade,” Locrian generate a four-minute chorus line of machined drone before turning to their instruments for the song’s remaining length. Screams are cold and far off, the music itself surprisingly passionate. Melody gets some attention, Territories an attempt at building more out of Locrian’s dark expanses while not completely abandoning that part of their persona.
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From Womblife:
http://tinyurl.com/2d5seud
Even more satisfying is the newer Territories, a Locrian big band affair that features members of Bloodyminded, Nachtmystium, Velnias and Yoakuza along with the core of Andre Foisy and Terrance Hannum. As a result things definitely get opened up in terms of dynamics and diversity. "Inverted Ruins" offers a lurching funeral march of murky electronics and feedback beneath vocal howls that grow more intense and pissed off with each cycle across its 8 plus minutes. "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism," with Blake Judd on guitar and vocals, is a straight up black metal howler the likes of which his own band (Nachtmystium) has never conjured before -- atonal, screeching, howling at the bottomless black void metal -- designed to make your head explode before your soul crumbles into a ball of ash. How fun! Combine this with the more spectral hypnotic vibe of earlier Locrian disks, and you have something that's hard to ignore in the experimental drone metal realm. Territories comes in an edition of 500 on black vinyl, so don't dilly dally, you doom fixated dregs.
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From: Yellow Green Red
http://www.yellowgreenred.com/?p=1499
If it takes four record labels to put out one album, so be it, so long as it’s as nicely produced as Locrian’s Territories. Continuing in the spirit of cooperation, this one features a number of guest players, including none other than BLOODYMINDED’s Mark Solotroff on vocals and synthesizer, the type of collaboration any Chicago-based freak would envy. Speaking of synths, Territories has a lot of them, practically dominating the landscape where metallic guitars once reigned. There are still some fierce black metal guitar riffs here, which make for a nice balance, but my money’s on the synth-drone mood pieces; there might be just a little too much china cymbal for my tastes on the thrashing metal tracks. Their metalwork here is better than I am recalling, it’s just that when a track is credited to Solotroff’s synth and vocals, a bass guitar and another synthesizer, how can anything top that?
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Artist: Locrian
Title: "Territories"
Format: CD
Label: BloodLust! / Small Doses
Catalog Number: B!157 / DOSE89
Genre: Black Metal / Drone / Experimental / Noise / Power Electronics
BloodLust! and Small Doses are pleased to announce their co-release of "Territories," the second studio full-length from Locrian. The album was recorded in January 2009, at Phantom Manor Studios in Chicago, IL, and it features a group of collaborators including Blake Judd (Nachtmystium, Twilight), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), Andrew Scherer (Velnias), and Mark Solotroff (Anatomy of Habit, BLOODYMINDED). André Foisy and Terence Hannum have spent the last several years honing the Locrian sound and they have taken elements from noise, power-electronics, drone, and black metal to come up with a truly unique approach that reflects the sprawling urban decay that surrounds them in Chicago. After nearly two dozen releases, they have found themselves in the world of "Territories." For this release, Locrian has pulled out all of the stops and they have fleshed out the band with the help of Mark Solotroff on vocals and synthesizer, Blake Judd on guitar, Bruce Lamont on saxophone and vocals, and Andrew Scherer on drums. The results of this massive collaborative effort are apparent from the moment that the album starts. The textures run darker and deeper; the vocals -- sometimes three layers deep -- seem to be conjured from the decrepit muck of a failed civilization; the feedback takes on a more pronounced presence; and the augmented line-up allows for full-on black metal assaults that burst out of the tortured drones that Locrian have come to be known for. Truly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts, "Territories" may well be the most fully realized form of Locrian’s dystopian vision. As with their previous album, "Drenched Lands" (2009, At War With False Noise and Small Doses - CD; BloodLust! - LP), "Territories" was skillfully mastered by Jason Ward at Chicago Mastering Service, and the sound could not be more monumental. The limited edition LP version of "Territories," released in March 2010, garnered extremely strong critical attention (see selected reviews below) and we expect to reach even more ears and eyes with this new, handsome six-panel digipak compact disc edition.
Tracklisting:
1. "Inverted Ruins"
2. "Between Barrows"
3. "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism"
4. "Ring Road"
5. "Antediluvian Territory"
6. "The Columnless Arcade"
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Price: $12.00 USA/$14.00 Canada+Mexico/$16.00 Rest of World@postpaid
(Wholesale rates available to distributors, mail-order services, and record stores; please inquire)
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Select reviews:
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From: Animal Psi
http://www.animalpsi.com/index.php?entry=entry100310-222717
And then they were a band. With huge contributions by Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), and Blake Judd (Nachtmystium), the pair of Foisy and Hannum are joined by drummer Andrew Scherer for three of the six tracks to fully realize the metal fetish which informs their distinct brutalism. Assembled by four labels, ‘Territories’ is not only a high watermark for Locrian but a remarkable good-faith gesture by several of the scene’s most vital patron-labels. Akin to the darkest of Coil’s private press, “Inverted Ruins” begins the disc with a single blade of head-splitting feedback quickly offset by a watery melody of synthesizer strain - the maneuver then reversed, reciprocated, cauterized into arbitrary chunks by a Whitehouse laser – and tattered, immediate percussion, all while Solotroff adds a wonderfully-dissembled John Balance sermon (lyrics included in the liner notes). Lamont’s saxophone smoothes out with sustained tones and murmuring strings in the cold-ass passage “Between Barrows”, a magnificent deception leading into the twin central peaks of “Procession of Ancestral Brutalism” and “Ring Road”: the former a deteriorating black metal of sheet-metal crash and howling vocals ala Wolves in the Throne Room, sooty with tape effects, its ten minutes are matched by the latter, a busy erasure of heat-swollen synth sequences and distorted guitar phased in trick wall of sound texture. Clean lines of guitar noir form the disc’s second interlude like a test track leading into the crackling transmissions which begin “The Columnless Arcade”, accumulating layers of noisy curtain which part midtrack to expose, like a secret less shameful than indulgent, a belligerent prog-metal of pull-offs, sustains, and woven notes - Hannum’s shredded vocals like a wraith beneath the glassy finish of whole tones of Locrian guitar and synthesizer which finally reveal themselves in full. It’s exceedingly rare to anticipate an album exploding onto the scene without some jaded sense of fluke connections or passing fancies but only by an essential power and brilliance which cannot be confused. ‘Territories’ is one of those moments, and it couldn’t happen to a more deserving outfit. And if this isn’t the moment which does it for Locrian, I’m probably not alone in feeling relief that they’ll be ours for a little longer. On black vinyl, limited to 500 copies. Highest recommendation.
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From: Anti-Gravity Bunny
http://antigravitybunny.blogspot.com/2010/03/locrian-territories-at-war-with-false.html
Written by Justin Snow
Where the fuck do you start with a record like this? I guess the first thing I should mention (in case you didn't notice) is that Territories is too much of a monolithic beast to be contained by individual labels or continents. It took FOUR labels to put this thing out. That right there should clue you in as to how fucking massive this record is. Then there's the fact that this isn't just André & Terrence playing, like most Locrian releases. Nope, they've recruited, like, every awesome metal dude around. Mark Solotroff (of Bloodyminded) on vocals and synths, Blake Judd (of Nachtmystium) on guitar, Bruce Lamont (of Yakuza) on sax and vocals, and Andrew Scherer (of Velnias) on drums. DUDES. We get it. You're trying to make to most badass record ever. No need to go overboard (just kidding, always go overboard please). What Locrian usually go for is black. You know, black metal, blackened ambience, black doom, black noise, all the black one record can handle. But combine their entire discography's blackness and you still can't muster even a half hearted fight against the epic black hole that Territories. This record is fucking incredible. It opens with a super textured lurching hunchback of a song, with piercing squelches of feedback over a gurgling swamp of vocals and noise. The next song chills out a bit with some not-too-scary low end drone played by a mourning sax and commiserating synths, accentuated by spurts of crashing cymbals. But the third song is where they fucking kick it into gear. All out black metal fury that totally fucking annihilates in the most gorgeous way possible. I don't think I've heard them delve this far into the BM yet, and it's so. fucking. good. It's not especially fucked or twisted that way I normally like my black metal, but it's not too straightforward either. They balance the blast beats and wall of buzz with droning static and plodding thunder in a way that makes me think "Why don't they always do this? It's unbelievable." But then I listen to the rest of the record and remember why. Territories finishes with 3 more songs that really get into some true terror, blackened rumbling, traipsing thrumming, soaring static, and more of that torturous feedback. Clouds roll in and shit gets dark, heavy, and scary as fuck. Helicopters flying in launching tear gas rockets to stop the rioting masses, decrepit malfunctioning machines topple, rusted tetanus infections, doomsday alarms, the demise of our society. And it all culminates with a black metal march of triumph over the decay, proof that even in the Future American Dystopia, no matter how debased and degenerated we have become, it's still going to be fucking beautiful.
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From: Aquarius Records:
http://www.aquariusrecords.org/
With every single release these guys get better and better, their sound, a constantly evolving, ultra dense blend of abstract black metal and deep ambient dronemusic, the early records were more about energy and vibe than execution, still eminently listenable, heavy and atmospheric, black and brutal, but their skills as composers and arranges have definitely made leaps and bounds, arriving finally at Territories, the latest sprawling epic from this Chicago duo, here, aided and abetted by a whole bunch of guests, including Blake Judd from Nachtmystium, Andrew Scherer, drummer for black metallers Velnias, and Mark Solotroff, power electronics maestro, and man behind Bloody Minded and the BloodLust! label.
And the guests make their presence felt right away, on opener inverted ruins, a smoldering doomic plod, more power electronics than black metal, with Solotroff ranting over a sea of swirling buzz and skree, glitched out electronics, and some simple stripped down drumming. Over the course of the track, it begins to coalesce into a more ominous creep, shedding noise as it goes, before finally slipping into a deep shimmering drone, which introduces the next track, a lush, slow building cinematic dronescape, constantly shifting layers, drifting through clouds of cymbal shimmer and blackened buzzing strings. It's not until nearly the end of side one that black metal rears it's ugly head, a flurry of manic riffing, and they're off, a pounding midtempo blast of raw feral blackness, insane shrieked vocals, chaotic drums, muted riffs, all blurred into a blackened haze, lo-fi and muddy, but also epic and intense. The flipside opens with another bout of power electronics, dueling synths unfurl undulating layers of wheeze and warble and buzz, laced with shimmering overtones and fragmented melodies, a churning black sonic sea, that eventually fades out leaving, a smoldering stretch of shadowy guitar, of blissed out ambience, a short stretch of crystalline chiming guitars laid over a warm whir, shoegazey and blissed out, which finally leads into the closing track, the weirdest of the bunch, with organ and saxophone, acoustic guitars, and pretty much all the gusts present and accounted for, a bleak buzzing driftscape, sort of post industrial, keening melodies over fractured buzz, and deep rumbles, creaks and skree and groaning low end, finally explode into full on melodic black metal, martial drumming, epic riffing, more tortured vokills, cool tangled woozy minor key melodies, a swirling druggy ambience, weirdly catchy and otherworldly, but still heavy and psychedelic, maybe our favorite track, and the perfect way to wind down this serpentine blackened outsider drone metal journey...
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From: Bad Year Media
http://badyearmedia.blogspot.com/2010/03/locrian-territories.html
FUCK... BEFORE I SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE LP I HAVE TO SAY THAT LISTENING TO THESE SONGS PAINTS THE SAME PICTURE AS READING THE CORMAC MCCARTHY BOOK THE ROAD. AN ASHEN DEAD WORLD THAT HAS BEEN BURNED TO THE GROUND WHERE NOTHING LIVES. TERRITORIES IS EQUAL PARTS DRONE, BLACK METAL, DEVASTATING FEEDBACK, INCORPORATING MORE DRUMS, VOCALS. THESE...SONGS ARE INCREDIBLE. DIFFERENT FROM DRENCHED LANDS IN A GOOD WAY. IN A WAY THERE IS MORE TO THE TRACKS, MORE LAYERS THAT SEEM TO COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER.
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From: Blastitude
http://www.blastitude.com/28/index2.htm
Showing a continued intent to develop and reinvent themselves, Locrian augment their duo lineup with various key guests from Chicago’s metal, experimental, and experimental/metal scenes. The result is as solid and satisfying as all of Locrian’s releases have been, but given several fresh twists, which we hear right off the bat on “Inverted Ruins,” featuring Mark Solotroff of Bloodyminded doing a killer job singing bleak lyrics and Andrew Scherer of Velnias playing kit drums, I believe a first for Locrian. Other temporary members include Bruce Lamont of Yakuza on vocals and saxophone, and perhaps most notably Blake Judd of Nachtmystium on guitars and vocals. All four of these ringers appear throughout the album, in different combinations, but not on every track… though only one track (”Antediluvian Territory”) is by the original Locrian duo lineup, there is also only one track (”Procession of Ancestral Brutalism”) that features all six musicians. Not surprisingly, it explodes out of the middle of the album as the most raging and traditionally black metal sounding track on here, though I might prefer the nearly 10-minute Solotroff/Locrian trio cut “Ring Road.”
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From: Brainwashed
http://brainwashed.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8097&Itemid=96
Written by Creaig Dunton
Looking back, it has only been a bit over a year since the Greyfield Shrines LP, my first exposure to these guys, yet in that year I’ve heard as significant amount of development and change in their work. While that release was reminiscent of the intentionally minimalist drone of Sunn O))), subsequent work has brought in greater elements of noise, electronic music, and post-punk alternative. This LP is perhaps the ultimate culmination of that, being released by no less than four labels and featuring guest appearances from members of Bloodyminded, Nachtmystium, Yakuza, and Velnias. The change and evolution of their sound is immediate once "Inverted Ruins" launches. The carefully controlled feedback of Andre Foisy’s bass guitar and the simple echoed stabs of Terence Hannum’s synths could be on any of their releases, but the addition of live drums from Velnias member Andrew Scherer and the distant, disgusted vocals of Bloodyminded’s Mark Solotroff push the sound closer towards rock territory, while synthesizer drones and digital noise pull it in the opposite direction. The song slogs along at the pace of stoner rock, but there’s far more noise experimentation going on for it to drift into caveman riff-heavy Sabbath territory. The long "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism" embraces the squall of black metal, but with a distinct sound and structure that contradicts the genre’s infatuation with muffled flatulent production and cookie monster vocals. Aided by Nachtmystium’s Blake Judd on vocals and guitar, it’s not surprising that it conjures images of black metal, but the complex layering of guitars over Hannum’s almost prog-rock synth lines and Scherer’s freak out drumming, all with a cavalcade of vocal parts sounding like Mayhem and Can battling it out with neither side dominating the other. The closing "The Columnless Arcade" features the same line-up, with the addition of Yakuza’s Bruce Lamont on saxophone. The screamed tortured vocals and rapid staccato guitar also give a metallic sheen to the proceedings, but there is a greater aridness to the track, a bit more light let in. Shades of the post-punk guitar sound that appeared on the recent 7" split with Harpoon are here as well, giving a purer tone and color than other artists are usually able to muster. Between these longer pieces linger a few shorter, more sparse instrumental bits that are no less captivating. The sustained organ and insect saxophone of "Between Barrows" have a meditative quality that fits well between the louder, more boisterous tracks. Similarly, "Antediluvian Territory," which sits as the penultimate track, is a sparse duet of organ and guitar, which soars and rings on with a melancholy beauty that calls to mind, at least in mood, some of the best moments of the Cure’s Seventeen Seconds for some reason. This time last year I thought these guys were doing something different in the field of drone metal, which has continued to be an overly cluttered genre, but I wasn’t sure exactly what that difference was. While I have been concerned at their prolificness over the past year, their output has never been superfluous or unnecessary. Territories stands as the full realization of the tapes, EPs, and split 7" singles that the band has issued in this time, perfectly encapsulating their dark, dystopian sound with the ideal balance of pure heaviness and pensive drone. Topping this one will be tough, but I’m thinking they will be able to do it in time.
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From: Compulsion
http://www.compulsiononline.com/Locrian_Territories.htm
Locrian's previous album Drenched Lands was an impressive combination of guitar and keyboard improvisations carrying elements of drone, noise and pitch-black industrial ambience together with a slight nod towards black metal. With Territories the core duo Andre Foisy and Terence Hannum further develop their blackened atmospherics aided by an expanded line-up, featuring fellow Chicago based musicians including Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded and proprietor of BloodLust! label), Blake Judd (Nachtmystium), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza) and Andrew Scherer (Velnias). Right from the off you're surrounded by the controlled feedback squeals and electronic pulses of 'Inverted Ruins'. It carries over the Locrian sound of Drenched Lands but the presence of the collaborators is obvious; in the distant holler of Solotroff and the simple rock styled drum pounding from Andrew Scherer. The doom pace is filled with stuttering synthesiser howls and industrial ambience ebbing out on pulselike throbs. The static buzz drone of 'Between Barrows', punctuated by short bursts of crashing cymbal rolls, is accompanied by some restrained sax blurt and further on it picks up some sustained tense organ drone. Drenched Lands featured some stark and skeletal guitar work and that makes a welcome reappearance on 'Antediluvian Territory', the only track restricted to the core duo of Andre Foisy and Terence Hannum. Here spiralling shards of guitar are played off against ominous organ drone. It is wonderful stuff and way too brief. It's an approach I hope they pursue on future releases. And while there's elements of noise throughout Territories there's a definite power electronics feel to the opening minutes of 'Ring Road' with Solotroff's haranguing holler over wavering shrill feedback and monstrous low-end roar. It doesn't stay too long in power electronics mode as it gradually leads into dense churning electronics, with some guitar improvisation and crackling textures. One of the pivotal tracks of Territories, 'Procession of Ancestral Brutalism' starts quietly with feint feedback squeals and industrial ambience before upping the stakes with scorching black metal riffing, powerhouse drumming and screamed black hole aggro vocals spat out by Solotroff, Judd, Lamont and Hannum. 'Procession of Ancestral Brutalism' is inspired and dynamic like black metal filtered through the noise-rock of Zeni Geva or something. It may be black metal but with Locrian it is direct and resolutely shorn of the ideology or cliché. I guess much will be written about the black metal influenced tracks on Territories but the focus of Locrian remains very much on improvisation. If it's black metal you're seeking then I'm afraid you're gonna have to wade through a lot of black atmospherics to get there. Just listen to the shared guitar improvisations that comprise the opening minutes of 'The Columnless Arcade' before it cuts to the surging metal riffing, martial snare drum rolls and distant tortured screamed vocals. As ever it doesn't wallow too long in one place as Locrian cast their net wide trawling through wigged out terrain casting off elements of black metal with post-rock tunings into dense psychedelic murk. Given the amount of collaborators here Locrian never lose their identity; their sound is never engulfed by the collaborators. Territories is very much a Locrian record. All the hallmarks of their sound, as evidenced on their previous Drenched Lands release, can be found here. This time though with the aid of the collaborators they've been able to further explore areas only tentatively pursued before. Anyone interested in drone/doom sonics and noise/power electronics would be foolish to miss this as Territories is something of an avant metal drone fest. It's also a blast. As prolific as they are Locrian are running on a very low shit quotient and I'm already looking forward to wherever they go next. Great stuff. Released via the labels At War With False Noise, Basses Frequences, Bloodlust! And Small Doses on vinyl in an edition of 500 copies in and now on CD.
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From: Electric Voice Phenomenon
http://evpzine.blogspot.com/2010/03/reviewed-locrian-territories.html
The dark recesses visited by Locrian are all too familiar to those who have grappled with their inner demons with accompaniment by doom metal and industrial acts for the past quarter-century. The dark cloud that looms over Territories, the latest LP from Locrian, finds the group delving into the bottomless abyss of uncertainty. Album opener “Inverted Ruins” straddles the line of between industrial’s past and doom’s present. The vocals are gnarled and venomous, scratching out their story into the ebon ember melody. The slow and heavy pace is counterpointed by sharp, high-pitched screeching; the clawing of our hapless victim desperately attempting to dig his way out from under the endless layers of dirt in which he is buried. The trip into darkness is one Locrian has taken many times, yet one that will leave listeners deeply affected by the scorched tones in which they are repeatedly baptized. It’s this fearlessness that drives André Foisy and Terence Hannum’s vision. The combination of white noise, variable static, low-end tunings, and spatial arrangements turn Territories into a viscous mix of tar, oil, and mud that is unwashable. The machine gun guitar of “Procession of Ancestral Brutalism” mimics the frantic scrubs of Lady Macbeth unable to rinse the blood of her evil deeds away; the anguished screams represent her confrontation with her sins; the crashing cymbals the thunder claps of the gods passing their stern judgment upon her. Territories is all these and more. An album as complex and theme-heavy as classic literature and as technologically integrated as human flesh meeting cybernetic parts, Territories captures the malaise of modern living in its onyx-tinted Petri dish. As we swim around, confused by the blackness of our surroundings and confounded with how to clear up our messes, Locrian hovers in the disconnected netherworld capturing every emotion in its medieval ooze to cast us in plaster for ever more.
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From: Evening of Light
http://www.eveningoflight.nl/2010/08/06/review-locrian-territories-2010/
Reviewed by O.S.
Locrian‘s discography keeps growing at a steady pace, and with releases like this year’s Territories filling up the ranks, that is nothing to be ashamed of. The solid base of tearing guitars, drones, subtle synths and screeching noise is still here, but this time around, Andre Foisy and Terrence Hannum are joined by a variety of guest musicians, adding drums and other elements into the dystopian music. “Inverted Ruins” starts off slow, with plodding drums and ear-piercing high frequencies accompanying slowly descending chords and raw, dirty vocals. “Between Barrows” is a subtle layered ambient piece with organs and cymbal swells. The A-side closes with a short noisy guitar soundscape that morphs into a raw black metal track, opening new vistas for the band. The second half of the album has a similar curve, with “Ring Road” and “Antediluvian Territory” exploring melodies and drones, and the excellent final track, bringing more black metal after an otherworldly dual-guitar intro, and ending with some great melodic guitar leads over slower drums. This Territories LP is yet another example of the fascinating music of Locrian. It’s not quite metal, not quite ambient, but something in its own right: urban, industrial, raw, visionary, and dystopian. Genre-crossing music for the 21st century.
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From: KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle
http://tinyurl.com/28vc8cx
Written by Justin Spicer
Agitated Atmosphere
As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosphere hopes to pull back the curtain on a wealth of sights and sound from luminaries such as Locrian. The dark recesses visited by Locrian are all too familiar to those who have grappled with their inner demons with accompaniment by doom metal and industrial acts for the past quarter-century. The dark cloud that looms over Territories, the latest LP from Locrian through Small Doses, finds the group delving into the bottomless abyss of uncertainty. Album opener “Inverted Ruins” straddles the line of between industrial’s past and doom’s present. The vocals are gnarled and venomous, scratching out their story into the ebon ember melody. The slow and heavy pace is counterpointed by sharp, high-pitched screeching; the clawing of our hapless victim desperately attempting to dig his way out from under the endless layers of dirt in which he is buried. The trip into darkness is one Locrian has taken many times, yet one that will leave listeners deeply affected by the scorched tones in which they are repeatedly baptized. It’s this fearlessness that drives André Foisy and Terence Hannum’s vision. The combination of white noise, variable static, low-end tunings, and spatial arrangements turn Territories into a viscous mix of tar, oil, and mud that is unwashable. The machine gun guitar of “Procession of Ancestral Brutalism” mimics the frantic scrubs of Lady Macbeth unable to rinse the blood of her evil deeds away; the anguished screams represent her confrontation with her sins; the crashing cymbals the thunder claps of the gods passing their stern judgment upon her. Territories is all these and more. An album as complex and theme-heavy as classic literature and as technologically integrated as human flesh meeting cybernetic parts, Territories captures the malaise of modern living in its onyx-tinted Petri dish. As we swim around, confused by the blackness of our surroundings and confounded with how to clear up our messes, Locrian hovers in the disconnected netherworld capturing every emotion in its medieval ooze to cast us in plaster for ever more.
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From: OMG Vinyl
http://www.omgvinyl.com/2010/03/08/locrian-territories-lp/
The second vinyl album of forward-thinking metal from the peerless Locrian. It’s hard to attach a sub-genre to these guys, they incorporate a wide range of influences into a very cohesive whole, but that whole is definitely grey, oppressive and depressing (that’s a good thing if you like this kind of music). Totally nihilistic music made my two very nice gentlemen, Territories also includes contributions from members of Nachtmystium and Yakuza, among others.
http://antigravitybunny.blogspot.com/2010/03/locrian-territories-at-war-with-false.html
Written by Justin Snow
Where the fuck do you start with a record like this? I guess the first thing I should mention (in case you didn't notice) is that Territories is too much of a monolithic beast to be contained by individual labels or continents. It took FOUR labels to put this thing out. That right there should clue you in as to how fucking massive this record is. Then there's the fact that this isn't just André & Terrence playing, like most Locrian releases. Nope, they've recruited, like, every awesome metal dude around. Mark Solotroff (of Bloodyminded) on vocals and synths, Blake Judd (of Nachtmystium) on guitar, Bruce Lamont (of Yakuza) on sax and vocals, and Andrew Scherer (of Velnias) on drums. DUDES. We get it. You're trying to make to most badass record ever. No need to go overboard (just kidding, always go overboard please). What Locrian usually go for is black. You know, black metal, blackened ambience, black doom, black noise, all the black one record can handle. But combine their entire discography's blackness and you still can't muster even a half hearted fight against the epic black hole that Territories. This record is fucking incredible. It opens with a super textured lurching hunchback of a song, with piercing squelches of feedback over a gurgling swamp of vocals and noise. The next song chills out a bit with some not-too-scary low end drone played by a mourning sax and commiserating synths, accentuated by spurts of crashing cymbals. But the third song is where they fucking kick it into gear. All out black metal fury that totally fucking annihilates in the most gorgeous way possible. I don't think I've heard them delve this far into the BM yet, and it's so. fucking. good. It's not especially fucked or twisted that way I normally like my black metal, but it's not too straightforward either. They balance the blast beats and wall of buzz with droning static and plodding thunder in a way that makes me think "Why don't they always do this? It's unbelievable." But then I listen to the rest of the record and remember why. Territories finishes with 3 more songs that really get into some true terror, blackened rumbling, traipsing thrumming, soaring static, and more of that torturous feedback. Clouds roll in and shit gets dark, heavy, and scary as fuck. Helicopters flying in launching tear gas rockets to stop the rioting masses, decrepit malfunctioning machines topple, rusted tetanus infections, doomsday alarms, the demise of our society. And it all culminates with a black metal march of triumph over the decay, proof that even in the Future American Dystopia, no matter how debased and degenerated we have become, it's still going to be fucking beautiful.
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From: Aquarius Records:
http://www.aquariusrecords.org/
With every single release these guys get better and better, their sound, a constantly evolving, ultra dense blend of abstract black metal and deep ambient dronemusic, the early records were more about energy and vibe than execution, still eminently listenable, heavy and atmospheric, black and brutal, but their skills as composers and arranges have definitely made leaps and bounds, arriving finally at Territories, the latest sprawling epic from this Chicago duo, here, aided and abetted by a whole bunch of guests, including Blake Judd from Nachtmystium, Andrew Scherer, drummer for black metallers Velnias, and Mark Solotroff, power electronics maestro, and man behind Bloody Minded and the BloodLust! label.
And the guests make their presence felt right away, on opener inverted ruins, a smoldering doomic plod, more power electronics than black metal, with Solotroff ranting over a sea of swirling buzz and skree, glitched out electronics, and some simple stripped down drumming. Over the course of the track, it begins to coalesce into a more ominous creep, shedding noise as it goes, before finally slipping into a deep shimmering drone, which introduces the next track, a lush, slow building cinematic dronescape, constantly shifting layers, drifting through clouds of cymbal shimmer and blackened buzzing strings. It's not until nearly the end of side one that black metal rears it's ugly head, a flurry of manic riffing, and they're off, a pounding midtempo blast of raw feral blackness, insane shrieked vocals, chaotic drums, muted riffs, all blurred into a blackened haze, lo-fi and muddy, but also epic and intense. The flipside opens with another bout of power electronics, dueling synths unfurl undulating layers of wheeze and warble and buzz, laced with shimmering overtones and fragmented melodies, a churning black sonic sea, that eventually fades out leaving, a smoldering stretch of shadowy guitar, of blissed out ambience, a short stretch of crystalline chiming guitars laid over a warm whir, shoegazey and blissed out, which finally leads into the closing track, the weirdest of the bunch, with organ and saxophone, acoustic guitars, and pretty much all the gusts present and accounted for, a bleak buzzing driftscape, sort of post industrial, keening melodies over fractured buzz, and deep rumbles, creaks and skree and groaning low end, finally explode into full on melodic black metal, martial drumming, epic riffing, more tortured vokills, cool tangled woozy minor key melodies, a swirling druggy ambience, weirdly catchy and otherworldly, but still heavy and psychedelic, maybe our favorite track, and the perfect way to wind down this serpentine blackened outsider drone metal journey...
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From: Bad Year Media
http://badyearmedia.blogspot.com/2010/03/locrian-territories.html
FUCK... BEFORE I SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE LP I HAVE TO SAY THAT LISTENING TO THESE SONGS PAINTS THE SAME PICTURE AS READING THE CORMAC MCCARTHY BOOK THE ROAD. AN ASHEN DEAD WORLD THAT HAS BEEN BURNED TO THE GROUND WHERE NOTHING LIVES. TERRITORIES IS EQUAL PARTS DRONE, BLACK METAL, DEVASTATING FEEDBACK, INCORPORATING MORE DRUMS, VOCALS. THESE...SONGS ARE INCREDIBLE. DIFFERENT FROM DRENCHED LANDS IN A GOOD WAY. IN A WAY THERE IS MORE TO THE TRACKS, MORE LAYERS THAT SEEM TO COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER.
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From: Blastitude
http://www.blastitude.com/28/index2.htm
Showing a continued intent to develop and reinvent themselves, Locrian augment their duo lineup with various key guests from Chicago’s metal, experimental, and experimental/metal scenes. The result is as solid and satisfying as all of Locrian’s releases have been, but given several fresh twists, which we hear right off the bat on “Inverted Ruins,” featuring Mark Solotroff of Bloodyminded doing a killer job singing bleak lyrics and Andrew Scherer of Velnias playing kit drums, I believe a first for Locrian. Other temporary members include Bruce Lamont of Yakuza on vocals and saxophone, and perhaps most notably Blake Judd of Nachtmystium on guitars and vocals. All four of these ringers appear throughout the album, in different combinations, but not on every track… though only one track (”Antediluvian Territory”) is by the original Locrian duo lineup, there is also only one track (”Procession of Ancestral Brutalism”) that features all six musicians. Not surprisingly, it explodes out of the middle of the album as the most raging and traditionally black metal sounding track on here, though I might prefer the nearly 10-minute Solotroff/Locrian trio cut “Ring Road.”
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From: Brainwashed
http://brainwashed.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8097&Itemid=96
Written by Creaig Dunton
Looking back, it has only been a bit over a year since the Greyfield Shrines LP, my first exposure to these guys, yet in that year I’ve heard as significant amount of development and change in their work. While that release was reminiscent of the intentionally minimalist drone of Sunn O))), subsequent work has brought in greater elements of noise, electronic music, and post-punk alternative. This LP is perhaps the ultimate culmination of that, being released by no less than four labels and featuring guest appearances from members of Bloodyminded, Nachtmystium, Yakuza, and Velnias. The change and evolution of their sound is immediate once "Inverted Ruins" launches. The carefully controlled feedback of Andre Foisy’s bass guitar and the simple echoed stabs of Terence Hannum’s synths could be on any of their releases, but the addition of live drums from Velnias member Andrew Scherer and the distant, disgusted vocals of Bloodyminded’s Mark Solotroff push the sound closer towards rock territory, while synthesizer drones and digital noise pull it in the opposite direction. The song slogs along at the pace of stoner rock, but there’s far more noise experimentation going on for it to drift into caveman riff-heavy Sabbath territory. The long "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism" embraces the squall of black metal, but with a distinct sound and structure that contradicts the genre’s infatuation with muffled flatulent production and cookie monster vocals. Aided by Nachtmystium’s Blake Judd on vocals and guitar, it’s not surprising that it conjures images of black metal, but the complex layering of guitars over Hannum’s almost prog-rock synth lines and Scherer’s freak out drumming, all with a cavalcade of vocal parts sounding like Mayhem and Can battling it out with neither side dominating the other. The closing "The Columnless Arcade" features the same line-up, with the addition of Yakuza’s Bruce Lamont on saxophone. The screamed tortured vocals and rapid staccato guitar also give a metallic sheen to the proceedings, but there is a greater aridness to the track, a bit more light let in. Shades of the post-punk guitar sound that appeared on the recent 7" split with Harpoon are here as well, giving a purer tone and color than other artists are usually able to muster. Between these longer pieces linger a few shorter, more sparse instrumental bits that are no less captivating. The sustained organ and insect saxophone of "Between Barrows" have a meditative quality that fits well between the louder, more boisterous tracks. Similarly, "Antediluvian Territory," which sits as the penultimate track, is a sparse duet of organ and guitar, which soars and rings on with a melancholy beauty that calls to mind, at least in mood, some of the best moments of the Cure’s Seventeen Seconds for some reason. This time last year I thought these guys were doing something different in the field of drone metal, which has continued to be an overly cluttered genre, but I wasn’t sure exactly what that difference was. While I have been concerned at their prolificness over the past year, their output has never been superfluous or unnecessary. Territories stands as the full realization of the tapes, EPs, and split 7" singles that the band has issued in this time, perfectly encapsulating their dark, dystopian sound with the ideal balance of pure heaviness and pensive drone. Topping this one will be tough, but I’m thinking they will be able to do it in time.
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From: Compulsion
http://www.compulsiononline.com/Locrian_Territories.htm
Locrian's previous album Drenched Lands was an impressive combination of guitar and keyboard improvisations carrying elements of drone, noise and pitch-black industrial ambience together with a slight nod towards black metal. With Territories the core duo Andre Foisy and Terence Hannum further develop their blackened atmospherics aided by an expanded line-up, featuring fellow Chicago based musicians including Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded and proprietor of BloodLust! label), Blake Judd (Nachtmystium), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza) and Andrew Scherer (Velnias). Right from the off you're surrounded by the controlled feedback squeals and electronic pulses of 'Inverted Ruins'. It carries over the Locrian sound of Drenched Lands but the presence of the collaborators is obvious; in the distant holler of Solotroff and the simple rock styled drum pounding from Andrew Scherer. The doom pace is filled with stuttering synthesiser howls and industrial ambience ebbing out on pulselike throbs. The static buzz drone of 'Between Barrows', punctuated by short bursts of crashing cymbal rolls, is accompanied by some restrained sax blurt and further on it picks up some sustained tense organ drone. Drenched Lands featured some stark and skeletal guitar work and that makes a welcome reappearance on 'Antediluvian Territory', the only track restricted to the core duo of Andre Foisy and Terence Hannum. Here spiralling shards of guitar are played off against ominous organ drone. It is wonderful stuff and way too brief. It's an approach I hope they pursue on future releases. And while there's elements of noise throughout Territories there's a definite power electronics feel to the opening minutes of 'Ring Road' with Solotroff's haranguing holler over wavering shrill feedback and monstrous low-end roar. It doesn't stay too long in power electronics mode as it gradually leads into dense churning electronics, with some guitar improvisation and crackling textures. One of the pivotal tracks of Territories, 'Procession of Ancestral Brutalism' starts quietly with feint feedback squeals and industrial ambience before upping the stakes with scorching black metal riffing, powerhouse drumming and screamed black hole aggro vocals spat out by Solotroff, Judd, Lamont and Hannum. 'Procession of Ancestral Brutalism' is inspired and dynamic like black metal filtered through the noise-rock of Zeni Geva or something. It may be black metal but with Locrian it is direct and resolutely shorn of the ideology or cliché. I guess much will be written about the black metal influenced tracks on Territories but the focus of Locrian remains very much on improvisation. If it's black metal you're seeking then I'm afraid you're gonna have to wade through a lot of black atmospherics to get there. Just listen to the shared guitar improvisations that comprise the opening minutes of 'The Columnless Arcade' before it cuts to the surging metal riffing, martial snare drum rolls and distant tortured screamed vocals. As ever it doesn't wallow too long in one place as Locrian cast their net wide trawling through wigged out terrain casting off elements of black metal with post-rock tunings into dense psychedelic murk. Given the amount of collaborators here Locrian never lose their identity; their sound is never engulfed by the collaborators. Territories is very much a Locrian record. All the hallmarks of their sound, as evidenced on their previous Drenched Lands release, can be found here. This time though with the aid of the collaborators they've been able to further explore areas only tentatively pursued before. Anyone interested in drone/doom sonics and noise/power electronics would be foolish to miss this as Territories is something of an avant metal drone fest. It's also a blast. As prolific as they are Locrian are running on a very low shit quotient and I'm already looking forward to wherever they go next. Great stuff. Released via the labels At War With False Noise, Basses Frequences, Bloodlust! And Small Doses on vinyl in an edition of 500 copies in and now on CD.
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From: Electric Voice Phenomenon
http://evpzine.blogspot.com/2010/03/reviewed-locrian-territories.html
The dark recesses visited by Locrian are all too familiar to those who have grappled with their inner demons with accompaniment by doom metal and industrial acts for the past quarter-century. The dark cloud that looms over Territories, the latest LP from Locrian, finds the group delving into the bottomless abyss of uncertainty. Album opener “Inverted Ruins” straddles the line of between industrial’s past and doom’s present. The vocals are gnarled and venomous, scratching out their story into the ebon ember melody. The slow and heavy pace is counterpointed by sharp, high-pitched screeching; the clawing of our hapless victim desperately attempting to dig his way out from under the endless layers of dirt in which he is buried. The trip into darkness is one Locrian has taken many times, yet one that will leave listeners deeply affected by the scorched tones in which they are repeatedly baptized. It’s this fearlessness that drives André Foisy and Terence Hannum’s vision. The combination of white noise, variable static, low-end tunings, and spatial arrangements turn Territories into a viscous mix of tar, oil, and mud that is unwashable. The machine gun guitar of “Procession of Ancestral Brutalism” mimics the frantic scrubs of Lady Macbeth unable to rinse the blood of her evil deeds away; the anguished screams represent her confrontation with her sins; the crashing cymbals the thunder claps of the gods passing their stern judgment upon her. Territories is all these and more. An album as complex and theme-heavy as classic literature and as technologically integrated as human flesh meeting cybernetic parts, Territories captures the malaise of modern living in its onyx-tinted Petri dish. As we swim around, confused by the blackness of our surroundings and confounded with how to clear up our messes, Locrian hovers in the disconnected netherworld capturing every emotion in its medieval ooze to cast us in plaster for ever more.
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From: Evening of Light
http://www.eveningoflight.nl/2010/08/06/review-locrian-territories-2010/
Reviewed by O.S.
Locrian‘s discography keeps growing at a steady pace, and with releases like this year’s Territories filling up the ranks, that is nothing to be ashamed of. The solid base of tearing guitars, drones, subtle synths and screeching noise is still here, but this time around, Andre Foisy and Terrence Hannum are joined by a variety of guest musicians, adding drums and other elements into the dystopian music. “Inverted Ruins” starts off slow, with plodding drums and ear-piercing high frequencies accompanying slowly descending chords and raw, dirty vocals. “Between Barrows” is a subtle layered ambient piece with organs and cymbal swells. The A-side closes with a short noisy guitar soundscape that morphs into a raw black metal track, opening new vistas for the band. The second half of the album has a similar curve, with “Ring Road” and “Antediluvian Territory” exploring melodies and drones, and the excellent final track, bringing more black metal after an otherworldly dual-guitar intro, and ending with some great melodic guitar leads over slower drums. This Territories LP is yet another example of the fascinating music of Locrian. It’s not quite metal, not quite ambient, but something in its own right: urban, industrial, raw, visionary, and dystopian. Genre-crossing music for the 21st century.
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From: KEXP 90.3 FM Seattle
http://tinyurl.com/28vc8cx
Written by Justin Spicer
Agitated Atmosphere
As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosphere hopes to pull back the curtain on a wealth of sights and sound from luminaries such as Locrian. The dark recesses visited by Locrian are all too familiar to those who have grappled with their inner demons with accompaniment by doom metal and industrial acts for the past quarter-century. The dark cloud that looms over Territories, the latest LP from Locrian through Small Doses, finds the group delving into the bottomless abyss of uncertainty. Album opener “Inverted Ruins” straddles the line of between industrial’s past and doom’s present. The vocals are gnarled and venomous, scratching out their story into the ebon ember melody. The slow and heavy pace is counterpointed by sharp, high-pitched screeching; the clawing of our hapless victim desperately attempting to dig his way out from under the endless layers of dirt in which he is buried. The trip into darkness is one Locrian has taken many times, yet one that will leave listeners deeply affected by the scorched tones in which they are repeatedly baptized. It’s this fearlessness that drives André Foisy and Terence Hannum’s vision. The combination of white noise, variable static, low-end tunings, and spatial arrangements turn Territories into a viscous mix of tar, oil, and mud that is unwashable. The machine gun guitar of “Procession of Ancestral Brutalism” mimics the frantic scrubs of Lady Macbeth unable to rinse the blood of her evil deeds away; the anguished screams represent her confrontation with her sins; the crashing cymbals the thunder claps of the gods passing their stern judgment upon her. Territories is all these and more. An album as complex and theme-heavy as classic literature and as technologically integrated as human flesh meeting cybernetic parts, Territories captures the malaise of modern living in its onyx-tinted Petri dish. As we swim around, confused by the blackness of our surroundings and confounded with how to clear up our messes, Locrian hovers in the disconnected netherworld capturing every emotion in its medieval ooze to cast us in plaster for ever more.
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From: OMG Vinyl
http://www.omgvinyl.com/2010/03/08/locrian-territories-lp/
The second vinyl album of forward-thinking metal from the peerless Locrian. It’s hard to attach a sub-genre to these guys, they incorporate a wide range of influences into a very cohesive whole, but that whole is definitely grey, oppressive and depressing (that’s a good thing if you like this kind of music). Totally nihilistic music made my two very nice gentlemen, Territories also includes contributions from members of Nachtmystium and Yakuza, among others.
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From: The One True Dead Angel
http://theonetruedeadangel.blogspot.com/2010/02/more-words-about-often-noisy-bands.html
Here we have an album so immense, so blackened, and so heavy that it required four separate labels to lift it off the ground and cram it down your throat. Part of what makes this one so heavy is the additional firepower they bring to the game -- their diabolical fusion of noise, drone, and black metal is augmented by additional sonic death courtesy of guests Andrew Scherer (Velnias) on drums, Blake Judd (Nachtmystium) on guitar, Bruce Lamont (Yakuza) on sax and vocals, and Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded, Anatomy of Habit) on electronics and guitar. With the duo of Locrian backed by a full band, the result is a sound that's louder, thicker, and goes off in more directions than ever before. The opening track, "Inverted Ruins," makes this clear from the beginning, with plodding drums, bowel-scraping noise, and a serious commitment to skin-crawling dissonance. "Between Barrows" opens with an ominous cyclotron drone that could have been lifted from one of their earlier albums, but soon it is overlaid with eerie cymbal washes straight out of the Book of Khanate and more power-electronics hum, and as the piece progresses, the drone and crackling noise are embellished by dark ambient washes and eerie feedback drones, all playing out in languid but anguished fashion, like an unsettling prelude to violence. That violence finally arrives in "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism," where -- after an uneasy introduction of vaguely atmospheric ambient noise -- a buzzing guitar, pounding drums, and pained howling swaddled in mountains of reverb usher the album firmly into pure, antagonistic black metal territory. "Ring Road" returns to the more familiar pleasures of grinding, near-industrial tones and screech-laden power electronics, a deliberately grating sound that evolves into a dark, throbbing drone made even more threatening by the alienated noises that rise and fall in the background; the song eventually dissolves into a swirl of static and devolved black metal guitar wailing, like a lost soul disappearing down a rabbit hole. "Antediluvian Territory" is not quite so sinister but every bit as eerie, with a plinking guitar figure creeping across a burnt ambient soundscape of fogged-out noise and cryptic tonal dread, while "The Columnless Arcade" ends the album with an orgy of noise fed through enormous amounts of delay and echo as huge, shuddering drone action threatens to topple the entire sonic architecture into a cold, poisoned ocean... and then the pounding drums, treble-heavy black metal guitar, and hellish vocals burst forth without warning and the sonic destruction REALLY begins. What a way to end a completely filler-free album. Heavy, heavy stuff, o my brothers and sisters, heavy stuff indeed. If you haven't been smart enough to worship Locrian yet, you really should pick this up and get with the program.
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From: Rock-A-Rolla
http://rock-a-rolla.com/
This is the point where Locrian's train picks up a shitload of devotees - the record that takes what's gone before and vaults it. The atoms of ambient, noise/drone, power electronics and black metal have been split and reconfigured in these six tracks. On Territories, the core of Andre Foisey and Terence Hannum may well be collaborating with other players, but this still feels like a truly Locrian record. Again they've scratched out a view of the world that's negative/dystopian/ugly, but infused the music with a metallic, detached sheen. Territories isn't a polished production by any stretch, but there are clean lines of Gristilised thought in amongst the jarring synths and gobbets of noise. With a handful of collaborators on drums, saxophone, guitars and vocals, it's Bloodyminded's Mark Solotroff who sounds most integral to Territories. His vocals are in turn brutal, lost, ugly and completely vital. An absolutely flooring album in an age where such things matter less and less. - Scott McKeating
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From: Stereogum
http://stereogum.com/340382/locrian-the-columnless-arcade/mp3s/
Written by: Brandon Stosuy
Locrian’s Territories ends with the torrentially uplifting “The Columnless Arcade.” The Chicago duo of André Foisy and Terence Hannum still create plenty of dark, crumbling, murky washes and spacious Prurient-on-Loren Mazzacane Connors noisescapes, but since their last collection Drenched Lands (and a handful of shorter 2009 releases), they’ve added a rock layer to the bleak ambiance. The assistance comes via a well-curated cast of Chicago-area metal/extreme music regulars: On the aforementioned closer and 11-minute mid-collection epic “Procession of Ancestral Brutalism,” the guys are joined by Nachtmystium’s Black Judd on guitars (plus vocals on “Procession”), Yakuza’s Bruce Lamont on saxophone, and Velnias‘ Andrew Scherer on drums. (Elsewhere, Bloodyminded’s Mark Solotroff shreds his vocal cords and affixes dense synth drone.) Last July I booked Locrian on an intentionally weirdo bill with three different kinds of grindcore groups (Anal Cunt, Fuck The Facts, and Compremesis) and a more straightforward progressive Opeth-style crew (Gwynbleidd). At time the time, Foisy and Hannum’s electric, spacious sheets of synthesized/looped noise and dense smoke machines created a gorgeous, religious-seeming swerve from the rest of the bill. A year later they’d still be the odd-men out, but they’d also be creating blackened anthems that’d give just about anyone a run for their blast beats. You get a bit of both worlds in “The Columnless Arcade.” Territories is out now on LP via At War with False Noise, Basses Frequences, Bloodlust!, and Small Doses. (It takes a nation.) It’ll be out on CD in August. More details on that soon. In the meantime, make room on your year-end lists.
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From: Stereokiller
http://www.stereokiller.com/newsreviews/article.cfm?Review=Locrian-Territories%20&intarticleid=9108
Eventually, it all comes back to noise. Every peak, every height, every genre inevitably gets broken down and reduced to its most primitive and minimalist essence, allowed to start anew, begin again, rise from the ashes… whatever. Proven time and time again, it’s the noise factor that allows for creative growth, its foundation suitable to build something cohesive. It makes sense, once you consider this, that the first decipherable statement to screech from the analog slump of “Inverted Ruins,” introductory track from ambient metal duo, Locrian, is “Tradition has failed.” Although more of an indictment of conventional wisdom, or the human tendency to allow habit to automatically dictate behavior, it’s also reason enough to create something unusual. Obviously. As constructors of their own brand of Avant noise metal, Locrian members André Foisy and Terence Hannum spend a lot of time fashioning aural dwellings, the amps kicking out less a form of music than a form of abstraction. Last year’s Drenched Lands was essentially a cassette playing back some nightmarish creations, bookended by six-string sorrow. Their new album, Territories, brings more music to the creepscape, “Inverted Ruins” a slow and steady blender of industrial squeal, garage percussion and synthesizer. The swelling science fiction tone of “Between Barrows” leads into “Procession of Ancestral Brutalism,” which is probably the album’s most straightforward moment. Guitars blaze, drums shatter, screams are buried under the weight of static and other obscuring noise pollutant. Stormy avalanches, industrial catastrophe, perpetual pulsations… “Ring Road” essentially breathes as guitars grind their way through the sonic murk, a hissing valve the suitable backdrop for loose guitar play in “Antediluvian Territory.” With “The Columnless Arcade,” Locrian generate a four-minute chorus line of machined drone before turning to their instruments for the song’s remaining length. Screams are cold and far off, the music itself surprisingly passionate. Melody gets some attention, Territories an attempt at building more out of Locrian’s dark expanses while not completely abandoning that part of their persona.
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From Womblife:
http://tinyurl.com/2d5seud
Even more satisfying is the newer Territories, a Locrian big band affair that features members of Bloodyminded, Nachtmystium, Velnias and Yoakuza along with the core of Andre Foisy and Terrance Hannum. As a result things definitely get opened up in terms of dynamics and diversity. "Inverted Ruins" offers a lurching funeral march of murky electronics and feedback beneath vocal howls that grow more intense and pissed off with each cycle across its 8 plus minutes. "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism," with Blake Judd on guitar and vocals, is a straight up black metal howler the likes of which his own band (Nachtmystium) has never conjured before -- atonal, screeching, howling at the bottomless black void metal -- designed to make your head explode before your soul crumbles into a ball of ash. How fun! Combine this with the more spectral hypnotic vibe of earlier Locrian disks, and you have something that's hard to ignore in the experimental drone metal realm. Territories comes in an edition of 500 on black vinyl, so don't dilly dally, you doom fixated dregs.
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From: Yellow Green Red
http://www.yellowgreenred.com/?p=1499
If it takes four record labels to put out one album, so be it, so long as it’s as nicely produced as Locrian’s Territories. Continuing in the spirit of cooperation, this one features a number of guest players, including none other than BLOODYMINDED’s Mark Solotroff on vocals and synthesizer, the type of collaboration any Chicago-based freak would envy. Speaking of synths, Territories has a lot of them, practically dominating the landscape where metallic guitars once reigned. There are still some fierce black metal guitar riffs here, which make for a nice balance, but my money’s on the synth-drone mood pieces; there might be just a little too much china cymbal for my tastes on the thrashing metal tracks. Their metalwork here is better than I am recalling, it’s just that when a track is credited to Solotroff’s synth and vocals, a bass guitar and another synthesizer, how can anything top that?
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Thursday, August 12, 2010
Womblife on Locrian
From Womblife
Locrian Rain of Ashes (Basses Frequencies) / Territories (At War With False Noise/Basses Frequencies/Bloodlust!/Small Doses) CD / LP - Two more doses of dismal metallic drone from Chicago's mighty Locrian, a band that possibly takes its cues from the bad boys mentioned above, Wolf Eyes, early Swans, black metal and even Fripp/Eno. Rain of Ashes offers an hour of live delirium captured for a radio broadcast. It opens on a sedated repetitive note with distant minor keys crawling up the spine like tiny black spiders before immersing the listener in an enveloping cacophony of tortured howls and feedback blizzards designed to disorient and overpower at extreme volumes. It's not a bad soundtrack for trailing off into a nightmare slumber if you can pass out before the screams come in.
Locrian Rain of Ashes (Basses Frequencies) / Territories (At War With False Noise/Basses Frequencies/Bloodlust!/Small Doses) CD / LP - Two more doses of dismal metallic drone from Chicago's mighty Locrian, a band that possibly takes its cues from the bad boys mentioned above, Wolf Eyes, early Swans, black metal and even Fripp/Eno. Rain of Ashes offers an hour of live delirium captured for a radio broadcast. It opens on a sedated repetitive note with distant minor keys crawling up the spine like tiny black spiders before immersing the listener in an enveloping cacophony of tortured howls and feedback blizzards designed to disorient and overpower at extreme volumes. It's not a bad soundtrack for trailing off into a nightmare slumber if you can pass out before the screams come in.
Even more satisfying is the newer Territories, a Locrian big band affair that features members of Bloodyminded, Nachtmystium, Velnias and Yoakuza along with the core of Andre Foisy and Terrance Hannum. As a result things definitely get opened up in terms of dynamics and diversity. "Inverted Ruins" offers a lurching funeral march of murky electronics and feedback beneath vocal howls that grow more intense and pissed off with each cycle across its 8 plus minutes. "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism," with Blake Judd on guitar and vocals, is a straight up black metal howler the likes of which his own band (Nachtmystium) has never conjured before -- atonal, screeching, howling at the bottomless black void metal -- designed to make your head explode before your soul crumbles into a ball of ash. How fun! Combine this with the more spectral hypnotic vibe of earlier Locrian disks, and you have something that's hard to ignore in the experimental drone metal realm. Territories comes in an edition of 500 on black vinyl, so don't dilly dally, you doom fixated dregs.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Zero Tolerance on Locrian Territories
Here is a scan of a nice review written by Louis Pattison and published by our friends at Zero Tolerance
(click to enlarge)
Cracked on Locrian
Here is a recent review of the Locrian "Territories" LP from Austria's Cracked zine:
LOCRIAN – territories
Dystopias always had a big place especially within noisy and dark circles of heavy music. From Wolf Eyes to Sunn0))) the aural description of the downfall of society, the destruction of nature by mankind and the ongoing global suicide by humanity has been a source for all kinds of impressive and great music. Especially droning, noisy and heavy music. And it is also true that there is an intricate beauty in these sentiments. That the random rust, obliteration or damage on abandoned buildings or factories has its own fascinating aesthetic. (Check out http://www.opacity.us/ for further input.) So far it seems there is no need to conjure up foreign fantasy worlds with dragons or demons or devils to find powerful images of destruction. Actually, to me, all this fantasy shit is a sign of lacking creativity to me.
The new Locrian CD somehow got buried underneath the rubble that stacks beneath my stereo system and seems to grow by itself like the trash mountains outside an urban metropolis. It is thematically a fitting place, but completely unfitting as “territories” is probably the most mature and evolved release of Locrian I have heard up to now. A lot has been said and written about the kinds of nightmares and storylines the music of Locrian has kindled in the minds of reviewers, but with their first full band approach the music has turned one step bigger, two steps more complex and three steps higher on impact. André Foisy and Terence Hannum, who are still the main powerlines of Locrian, have recruited a small crew of likeminded musicians to blow up their visions into real nightmare size.
There are some names you might now if you are deep into the genres of doom, black metal and general darkness in music. And especially those parts where they mix with even further out ideas, such as urban noise, dark drones and ambient or the as of yet unnamed number of musicians interested in the humming and buzzing of deep bass sounds alone. To be specific: Andrew Scherer from Velnias on drums, Bruce Lamont from Yakuza on Saxophone, Black Judd from Nachtmystium on guitar and Mark Solotroff from Bloodyminded and Anatomy of Habit on more vocals and synthesizers. It is still astonishing how Locrian are one of the few bands employing a number of keyboards and even a saxophone and still sound dark, heavy and as doom as possible. Actually, it should be astonishing that this is still astonishing in the 21st century. Maybe it should be astonishing that we are still alive in the 21st century, but this is a different thought.
Locrian have always dwelled in slow paces, and they do so now within their self-defined, lose bandcontext as well. They dive into these long-winding powernoise drones with intricate shifts in frequencies that suddenly turn into a black metal track without ever losing the epic proportions (“Procession of ancestral Brutalism”). It is these moments that I think fit them best and work to the biggest impact in the new line-up. The pure explorations of bass versus feedback versus noise versus the sounds of urban decay are still interesting, darkly fascinating and able to induce all kinds of unruly thinking. Just how they mix a melancholic organ line with feedback and rumbling noise somewhere deep in “Ring Road” is a moment of radiating beauty. But finally it is those headbanging moments (even if it is very slow banging) that are new and powerful and therefore most remarkable.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Nice review of Plague Bringer/Eyehategod...
Here is a really nice write up of the Saturday show from: http://metalrunsinmyveins.blogspot.com/2010/06/skull-at-empty-bottle-for-eyehategod.html
Bands: Eyehategod, Nachtmystium, Plague Bringer, Strong Intention, and Weekend Nachos
Venue: The Empty Bottle, Chicago, Illinois
Date: June 19th, 2010
By: Skull
“Being quite used to shaking off my buzz and burning the midnight oil while trying to immediately purge memories from a night of live metal, I am somewhat not used to rehashing a couple of days removed. Considering my altered state last Saturday night at the Eyehategod show at The Empty Bottle, I ask for your patience, and maybe even a willingness to turn a blind eye to whatever mistakes or foggy recollections are haphazardly documented in this entry.
Arriving 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the first set, which is horrendously late for me, my lady Kelly and I popped into the adjacent “The Bite Café” for yet another go at their incredible green curry chicken dish. Yes, every single time I hit The Empty Bottle for a show, you will again hear me praise this culinary wonder.
Making our entrance to the club shortly thereafter, we snagged a drink (the first of many) and took a spot towards the back for the first set from up and coming hardcore enthusiasts Weekend Nachos. I was surprised that The Empty Bottle was already more than half full, and the crowd was collecting up close to the stage. WN kicked into a short set of high energy, sludge spattered hardcore with reckless abandon. It took a couple of numbers for me to warm up to them, but the crowd was already well versed and familiar with the guys, giving them a great response. I’m not sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I could swear I saw Snyder, their amusing vocalist, check on his cell phone towards the end of the set. I’ve never seen that done before on stage. Awesome.
After a curiously long changeover, and another barley pop later, Strong Intention, a trio from Maryland (?), began their slot. The crowd gave them a wide berth, giving the appearance that they shared my unfamiliarity with the band. I could swear that I heard SI play the first song three times over before they opened up and showed a little more diversity. Playing, at times, a seriously fast mix of hardcore, crossover, and grind, I found myself enjoying the second half of their performance a bit more than the first. The growing crowd, not as enthused as they were with WN, also became more responsive and did give them a more than polite round of applause as SI started breaking down their set.
Smoke. Drink.
Now, Anal Cunt had originally been in the evening’s lineup, and were removed a week or so before the show. I do not know the reason why, but it must have been an act of god (editor: ?), because what we witnessed for the next 40 minutes or so truly blew my mind. Another local act, Plague Bringer, took the stage and captivated the mob with a short set of heavy, riff laden industrial grind. Absorbing the two man act with Greg on guitar and Josh sticking to incredible shrieking vocals backed up by programmed drumming and droning effects, I stood aghast as my jaw hit the floor. Extremely focused on their art, PB gained our full attention and never lost it.
For their last number (“One into Parts,” a yet to be released track), Plague Bringer brought up Mark Solotroff, a prominent figure from the Chicago Industrial/Electronica music scene to assist with vocals. He carried with him a hand held synthesizer that couldn’t have been larger than an iPhone. At first, I thought that it was a camera and he was capturing his viewpoint on video, but I learned later that he was actually contributing something to their overwhelming sound with it. His initial moaning and clean vocal style was in stark contrast, but also very complimentary, to Josh’s delivery. The collaboration was nothing less than amazing. Plague Bringer could have played that one cut alone and I would still have felt the satisfaction of a complete set. As they began breaking down to a generous ovation, I must have looked like I had just seen a ghost. Speaking briefly with Greg later in the evening, I found out that they are in between labels with new material to release.
After stepping outside for yet another carcinogenic fix, we noticed that the club had posted a “Sold Out” sign at the door. The place was now jam-packed for Nachtmystium. Still getting a decent spot, we were then treated to an exceptional set by Blake Judd and company. Playing with ferocity and drive, they killed their home fans with an onslaught of selections from their repertoire. Losing the bass due to a broken string during “A Seed for Suffering”, they still pulled it off professionalism and poise. The new material went over well, although they omitted the curious “No Funeral” from their set list. I was very interested as to what the crowd reaction would have been if they had pulled that one out. Closing up with “One of These Nights/ Assassins,” Nachtmystium left the stage to a huge amount of appreciative applause. My only complaint was that they didn’t have more time.
Returning back inside after another butt, we soon realized our outdoor expedition was ill-advised this time around for there was almost literally nowhere for us to stand to see one of the main pioneers of sludge. Our backs were practically pressed up to the soundboard wall as Eyehategod took to the stage and ripped into “Depress,” kicking off their journey back in time covering “In the Name of Suffering” in its entirety. What can one say about witnessing such a grand event? I sit at the keyboard with almost still hands. Especially since I turned on to EHG later in life, and also due to alcohol poisoning and sheer ignorance, I cannot even account an accurate summation of what they played.
EHG completely saturated the multitudes with filth. Patton’s and Bower’s skull crushing riffs flattened the crowd while Williams’ unique vocal style, and humor, entertained and pumped us up. The floor in front of the stage was a sea of movement with people banging their heads, while also sustaining a pit despite the sheer density of concertgoers that should have prevented it. Head surfing and some stage diving developed, as well, as EHG moved on from their debut full length into a montage of selections from other releases.
There are no highlights, in a manner of speaking, due to the fact that EHG simply did not loosen their grip on Chicago for the entire length of the set. Due to my state of semi-inebriation at the time, I can’t even give you an estimate of the length of EHG’s set, except that it was a good long while. EHG left us tattered and shaken, but craving more. Before leaving the stage, Williams plugged the following night’s return of EHG to The Empty Bottle. Sadly, I would not be able to attend due to holiday obligations, although my mind would spend the entire day trying to unsuccessfully scheme my way around it…”
Venue: The Empty Bottle, Chicago, Illinois
Date: June 19th, 2010
By: Skull
“Being quite used to shaking off my buzz and burning the midnight oil while trying to immediately purge memories from a night of live metal, I am somewhat not used to rehashing a couple of days removed. Considering my altered state last Saturday night at the Eyehategod show at The Empty Bottle, I ask for your patience, and maybe even a willingness to turn a blind eye to whatever mistakes or foggy recollections are haphazardly documented in this entry.
Arriving 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the first set, which is horrendously late for me, my lady Kelly and I popped into the adjacent “The Bite Café” for yet another go at their incredible green curry chicken dish. Yes, every single time I hit The Empty Bottle for a show, you will again hear me praise this culinary wonder.
Making our entrance to the club shortly thereafter, we snagged a drink (the first of many) and took a spot towards the back for the first set from up and coming hardcore enthusiasts Weekend Nachos. I was surprised that The Empty Bottle was already more than half full, and the crowd was collecting up close to the stage. WN kicked into a short set of high energy, sludge spattered hardcore with reckless abandon. It took a couple of numbers for me to warm up to them, but the crowd was already well versed and familiar with the guys, giving them a great response. I’m not sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I could swear I saw Snyder, their amusing vocalist, check on his cell phone towards the end of the set. I’ve never seen that done before on stage. Awesome.
After a curiously long changeover, and another barley pop later, Strong Intention, a trio from Maryland (?), began their slot. The crowd gave them a wide berth, giving the appearance that they shared my unfamiliarity with the band. I could swear that I heard SI play the first song three times over before they opened up and showed a little more diversity. Playing, at times, a seriously fast mix of hardcore, crossover, and grind, I found myself enjoying the second half of their performance a bit more than the first. The growing crowd, not as enthused as they were with WN, also became more responsive and did give them a more than polite round of applause as SI started breaking down their set.
Smoke. Drink.
Now, Anal Cunt had originally been in the evening’s lineup, and were removed a week or so before the show. I do not know the reason why, but it must have been an act of god (editor: ?), because what we witnessed for the next 40 minutes or so truly blew my mind. Another local act, Plague Bringer, took the stage and captivated the mob with a short set of heavy, riff laden industrial grind. Absorbing the two man act with Greg on guitar and Josh sticking to incredible shrieking vocals backed up by programmed drumming and droning effects, I stood aghast as my jaw hit the floor. Extremely focused on their art, PB gained our full attention and never lost it.
For their last number (“One into Parts,” a yet to be released track), Plague Bringer brought up Mark Solotroff, a prominent figure from the Chicago Industrial/Electronica music scene to assist with vocals. He carried with him a hand held synthesizer that couldn’t have been larger than an iPhone. At first, I thought that it was a camera and he was capturing his viewpoint on video, but I learned later that he was actually contributing something to their overwhelming sound with it. His initial moaning and clean vocal style was in stark contrast, but also very complimentary, to Josh’s delivery. The collaboration was nothing less than amazing. Plague Bringer could have played that one cut alone and I would still have felt the satisfaction of a complete set. As they began breaking down to a generous ovation, I must have looked like I had just seen a ghost. Speaking briefly with Greg later in the evening, I found out that they are in between labels with new material to release.
After stepping outside for yet another carcinogenic fix, we noticed that the club had posted a “Sold Out” sign at the door. The place was now jam-packed for Nachtmystium. Still getting a decent spot, we were then treated to an exceptional set by Blake Judd and company. Playing with ferocity and drive, they killed their home fans with an onslaught of selections from their repertoire. Losing the bass due to a broken string during “A Seed for Suffering”, they still pulled it off professionalism and poise. The new material went over well, although they omitted the curious “No Funeral” from their set list. I was very interested as to what the crowd reaction would have been if they had pulled that one out. Closing up with “One of These Nights/ Assassins,” Nachtmystium left the stage to a huge amount of appreciative applause. My only complaint was that they didn’t have more time.
Returning back inside after another butt, we soon realized our outdoor expedition was ill-advised this time around for there was almost literally nowhere for us to stand to see one of the main pioneers of sludge. Our backs were practically pressed up to the soundboard wall as Eyehategod took to the stage and ripped into “Depress,” kicking off their journey back in time covering “In the Name of Suffering” in its entirety. What can one say about witnessing such a grand event? I sit at the keyboard with almost still hands. Especially since I turned on to EHG later in life, and also due to alcohol poisoning and sheer ignorance, I cannot even account an accurate summation of what they played.
EHG completely saturated the multitudes with filth. Patton’s and Bower’s skull crushing riffs flattened the crowd while Williams’ unique vocal style, and humor, entertained and pumped us up. The floor in front of the stage was a sea of movement with people banging their heads, while also sustaining a pit despite the sheer density of concertgoers that should have prevented it. Head surfing and some stage diving developed, as well, as EHG moved on from their debut full length into a montage of selections from other releases.
There are no highlights, in a manner of speaking, due to the fact that EHG simply did not loosen their grip on Chicago for the entire length of the set. Due to my state of semi-inebriation at the time, I can’t even give you an estimate of the length of EHG’s set, except that it was a good long while. EHG left us tattered and shaken, but craving more. Before leaving the stage, Williams plugged the following night’s return of EHG to The Empty Bottle. Sadly, I would not be able to attend due to holiday obligations, although my mind would spend the entire day trying to unsuccessfully scheme my way around it…”
Monday, June 21, 2010
Weekend Recap
My weekend is your month, or some such Lou Reed-ism. I only have a moment, or two, but I wanted to type a few words about the weekend's shows... The whole thing far exceeded my very high expectations. Saturday night at The Empty Bottle was marked by a sell-out/capacity crowd, a really great range of sets overall, a brutal performance from Nachtmystium [whose new album has been stuck on repeat at my place for a few days now... the only thing to dislodge the new Indian Jewelry], and Eyehategod not only playing their groundbreaking first album from start to finish, but then playing a heap of other songs. How the hell do they do it? I had a successful appearance with Plague Bringer, playing synth [yes, the new little Korg Monotron] and doing vocals on their newest, unreleased track. Kenny did our live sound again, which made the whole thing that much better. Major thanks to Greg and Josh for asking me to join them live again... I had an excellent time with them, as before! It was a totally epic night, to say the very least. Yesterday at Reckless went so unbelievably smoothly -- and the potential for meltdown -- this had all been planned via e-mail, telephone, and down-to-the-wire conversation -- quickly became a moot point, as everyone focused on the task at hand, slowly building up layers and layers of sound [synth, bass, guitar, FX...] and voice that lead to a dense and crushing fog of noise that surrounded the crowd. Mike, Joey, Ryan, James, and Isidro all handled their shit as if we all play together on a regular basis. I could not have been more pleased by how we turned "Ten Suicides" into something more... and how that song has developed a life of its own, in a way, with the "naked voice" (a cappella) style, multiple versions with Jason Schuler from Cadaver in Drag, and now this beast. I was also really pleased to see such a great turnout - on Father's Day - and after a VERY late Saturday night blow out. My thanks to everyone who came out to support! Thanks also to Jim Magas for the great PA set-up/live sound support, Dave and Chris at the store for their organization and willingness to host us, Emily at the Broadway store for getting the ball rolling, and Dylan at the Downtown store for the initial hook-up. At one point during the set, I saw smoke out of the corner of my eye and I thought, god damn it Joey, you can't smoke in this store... but then I looked over and he did not have a cigarette... I thought that I had imagined it, but I was later told that the smoke had billowed from one of the speakers. Fuck! We had a great post-show afternoon/evening around Wicker Park, with various friends, and then last night's show at The Empty Bottle was another full-on barn-burner... I only managed to catch the tail end of Yakuza, unfortunately [sorry!]... The Atlas Moth was heavy, raging, and fantastic - tight as hell... Nachtmystium totally slayed again - the new line up is a devastating live force... and then Eyehategod - no surprise, really - played an even more intense set than the night before. Granted, their second album has a different force/velocity to it, but christ, it was such an insane set! It was great to have them in town for two days and to be able to hang out a bit, play the in-store, etc. Cheers to all of them, but big fucking love and thanks to Mike and Joey for all of the extra energy, enthusiasm, and effort to FINALLY make this noise thing happen, after discussing it for years, literally. Great to meet and hang out with Ryan, too! The Guilt Of... CD is just a few weeks away...
Saturday, March 06, 2010
OUT NOW: B!147 Locrian "Territories" LP
BloodLust! New Release
Artist: Locrian
Title: "Territories"
Format: LP
Label: At War With False Noise / Basses Frequences / BloodLust! / Small Doses
Catalog Number: ATWAR073 / BF23 / B!147 / DOSE85
Genre: Black Metal / Drone / Experimental / Noise / Power Electronics
Edition Size: 500 Copies
At War With False Noise (UK), Basses Frequences (France), BloodLust! (USA), and Small Doses (USA) are pleased to announce the co-release of "Territories," the second studio full-length from Locrian. The album was recorded in January 2009, at Phantom Manor Studios in Chicago, IL, and it features a group of collaborators including Blake Judd (Nachtmystium, Twilight), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), Andrew Scherer (Velnias), and Mark Solotroff (Anatomy of Habit, BLOODYMINDED). André Foisy and Terence Hannum have spent the last several years honing the Locrian sound and they have taken elements from noise, power-electronics, drone, and black metal to come up with a truly unique approach that reflects the sprawling urban decay that surrounds them in Chicago. After nearly two dozen releases, they have found themselves in the world of "Territories." For this release, Locrian has pulled out all of the stops and they have fleshed out the band with the help of Mark Solotroff on vocals and synthesizer, Blake Judd on guitar, Bruce Lamont on saxophone and vocals, and Andrew Scherer on drums. The results of this massive collaborative effort are apparent from the moment that the album starts. The textures run darker and deeper; the vocals -- sometimes three layers deep -- seem to be conjured from the decrepit muck of a failed civilization; the feedback takes on a more pronounced presence; and the augmented line-up allows for full-on black metal assaults that burst out of the tortured drones that Locrian have come to be known for. Truly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts, "Territories" may well be the most fully realized form of Locrian’s dystopian vision. As with their previous album, "Drenched Lands" (2009, At War With False Noise and Small Doses - CD; BloodLust! - LP), "Territories" was skillfully mastered by Jason Ward at Chicago Mastering Service, and the sound could not be more monumental. The LP is pressed in a black vinyl edition of 500 copies, is housed in heavyweight, full-color, true LP sleeves, and it includes an 11" x 11" double-sided, full-color insert. A compact disc edition of "Territories" is planned for summer 2010.
Tracklisting:
A1. "Inverted Ruins"
A2. "Between Barrows"
A3. "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism"
B1. "Ring Road"
B2. "Antediluvian Territory"
B3. "The Columnless Arcade"
Discogs listing: http://www.discogs.com/Locrian-Territories/release/2153397
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Price: $18.00 USA/$20.00 Canada+Mexico/$24.00 Rest of World @ postpaid
(Wholesale rates available to distributors, mail-order services, and record stores; please inquire)
Please use bludlust@mindspring.com for PayPal payments
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Artist: Locrian
Title: "Territories"
Format: LP
Label: At War With False Noise / Basses Frequences / BloodLust! / Small Doses
Catalog Number: ATWAR073 / BF23 / B!147 / DOSE85
Genre: Black Metal / Drone / Experimental / Noise / Power Electronics
Edition Size: 500 Copies
At War With False Noise (UK), Basses Frequences (France), BloodLust! (USA), and Small Doses (USA) are pleased to announce the co-release of "Territories," the second studio full-length from Locrian. The album was recorded in January 2009, at Phantom Manor Studios in Chicago, IL, and it features a group of collaborators including Blake Judd (Nachtmystium, Twilight), Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), Andrew Scherer (Velnias), and Mark Solotroff (Anatomy of Habit, BLOODYMINDED). André Foisy and Terence Hannum have spent the last several years honing the Locrian sound and they have taken elements from noise, power-electronics, drone, and black metal to come up with a truly unique approach that reflects the sprawling urban decay that surrounds them in Chicago. After nearly two dozen releases, they have found themselves in the world of "Territories." For this release, Locrian has pulled out all of the stops and they have fleshed out the band with the help of Mark Solotroff on vocals and synthesizer, Blake Judd on guitar, Bruce Lamont on saxophone and vocals, and Andrew Scherer on drums. The results of this massive collaborative effort are apparent from the moment that the album starts. The textures run darker and deeper; the vocals -- sometimes three layers deep -- seem to be conjured from the decrepit muck of a failed civilization; the feedback takes on a more pronounced presence; and the augmented line-up allows for full-on black metal assaults that burst out of the tortured drones that Locrian have come to be known for. Truly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts, "Territories" may well be the most fully realized form of Locrian’s dystopian vision. As with their previous album, "Drenched Lands" (2009, At War With False Noise and Small Doses - CD; BloodLust! - LP), "Territories" was skillfully mastered by Jason Ward at Chicago Mastering Service, and the sound could not be more monumental. The LP is pressed in a black vinyl edition of 500 copies, is housed in heavyweight, full-color, true LP sleeves, and it includes an 11" x 11" double-sided, full-color insert. A compact disc edition of "Territories" is planned for summer 2010.
Tracklisting:
A1. "Inverted Ruins"
A2. "Between Barrows"
A3. "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism"
B1. "Ring Road"
B2. "Antediluvian Territory"
B3. "The Columnless Arcade"
Discogs listing: http://www.discogs.com/Locrian-Territories/release/2153397
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Price: $18.00 USA/$20.00 Canada+Mexico/$24.00 Rest of World @ postpaid
(Wholesale rates available to distributors, mail-order services, and record stores; please inquire)
Please use bludlust@mindspring.com for PayPal payments
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, February 05, 2010
Brooklyn Vegan Locrian "Territories" Preview
From Brooklyn Vegan:
Locrian at Show No Mercy last Year (more by Justina Villanueva)
Occupying the vast nothing at the crossroads of black metal, noise, ambient, and drone are Chicago duo Locrian. The band released Drenched Lands last year and are already prepping Territories via Small Doses in the US. The new effort features luminaries from the Chi scene performing their "most fully realized form of Locrian's dystopic vision"; look for Blake Judd (Nachtmystium), Mark Solotroff (Bloodyminded, Anatomy of Habit) Bruce Lamont (Yakuza), and Andrew Scherer (Velnias) to appear on the LP. Until that record hits your friendly neighborhood distro later this month, check out the first taste of the LP above, "Procession of Ancestral Brutalism". The band was recently interviewed by Black Rat Method.
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