Wounds of the Earth: casual blog for the jaded listener.
shit we like: dark ambient, idm, industrial, power noise
contact: woundsoftheearth@gmail.com
| news | reviews | interviews | recommendations | releases | articles |
shit we like: dark ambient, idm, industrial, power noise
contact: woundsoftheearth@gmail.com
| news | reviews | interviews | recommendations | releases | articles |
Thursday, March 3, 2011
BUY THIS ALBUM: Konau - "Speech From The Shadows"
Konau is the conglomeration of cold meat industry's New Risen Throne and afe's Subinterior. Unfortunately, this is their only release and it came out in 2006 on Eibon records. To put it bluntly, this album is pure fucking darkness. One of the most brooding, evil, ambient releases I have come across. It has the huge, deep, abyssal rumbling low end of New Risen Throne, but with some additional dimensions supplementing it. The tracks are mostly droning soundscapes, though they are detailed enough to hold interest and not get monotonous. The solid production elevates this into the must own area. Fans of black droning ambient cannot pass this up!!
Monday, February 28, 2011
news
Assuming that all goes well, Compilation III will be out on March 9. Just about everything is in order to complete the scheduled release date. Will be uploading some promotional items for it in the next day or two.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
We're now on facebook!
Check it out, maybe keep up to date with us on ye old social networking. We'll post more scene news and stuff there, and more in depth news about the process of building the compilations and future plans and all that. It will be more exciting that figuring out if a piece of rotten meat can get more fans than hippie organization xyz. We need people to like it so we can get a fancy easy to remember URL
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wounds-of-the-Earth-blogzine/105632926184015
and now...
http://www.facebook.com/woundsoftheearthblog
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wounds-of-the-Earth-blogzine/105632926184015
and now...
http://www.facebook.com/woundsoftheearthblog
Fresh dark ambient compilations
Anyhow, there are several comps on the website, and they're all free. They feature some pretty excellent selections, although unfortunately it appears that most of the tracks (at least from names you'll recognize) are previously released. If you've got a large dark ambient collection you may not find much new here, but it's still worth a look. Regardless, it's a solid collection. All in all, you'll find tracks from acts like Visions, Land:Fire, Herbst9, Phragments, Phelios, False Mirror, Peter Anderssen, Collapsar, Triangular Ascension, Northaunt, Svartsinn, Kammerheit, Hyios, Empusae, Freeze Etch, Phaenon, and a ton of lesser known names.
The compilations worth getting IMO are the new one Chenrezig, Emissions and Ritus Terra Prolis
To check out and download these compilations: go here
In addition to the comps there are a few free albums as well, though nothing I'd heard of before.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
BUY THIS ALBUM: Asbaar
I grabbed it from Malignant distro, though I've seen it on most other dark ambient distros too.
Lustmord live in NYC April 10
Lustmord plays New York City april 10, 2011. Probably not to be missed for those in the region.
info: http://b-lustmord.blogspot.com/
info: http://b-lustmord.blogspot.com/
Friday, February 18, 2011
BUY THIS ALBUM: Robert Rich - "Seven Veils"
So a few months back I realized that for some reason this ethno-ambient stuff is both popular and old enough that people are selling it on the cheap on sites like amazon and half.com. So, I decided to pick up some stuff. Most notably is this album: Seven Veils by Robert Rich, which he dropped back in 1998 (look how cheesy the cover is! I included a pic of the CD itself which is, thankfully, significantly more awesome). If you're familiar with Rich than you'll know that he is a super genius multi-instrumentalist and, more recently, modular synth guru. And he predominately writes ambient/world music (kinda like his contemporaries Steve Roach, Alio Die, etc). Seven Veils is one of the most kick ass middle eastern-tinged albums I've come across. I think that the reason I dig it is because it's not just some white guy playing traditional world music, but it's a unique and interesting blend of dark-ish ambient/drone combined with elements of traditional world music (in this case the middle east) music. I don't remember the exact instruments and types of percussion used on this album off-hand, but I know that Rich actually plays pretty much all of them, or at least employs a talented session member to play it. So it's all real shit here; no synth emulations or sample packs. Anyway, bottom line is that if you like dark ambient/world/new age/whatever music than cop this one immediately. You can find it on amazon for pretty low prices.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tapage - "Seven"
Artist: Tapage & Meander
Album: Seven
Year: 2010
Label: Raumklang
Genre: IDM, Ambient
Website: www.raumklang-music.de
Album: Seven
Year: 2010
Label: Raumklang
Genre: IDM, Ambient
Website: www.raumklang-music.de
Basics:
This is the new digital release from Tapage. Not sure if it's considered an album or EP; it is comprised of 7 tracks, each named in the format "Part X of Seven", and all are exactly 7 minutes in length. As on his previous releases on Tympanik, the style is IDM / Ambient.
Good stuff:
+Sounds. Pretty good sound design. Everything sounds carefully crafted, though not terribly unique nor different. Good chime-y melodies, minimal atmosphere and rhythmic elements. Everything works together.
+ Mellow. This is a good album if you like mellow, melodic stuff. There is nothing abrasive, nor will you find any off the wall technical wanking here. It's vaguely along the lines of Planet Boelex or Amorph. Good for relaxing and drifting off to. The album carries a dreamy feeling to it, like you're quietly floating through the clouds on a warm night in no particular direction.
+ Production. As with his recent album with Meander, the production here is solid. All the elements are crystal clear.
Bad stuff:
- Evolution. Even though the tracks are all fairly lengthy in their 7 min duration, for the most part they don't feature significant evolution nor different parts, which is unfortunate because the "Etched in Salt" album did this very well. I like concept albums, and the 'making each track exactly 7 minutes' is interesting, in theory, although in practice this duration is a bit too long for some of this pieces, and it would not have hurt them to be a few minutes shorter. Also would have liked more variation in percussion and melody (sound wise...e.g. all the melodies utilize a nearly identical chime sound).
- Standard. My biggest gripe with this is the fact that it kind of sounds like everything else in my IDM folder. It's definitely not bad, but at the end of the day it is standard, no-frills IDM.
Summary:
A solid, if unremarkable, IDM release which is no doubt enjoyable, but unfortunately won't stick from the rest of your IDM collection. If you're a fan of Tapage or mellow IDM in general than you will find something here to enjoy, though nothing particularly groundbreaking. Regardless, I would suggest picking up the recent "Etched in Salt" album.
Overall Rating: 6/10
Bad stuff:
- Evolution. Even though the tracks are all fairly lengthy in their 7 min duration, for the most part they don't feature significant evolution nor different parts, which is unfortunate because the "Etched in Salt" album did this very well. I like concept albums, and the 'making each track exactly 7 minutes' is interesting, in theory, although in practice this duration is a bit too long for some of this pieces, and it would not have hurt them to be a few minutes shorter. Also would have liked more variation in percussion and melody (sound wise...e.g. all the melodies utilize a nearly identical chime sound).
- Standard. My biggest gripe with this is the fact that it kind of sounds like everything else in my IDM folder. It's definitely not bad, but at the end of the day it is standard, no-frills IDM.
Summary:
A solid, if unremarkable, IDM release which is no doubt enjoyable, but unfortunately won't stick from the rest of your IDM collection. If you're a fan of Tapage or mellow IDM in general than you will find something here to enjoy, though nothing particularly groundbreaking. Regardless, I would suggest picking up the recent "Etched in Salt" album.
Overall Rating: 6/10
Friday, February 11, 2011
GET THIS ALBUM: adamned.age - "Photosphaere"
Album: Photosphaere
Label: XS Records
Year: 2008
Genre: IDM, Ambient
Website: xsrecordsptnetlabel.blogspot.com
basics:
I remember stumbling upon this artist quite randomly. A couple years back, I was on the myspace for some IDM act and saw a comment made by someone named adamned.age which contained photos of their album covers. I thought the album covers looked interesting, so I checked them out, though due to the nature of free digital releases I wasn't expecting anything mind-blowing. To my surprise, adamned.age turned out to be an goddamn amazing IDM project. This EP in particular really captivated me and has seen several hundred plays at my hands.
why you should get it:
This is quintessential ambient IDM; heavy on the dark, sombre atmospheres coupled with tranquil, complex clicky beats. It is repetitive, but in a very hypnotic way, kind of like early Autechre. Each track is diverse and memorable. Very well produced as well. Any fan of IDM, especially darker, atmospheric stuff needs to get this immediately. Adamned.age has several other free EPs which are all pretty much great and need to be heard, I will write about a couple more soon. For now cop this one.
get it: http://xsrecordsptnetlabel.blogspot.com/2009/03/xs-12-adamnedage-photosphaere.html
Monday, February 7, 2011
fuck
My laptop died this weekend (most likely the motherboard is FUBAR). Sadly, the laptop held all of the files for the upcoming compilation (tracks, artwork, etc). Recovering the files should be no problem, as the harddrive itself is still in working order. Unfortunately, a new laptop will have to be purchased and the software, files, and so forth will have to be reloaded and configured. Basically what it comes down to is that the compilation will more than likely be delayed a week or two (seriously only a week or two, not months!), so if you're an asshole who can't meet a deadline than you've got an extra few days to work.
Still planning to have the comp out in early/mid March
Still planning to have the comp out in early/mid March
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